AN Exclusive Interview with Greg Nagy! by Richard Lhommedieu on Mixcloud

Born in 1963, in Flint, Michigan, the “Auto City” birthplace of once-mighty General Motors, young guitarist Greg was fortunate to grow up with friends whose older siblings encouraged an exploration of soul, rock, funk, jazz, and the Motown Sound originating down Interstate 75 in Detroit. The guttural blues of Muddy Waters and Albert King made a particularly strong mark on the Kearsley High School student who went on to military service and then college before, in the early-1990s, working regularly seven nights a week in blues and soul bands.

There probably hasn’t been a more charismatic and powerfully entertaining blues or soul club-band than Root Doctor in the Wolverine State, and Greg happily signed on with that long-established group in 2004 on the condition they would finally record a studio record. They did two, with the second record “Change Our Ways” receiving a Soul Blues BMA nomination in 2008. Word about the superior talents of the Root Doctor group spread far beyond the Midwest. Not too long after the live “Cadillac Club” CD appeared and the band performed at the highly regarded Pocono Blues Festival, Greg left the band on good terms for a solo career.

GREG NAGY took his rightful place among today’s leading American roots musicians with the 2009 release of his first feature album, Walk That Fine Thin Line. A multi-faceted artist in the most classic sense, his songwriting, singing, and guitar playing beautifully reveal Greg’s personalized blues; music refreshingly and honestly infused with elements of soul, r&b, rock, and gospel. So unique and impressive was Greg’s debut release that it earned him a prestigious Best New Artist debut nomination from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, as well as favorable reviews from hard-to-please critics at top media outlets like Down Beat, All About jazz, Blues Revue, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Living Blues, Hitting The Note, Elmore and more. Blues/roots DJs throughout North America, Europe, and Australia responded enthusiastically to Greg’s music, with Walk That Fine Thin Line debuting on the National Living Blues Radio charts at number fourteen, and peaking at number three on XM satellite radio, no small achievement.

Following up to the debut of Walk That Fine Thin Line, Greg raised his own bar several notches with the dynamic Fell Toward None. Ken Bay’s ofRollingstone.com called the release one of the best of 2011. Nagy also received high praise from such notables as Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records, Jeff Paris (Keb Mo), Dick Shurman (Johnny Winter Producer), Sing Out Magazine, and more. With the powerful addition of Bob Seger’s “Motor City Horns” on three tracks, Kid Rock’s and Luther Alison’s Glenn Brown at the engineering helm, and Jim Alfredson (Root Doctor, Greg Nagy, Janiva Magness, organissmo) sharing writing tasks and playing keyboards, Greg released a record that further carved out his place in the upper echelon of contemporary blues inspired artists. Fell Toward None also charted at number three on XM radio, again, no small achievement.
Frank John Hadley

(DownBeat Magazine)
Addendum:
On the heels of his impressive sophomore record, Greg was given the honor of performing at BB Kings in Memphis the following year for the Blues Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony. With icons the likes of Buddy Guy and Alan Touisannt present, his star continuing to rise.

Greg also performed with members of Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band as he supported Shaun Murphy.

Sidelined with major life changes, the ending of a 24 year marriage, Greg eventually got back to the studio to track his best work ever. Stranded. A record about survival. Release Feb 2015.