Portal + The Seagull

I am thrilled to announce that pieces from Portal are being used in the Firefly Theater Group production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, adapted by Adam David Green. The show runs this weekend (8/12 - 8/14) and next (19-21) at Studio/Stage in Hollywood, 8pm. I'll be at the opening tonight with signed vinyl records (which will be available for purchase at all the shows).

Pick up your tickets here!

I worked with Firefly earlier this year as musical director and violinist for The Last Five Years. We had a two weekend run in May that was super fun and very well received! Can't wait to see how the group uses my music in this classic play!

If you can't make the show, pick up your copy of Portal right here!

Presenting Portal

Today, my new album, Portal, is out in full. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music, all other streaming services, and for purchase on Bandcamp.

In lieu of a physical album release, I worked with Vermont-based artist Kylie Dally of Potions Press to create limited edition art to accompany the album. Kylie created a set of six illustrations, one for each track on the album. Each illustration was hand carved on a woodblock and printed with oil-based black ink on wildcrafted, handmade lokta paper. The beautiful prints are 5” squares and look great framed individually or as a set. We present to you a limited edition run of 25, available on my bandcamp page. A digital copy of the album accompanies your purchase.

In October of last year, I trekked out to the Olympic Peninsula with film maker Anne Cleary and my sister Lesley Allison to make a music video for the title track of the album. We shot it over two very cold Pacific Northwest days and were extremely fortunate that the rain held off long enough to capture the dramatically lit landscape. Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who preordered the album and continues to support my musical output. It fills me with joy to share this music with all of you.

Until next time,

Greg

Pre-order for Portal out on Bandcamp Friday

May has always been an exciting month for me. As Spring comes into its fullest expression we are given hints of the Summer to come. Encouraged by the long hours of sunshine, life is finding routine and moving faster and faster, the dormant months of winter becoming a distant memory. It is into this season I was born. Perhaps this is why I feel a bit more wind at my back during this time.

The pandemic has put a temporary hold on performing and has offered me an opportunity to spend lots of time creating music in the studio. This time has been a gift. As live performance begins to open up, I am searching for ways to preserve the routines I have created in the studio while also finding joy in performing again.

In June of 2020 I moved from my congested East Hollywood apartment to the open rolling hills of Sonoma County. Surrounded by vineyards and large oak groves, I created an album of music that had been bubbling just under the surface, waiting for the right conditions to burst through the cracks. And burst through it did! I spent six weeks recording in my friend Mitchel Slade’s studio, layering melodies and sounds of the violin and viola over and around each other, creating textures and sounds that had been growing and evolving within the confines my mind’s ear.

Today, it is with great pleasure that I present to you Portal:

Portal is a sonic exploration of the seven centers of awakening. With violin- and viola-based compositions that move from intimate melodies to wide orchestral soundscapes, each track on the album represents an energy center in the body, a Chakra in Yogic philosophy, in which is held certain energies that we're either aware of or are in the dark about. The music represents the transmutation of those energies from the lower forms of the material plane, through the portal of the heart, and into the astral realm. The creation of this album was a journey of self discovery and opening up to the world around me. It represents a spiritual awakening that I experienced in the year leading up to recording it.

Portal is available to pre-order through my Bandcamp page. Today is Bandcamp Friday, which means that all fees and revenue shares on purchases from the site today are waived. 100% of what you pay goes to the artist (thanks Bandcamp!). With the purchase today, you get the first piece, Arise, and when the album is released on June 11, you will be notified and will be able to download the whole digital album.

The album is being released by my newly founded record label Holy Volcano. The label has new music from Tristan de Liège and RAQIA coming this summer and I am thrilled to be orchestrating those releases. If you are interested in stickers of the logo drawn by Ramin Nazer, click on the logo below! They are available in four color schemes.

Thank you all for your continued support. It is not possible to create the music I do without the community that surrounds me. May we all continue to grow, create, and BE in this ever changing world.

Until next time,

Greg