INTERVIEW WITH The Daily Gazette - 2/2026
GLOVERSVILLE — Schoharie County singer-songwriter Greg Bucking will perform Friday at Dorn Space.
The guitar slinger has spent nearly three decades honing his craft across myriad electric and acoustic genres, from his seminal group Mother Freedom to his folk trio the Vine Brothers.
In the midst of recording fresh material, Bucking — whose work incorporates styles ranging from John Prine to James Brown — will incorporate many of his newer songs into his performance in Gloversville.
I had a chance to sit down with Bucking ahead of the show to discuss his music.
LUCAS GARRETT: Tell us a bit about you, your music and how you got started with it.
GREG BUCKING: I’ve been playing music since I was about 10 years old. I’ve been doing it professionally since my early 20s. I started my first band when I was living in Long Island, a band called Mother Freedom. We were a funky-reggae-jam-band kind of thing. We had some good success, but we were young and dumb; things happened and that fell apart.
I’ve been living in the Capital Region for 11 years now. For a long time I played with the folk trio called the Vine Brothers. We put out four albums and I was the primary songwriter. When the pandemic hit [the Vine Brothers] was shut down for a while, so I started to really focus on my solo stuff a lot more at that point. I put out my first solo album, “Greg Bucking,” in 2022.
That album mixed a couple of things — the acoustic stuff, like I do with the Vine Brothers, and some of my reggae funky stuff.
LG: I first learned of you through the Bluebillies, but reggae-funk is a pretty far stone’s throw from their sound. Have you always just played whatever genre you were feeling at the moment?
GB: Yeah. When I was younger I mostly played electric. When I got older I started doing more acoustic stuff. I do a lot of side gigs on guitar in addition to the Bluebillies.
LG: Do you prefer electric or acoustic?
GB: It’s hard to say. I sort of miss the electric-guitar stuff. After I put out the album in 2022, for a couple years after that I was working on putting together an electric band. Now I’m back to mostly acoustic. The Bluebillies keep me very busy. We just put out a single, “Run Daddy Run (Mama’s Got a Gun).” I’m really happy with that. It’s a great song Mel [Guarino] wrote.
LG: Let’s talk about your show at Dorn Space.
GB: It’s a solo show — just me and my acoustic. Over the past couple years, my [solo work] was more geared toward the electric stuff because I missed it so much. But sometime in September I got this burst of inspiration. I came up with about seven new songs. I’m in the process of recording them and I’m working with Sam Whedon, who’s an excellent guitar player himself. He does a lot of production work. We got a good group of songs down and now it’s just adding to that.
LG: You’ll be playing those songs at Dorn Space?
GB: Yeah! I’m really excited about them. A return to form with just a guitar and vocal. I’m excited to do some of them live.
LG: Who are some artists that have influenced you creatively?
GB: Everybody? When I first started out it was rock ’n’ roll: the Allman Brothers, the Stones, all that stuff. When I got older I learned about funk, like James Brown. From there I got into the folk stuff like John Prine and songwriters where it was just a guy with a guitar or a guy with a piano.
LG: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight or elaborate on?
GB: If you go to gregbucking.com there are links to all of my stuff.
Dorn Space is at 99 North Main St. in Gloversville. To learn more about the show, call 838-202-4425 or visit dornspace.tv.
INTERVIEW WITH RADIORADIO X - 12/2025
Loved doing this interview with RadioradioX.com Xperience Monthly, getting the chance to tell some tales from the road and the studio with The Vine Brothers, The Scofflaws, The Bluebillies, Mother Freedom, The Jumpers, and to talk about some of my upcoming solo stuff.
FULL INTERVIEW:
RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?
GB: The first song of mine that I recorded in a pro studio and released was in 1999 with my band at the time, Mother Freedom. It is called “Arrival”. It’s a sprawling jam in 6/8 time that we did mostly live in the studio and then overdubbed vocals and solos. It was a ton of fun to record and I put my guitar through an old Leslie rotating speaker cabinet for a killer psychedelic sound. The song itself is almost a sea shanty feel, talking about a young man and an old man gazing out into the sea contemplating life. It still holds up all these years later, and has new resonance now that I’ve lived as both characters.
The most recent song I’ve recorded was on guitar with The Bluebillies called “Run Daddy Run”, written by Mel and Mark Guarino. It’s a haunting tale about lost love, jealousy, and revenge. My main guitar part has a sort of Spaghetti Western tone, with lots of reverb and vibrato through the Fender Vibrolux amp I’ve used for years. I’m a lot more confident now, but even when I started out, I realized I loved creating sounds and feelings in the studio.
RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.
GB: So many choices but one that stands out is when I was playing with a neo-swing band called The Jumpers. It was sort of like the Brian Setzer Orchestra, with lots of horns and vocals, and me as the lead guitar doing the Setzer-type stuff. We got a gig in Dearborn, MI for the opening of the Henry Ford Museum. It was not too long after the auto industry bailout around 2009, so they were having this celebration with the governor of Michigan and the Secretary of Transportation giving speeches and then we played. The gig was good but the thing that stuck out was seeing Secret Service guys walking around in black suits, sunglasses, and earpieces like in the movies. Weird but cool.
RRX: My singer punched my drummer out. Memorable moment, though nothing to brag about. But we have these things that, when summing up your endeavor, an incident comes to mind. What do you got?
GB: We were playing a multi band show in Chicago about three years ago with The Scofflaws and we were the last band on the bill. As happens with these kind of gigs, things were behind schedule and the solo artist playing before us was going way over his allotted time on top of that. So our fearless leader Sammy Brooks got up on stage while the other guy was doing a song and went up to the other mic and started riling up the crowd: “Do you wanna hear The Scofflaws?” It was hilarious and awkward and kind of surreal. Needless to say, the other guy (who shall remain nameless) was very much pissed off and eventually stormed off the stage. We did our set and then after that, Sammy and the other guy got into a little fistfight. No one was hurt but I don’t think they kissed and made up.
RRX: With the exception of singing, everyone has an instrument, an inanimate object that has the distinction of being a lifelong friend. Smooth or temperamental, these objects have a character. So pick someone to answer, can you tell us something special about what you play, your technique, your instrument?
GB: My Martin acoustic is the instrument I’ve played more than any else. I bought it new and I’ve had it for over twenty years, and I would always tell people that it took about five years before it was broken in and started to have the tone that I connect to and feel more than any other guitar I’ve played. I basically beat the crap out of it for six or seven years straight with The Vine Brothers, where we would tour relentlessly and also do a lot of street busking where possible. The other guys played mandolin and upright bass, which both project a lot more sound acoustically, so I would have to play extra hard and loud to be heard. But it still sounds amazing.
RRX: Sometimes you gotta go on the road. Miles can build up, and it can stretch the comfort level of any travelling act. What do you bring on a road trip, or tour? What will you forget to bring?
GB: With The Vine Brothers, I had the packing down to a science. We would tour in a Subaru Outback, which had just enough room for three guys, an upright bass, and our instruments and bags. A lot of times, I would fly to the first tour date and/or back home. First,I would wear a suit or whatever was the nicest jacket/pants combination on the plane. I would usually have only one pair of shoes, usually boots or sneakers, though sometimes I would pack flip flops if it was summer. I’d pack a carry-on backpack with whatever other clothes I’d need for a week with the expectation that I would do laundry once or twice a week. And my acoustic, which would go in the overhead bin. I also made a point on the road of going to thrift stores or vintage shops to pick up something cool that I might not otherwise find at home.
RRX: Let’s talk about your next project, your next few. Just not the ones you’re working on now. The ones you have your eyes on for the future. What’s coming to us?
GB: After my last solo album that I released in 2022, I spent the next couple of years doing live shows with a primarily electric band and wrote an album’s worth of new songs that we’d play live and that I wanted to get into a studio to record. Because of everyone’s lives and schedules, it became more and more logistically difficult to move forward on that project, so for now it’s on the back burner. Then this past September/October I got on a little songwriting spree and wrote six new tunes that I absolutely love that are acoustic guitar and vocal based. So, looking forward, I aim to get all those new acoustic songs recorded and hopefully get them out sometime next year. Then when the time is right, I want to get back to the electric band and record all of those songs.
Greg Bucking Band Live 2025 - Record Review
I once heard Eric Clapton say, and of course I’m paraphrasing, that although he had started playing the blues when he was quite young, he really didn’t start playing the blues until he was much older. Clapton goes on to explain that the blues is a “grown man’s music”. I can tell you that I know exactly what he means by that. Listen to a bunch of kids in a garage pounding out three chords and pentatonic licks, & though it might have energy & a fire that surpasses the lack of technical ability or, say, the ability to swing, it won’t come anywhere near a Howlin’ Wolf record. Why? Because they ain’t grown.
From the very first “yeah!” to the very last note of the Greg Bucking Band’s new live EP: Live 2025, it is easy to tell we are listening to grown men play the blues. & not just the blues.There is a generous helping of funk & jazz & reggae & rocknroll. & even a little folk & country too. Live 2025 is an American Potpourri of Roots music. A collection of songs layered with emotional depth & laced with heartbreak & rage & finally, a little hope too. In other words: The Blues.
Recorded live at The People’s Pub in Bayport, NY by Matthew Juvet & mixed by the mighty Sam Whedon the Greg Bucking Band puts on a clinic for any group who dares set foot on a stage & distill their lives & abilities into a live performance & then have the audacity to record it. It is no small feat. To this day, there are nasty rumours that Robbie Robertson went back in & “fixed” his guitar parts on The Last Waltz. I don’t get the feeling anyone “fixed” anything on this record. It feels complete & groovy & quite frankly, addictive. I have had the record on repeat in the car for days.
The first track “Cold” to be included on their upcoming studio album, is a ripper that makes me wanna put on a cape & get drunk. The raw energy of the groove belies the heartbreak underneath. John Franzese’s bass & Andrew Bertrand's drums are furious & propel things forward only to escalate on the even groovier bridge section when Bucking screams “In the middle of the night, try to hold you tight, slipping’ right outta my hands…” & there is no respite from this bad relationship, between the frenzy of Mark Mancini’s keys & Bucking’s lights out guitar work, the heart has no choice but to break & the body nothing left but to exorcise its demons.
Track 2, a medley of another new song “Going to Massachusetts” & “No Justice” off of Bucking’s 2022 solo debut hits hard. Massachusetts starts with a killer Waitsian Groove coupled with Bucking’s soulful Joe Henriesque vocals. The message is simple: Stay away from the booze & chill out. The band delivers the dictum with aplomb, a world weariness & sense of stoned urgency. Then somewhere around the 7 minute mark the tune descends into a dark reggae groove that is so infectious & stony that one hopes the sun will go behind the clouds forever to match the message of “No Justice” - “When the guilty speak he show no shame. He only knows how to place the blame” Remind you of anyone we know!? Although written all the way back in 1999, the song speaks a simple & sad truth still relevant today. An enduring veracity that spans time like any great folk song.
The last track “Horses” starts off with a loping groove that could maybe start some gritty western or noirish thriller & the enigmatic opening lines are quite haunting & surreal in a Dylanesque kind of way: “Cuckoo clock come and break the lock that guards my precious dreams. Pull me from a love affair between myself and me.” Once again I am enthralled by Bucking’s vocals that seem to get deeper & more soulful as the the show progresses. The grand finale is the the final chorus in which I can’t tell if there is hope or resignation or resignation that there is no hope. Either way I dig it. “Take me to the horses, I got nothin in my hand. Laid it down and I let it all go” Phew.
Live 2025 is twenty-three minutes and seven seconds well spent. Play it in the car on a gloomy day. Light up. Roll the windows down. Listen. Move. Think. It’s The Blues ladies & gentlemen. Pure & simple. & if you have been alive for awhile, you will get the drift. Hit repeat.
- Marc Delgado. June 16, 2025
Nice writeup of a solo show at Gallupville House:
ABOUT THE DEBUT ALBUM:
"Greg Bucking has delivered a multi-genre masterpiece"
-Indie Band Guru
"Greg Bucking Spreads His Roots With Solo Debut"
https://indiebandguru.com/greg-bucking/
"A little bit of pain, suffering and nostalgia sounds good on him."
-Matt Jensen, Pitch Perfect
https://www.pitchperfectsite.com/indie-music-album-reviews/greg-bucking-greg-bucking
"unique world of Roots groove where everything just feels right."
-Skope Mag
"Greg Bucking is Coming to Town"
https://skopemag.com/2021/12/24/greg-bucking-is-coming-to-town
"an explosive personal and sociopolitical narrative over six tracks that the rootsy emotional resonance feels like we just listened to 20."
-Jonathan Widran, JW Vibe
https://www.jwvibe.com/single-post/greg-bucking-greg-bucking
Interview with NO DEPRESSION magazine:
Interview with Greg Bucking of the Vine Brothers - No Depression