Chris Gregory

Keyboards, Bass and Vocals

Well, to start this off, I guess I’ll talk about my roots a little.

My family is very musical. I started showing signs of interest in music at an early age, plunking around on the piano around age 3 or 4.

Took lessons from age 6 to 18. Started playing guitar at age 12 and playing at bars and clubs with guitarist Chris Maines and Kevin Code by age 16.

My influences are really too many to list, as I’ve been exposed to anything from Sinatra to Slayer, but I will list just a handful.

I grew tired of playing covers and decided to try writing my own stuff.

Played in various bands of no notable fame. Singing came sort of out of necessity.

Hooked back up with Maines, Code and Walton this time and here we are.

Being a musician, everyone always asks me what my favorite band is. Well, it’s really tough for me to narrow it down

to just one band. So here are my 5 favorite bands, (in no particular order).
1 Black Sabbath
2 The Beatles
3 Ramones
4 The Doors
5 Guns N’ Roses

Keyboard Influences:

The Doors - Ray Manzarek is my biggest influence if you can’t tell by listening to our music. I’m not trying to rip him off but an influence is an influence. By some, Ray may not be considered the best but he’s my personal favorite.

Deep Purple - Now Jon Lord is the best. Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman are fantastic but they were maybe just a little bit too busy for my taste. Although Jon Lord was classically trained as well, he was more bluesy, More of what I was in to.

The Beatles- More of a guitar band, the Beatles had a lot of good songs with keys in them. Billy Preston joined them on their last few albums and really spiced things up a bit.

Elton John- Me saying I was influenced by Elton John is like saying the Pope was influenced by Jesus. It just goes without saying.

Oldies artists- Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Motown, all of the old blues cats that had keys.

Queen- Not only was Freddie Mercury an excellent singer, he was an excellent pianist too.

Guns N’ Roses- They had some very interesting stuff on the Illusions albums.

Albums of impact:

The Doors - L.A. Woman

An album people may question why??? The Doors & Strange Days are just as important as this one, but this one I love because of the blues influence. I love the blues and this album has a lot of that!

	Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy A great album. I add II are also good, but this is their real gem.
The Misfits - Static Age Elvis meets Jim Morrison meets the Ramones. The Ramones sang about Nazi’s and beach balls. These guys sing about horror movies and the gruesome reality of life in general. Some notable bands have covered some of these songs including Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, and The Lemonheads.
	B.B. King - Live in Cook County Jail B.B. King is the king of blues and this album proves it.
The Beatles - Abbey Road Everyone is particular when it comes to his or her favorite Beatle album. This is mine. Songs leading into one another very much like Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon. Definitely a keeper.
	Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Zuma A pretty obscure choice but a great rock album. Great songs.
Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction. Hands down, the best hard rockin’ album ever. Say what you want about Axl. This is one of those albums you can listen to from start to finish without cringing.
	Black Sabbath - Master of Reality Enough Said!
The Sex Pistols - Never mind the Bollocks here’s the Sex Pistols Definitely an acquired taste.
	Deep Purple - Machine Head Skip past ‘Smoke on the water’ if you’re too burnt out on it and listen to the rest of this great album.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Lady Land Not many hits on this one but who cares. It’s a great, well put together, flowing album.
	Grateful Dead - American Beauty Sorry Deadheads. Maybe I’m just trying to attract the casual listener. This is one that should be heard.
The Rolling Stones - Get Your Ya Ya’s Out! Yes a live album. One of the best live albums I’ve ever heard.
	The Pixies - Tromp Le Monde Before Nirvana, the Strokes, and Smashing Pumpkins there were the Pixies. I remember hating this band. When they broke up I was enthralled. It wasn’t until I played in a band in high school that covered their songs that I discovered their talent.
Slayer - Reign In Blood Any metalhead should own this album. ‘How can the keyboard player be influenced by Slayer and all of this punk rock?’ you ask? Well, I’ve played guitar, bass and drums in other bands, and all of the stuff I write is mostly written on guitar. Blah, blah , blah, anyway, about Slayer. All of these crappy death metal bands have been ripping them off for years now.
	Dead Kennedy’s - Plastic Surgery Disasters I always thought of the DK’s as America’s answer to the Sex Pistols. If you can stand the liberalism, this is an excellent album.
Metallica - Kill ‘Em All Their first 5 albums are great but this one stands out to me. Fast, loud, and in your face like metal should be. I lost interest in them after the black album not because they sold out or cut their hair, but simply because I thought their music started sucking.
	Black Flag - Who’s Got the 10 ½? Henry Rollins at his best. He definitely brought a new dimension to the band, (they had 4 different singers). A very good, live punk rock album.
Aerosmith - Rocks Before Aerosmith became the sappy rock ballad corporate queens that they have become, they were once a ligitamate rock and roll band.
	AC / DC - Powerage I would put Back in Black, but I’m so burnt out from excessive air play this album kicks ass
Big Brother & The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills I know that Janis is the typical pick for a white R & R guy, but it’s the truth, that she totally wails!!
Top concerts I’ve seen: Danzig\Kyuss - Kyuss is now a legend in the underground because members of this band went on to form Queens of the Stone Age. I feel very lucky to have seen them, and Danzig kicked ass of course. Velvet Revolver - It was good to finally see Scott Weiland perform, especially with these guys. The Misfits - A band I’ve seen many times but the concert in particular I’m talking about had Marky Ramone and Dez from Black Flag. They played Misfits, Black Flag, and Ramones songs. Awsome! Kiss\Alice In Chains - It was good to see Alice In Chains before Layne died, they put on a good show. And Kiss! My god! I’m definitely not the hugest Kiss fan, but this show was simply amazing. Lenny Kravitz\Black Crowes - Ah, the Black Crowes. A very fine band. When I saw them, they were good but it sounded like there was something wrong with their P.A. or something. To put it bluntly, Lenny Kravitz came out and blew the sorry mother%#@&ers off the stage. Page & Plant - Do I really need to explain this one? Guns N’ Roses - I saw them in ’91 when they had all the original member except Steven Adler. Use Your Illusions had not even been released yet. A good show. A week before Axl’s hissy-fit about someone taking pictures.
Biggest Concert Disappointment: I had chance a chance to see the Ramones once and like a dumbass I went and opted for Gwar instead. I’ll be kicking myself in the ass for the rest of my life for that one.
In my opinion, the top bands around during the making of the first CD were: System Of A Down The Hives The White Stripes Velvet Revolver The Strokes But, as if anyone is actually reading this.