Greg Hale & Friends January 24, 2009

Growing up in the hills of Appalachia, Greg Hale was often told by his friends and peers that they knew he would become famous. His first instrument was an acoustic guitar in the 8th grade and private lessons began around age 15. By age 16, Hale had joined his first band, The Vitreous Floaters. Comprised of the areas most talented young musicians, the band performed strictly classic rock and top 40 covers. This was the time Hale began his singing career and realized that he wanted to write original music and sing lead vocals.

Hale graduated high school and left his home town of Marietta, OH for Otterbein College in Westerville, OH, to pursue a degree in music. It was during this time that he learned the bass guitar, congas, harmonica, piano, and studied classical/jazz guitar for school. After nine months in Westerville, Hale returned to Marietta for summer work and helped form a new band, Good Morning Conformity (GMC). After recording one full length album, GMC had to go their separate ways and Hale returned to Westerville for college. During his sophomore year Hale started Lozada with his fellow fraternity brothers and roommate. Lozada had a large following in the Otterbein College community, packing Columbus's Whiskey Dicks, and performing at large fraternity parties at Otterbein College and Ohio University. After Lozada's lead percussionist left for the peace corp, the band continued with the remaining four members and used the alias Lazy Sunday. After less than a year named Lazy Sunday, the band called it quits.

During this next chapter was where Hale rediscovered his love for the acoustic guitar. Hale began performing at 10 p.m. every Tuesday at Renies Bar and Lounge with Joe Berkshire on percussion. After just a month, Renie's had become arguably the most packed venue in Columbus on Tuesday nights, getting to the point where fans that wanted seats would have to show up to the bar before 10PM to reserve their spots. As the bar continued to stay packed Hale began having other musicians join him and Berkshire to create the full band sound. Once the five piece Morning Round was formed as a collective, the band dropped Tuesday gigs for bigger Columbus venues including The Lodge Bar, Little Brothers, Ruby's, and a co-headlining show at The Newport Music Hall in 2006- one of the largest attended local showcases in recent Newport history.
After leaving Morning Round, Hale's original music repertoire and show schedule has dramatically increased due to his tireless work ethic, and his desire to perform various dynamic shows at a multitude of venues in the Midwest. His solo performances incorporate his diverse array of original music and cover songs as old as the 1950's. Thanks to the new craze looping, Hale is able to play a variety of instruments simultaneously at his live shows using a looping pedal and layering other instruments on top of his existing ones.

Official Website: www.myspace.com/greghale