Greg
Lamboy has been singing since he could speak. Starting
at age 3 he would sing himself to sleep with the songs
he heard on the radio. The music continued through grade
school where he got his first taste of indie stardom.
“My 1st grade choir teacher found out I ‘played’
guitar and asked me to bring it to class. I stood up in
front of a bunch of 6 year olds with my Sears plastic
guitar, strummed one open chord and the crowd went nuts.
I thought ‘Hey, I could get used to this.’”
he says with a laugh.
He
started writing songs in high school after purchasing his
first real electric guitar (a Fender Strat he still owns),
and began playing with local bands near his New Jersey home.
From there he attended NYU where he studied Music Technology,
showing an aptitude for production and arrangement. After
a few years performing on the East Coast circuit, Lamboy
moved to West Coast and settled in the San Francisco Bay
Area. He quickly became a fixture in the local music scene,
through his involvement with the West Coast Songwriters
organization and in founding the New Acoustic Movement,
a series of singer/songwriter showcases around the Bay Area.
Lamboy
was fortunate enough to study vocals under the renowned
Judy Davis, whose former students read like a who’s
who of the music world: From Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra,
and Tony Bennett, to 60’s icons like Janis Joplin
and Grace Slick to later hit makers like Eddie Money, Journey,
and En Vogue. “She was truly a musical mentor.”
Lamboy says. “The lessons went so far beyond simple
vocal exercises, going into presentation, repertoire, and
music business savvy. It was the best graduate school any
singer could hope for."
Living in urban areas like New York and Oakland showed
Lamboy a glimpse of the lives of the less fortunate
and what he saw began to creep into his music. Many
of his lyrics started to address more serious subjects
like homelessness and despair while others began to
reflect an emerging political consciousness. His singing
and command of the guitar were never better, but now
he was truly beginning to discover his ‘voice’.
2002
saw the release of his first full length album, “Every
Drop of the Good”, an 11 track fully produced effort
about which Music Connection said “Acoustic-pop troubadour
Lamboy offers consistently melodic songs that are heartfelt
observations on everyday life” and Evolution of Media
opined “In a business of mediocrity, ‘Every
Drop Of the Good’ is the real deal.” The CD
featured songs strong on melody married to insightful, meaningful
lyrics, and garnered numerous Best Song Awards from West
Coast Songwriters. “Every Drop of the Good”
achieved further success with PBS using his track “Dive
Right In” for a science program to explain the physics
of a diver breaking a plane of water. And in keeping with
his dedication to walking his talk, the CD release concert
for “Every Drop of the Good” served as a clothing
drive for a local non-profit benefitting the homeless, Operation
Dignity.
Performances to sell out crowds at Oakland’s Art
& Soul Festival and the Fremont Festival of the Arts
followed where he shared the stage with diverse acts like
Ziggy Marley and Guster. Strong concert performances along
with solo tours of Southern California marked the expansion
of Lamboy’s appeal and popularity. A new acoustic
trio complimented his solo and full band shows and outdoor
appearances at San Francisco’s famous Cannery added
an international following to his fan base.
In
late 2003, as he was beginning preproduction on his follow
up to Every Drop of the Good, Greg became involved in Presidential
politics, feeling it offered an excellent opportunity to
effect the change he advocated in his music. An admirer
and early supporter of John Kerry, Greg took on a key role
as Campaign Liaison for East Bay for Kerry, one of the best
organized and most effective Democratic grass roots campaigns
in the country. Although the national vote did not go as
hoped, Alameda County, home of East Bay for Kerry is on
record for having the largest percentage of votes cast for
John Kerry in the entire country at 74%. After the election,
Greg served in a critical early role in what East Bay for
Kerry eventually became, Project Bluebridge, and in fact
gave the grassroots organization its name - based on ‘building
bridges’ from the ‘Blue’ states to the
rest of the country.
After spending the majority of 2004 trying to change
the world through politics, in early 2005 Greg returned
to changing the world one song at a time and began production
on his newest CD in earnest. Not content to simply add
songs from his current catalog, Greg strived to create
an entire album of engaging material that a listener
could enjoy from start to finish. That meant a great
deal of writing and rewriting coupled with the patience
and discipline to know when something needed to be reworked.
As
long as it took, it was certainly worth the effort. “Lift”,
Greg Lamboy’s new CD, is a triumph. Music Connection
said “His pitch-perfect delivery is sensitive and
compassionate, while his commercial chorus-driven tunes
are crafted with skillful hooks. ‘Fate’ and
the message song ‘Mantra’ exemplify his pithy,
inspirational lyric content.” Evolution of Media affirmed
“Lamboy, with vocals to knock you off your feet and
break down hearts of stone, has the ability to reach out
to the audience, connecting him to the listener, and make
them think that he's talking only to them.” Indie-Music.com
goes even further stating “With his music, Greg Lamboy
successfully lifts the listener above the muck and the mire.
And for a few brief moments, this old crumbling rock (Earth)
doesn’t seem so bad." Clearly the critics were
catching on to what Lamboy’s fans already knew –
this is an artist whose art is deeply connected to his heart.
Now
performing regularly with a new band and gaining new fans
and professional accolades, Greg Lamboy is a musical artist
with a strong voice, powerful guitar, and a heart connected
to the community. Greg’s music is currently being
heard on radio stations near and far, including KFOG's
Acoustic Sunrise, Costa Rica and the UK. Weaving unforgettable
melodies with raw emotion, he creates accessible music
that wins the hearts, minds, and ears of all who listen.
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