We recently connected with Greg Dallas and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Since transitioning to being a full time musician I definitely feel happier overall in comparison to the many years of coffee shops and other random day jobs! For the most part it is more difficult though, mostly for the inconsistency. Some months it feels like I’m making a killing because there’s just so many gigs, and other times I am barely scraping by. But getting paid to play guitar…that’s just wacky. I’m glad that’s what I do now, and it’s exactly what I’ve been working towards for well over a decade.

Having said that, I am not sure this is necessarily what I’m going to do forever, but music and art will always be a part of my life. I think the day I stop completely is the day I stop living anyways. I can imagine myself doing certain “regular jobs,” or other jobs in music that are unrelated to performing. If I were to pursue a regular job, it would probably be therapy. Music therapist would definitely be a smooth transition!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a freelance guitarist based in St. Louis. I mostly like to play jazz, but I dabble in nearly every style of music. I make a point of never turning down a gig based on the genre alone. I try my best to adapt to every situation, so I’ll find myself playing rock, funk, pop, country, avant-garde and hopefully some more in the future. I also produce music at home, mostly ambient music. Right now I am working on an album of ambient music for a meditation app called Kaura! I am hoping to move more in this direction in the future because I want to be able to work from home. The gigging life is very tiring and I’m sure that will only be more true as time goes on!

I am fortunate to be a part of many musical projects and bands in St. Louis. I think the ones that I am most proud to be a part of are The Dhoruba Collective, El Draco + Freenation (congrats to Eldraco for the artist residency at The Kranzberg Arts Foundation!), and The Buttery Biscuit Band. I am currently working on building myself up as an artist, rather than as a side man, so be on the look out for the Greg Dallas Trio or Quartet!

On the side I also like to paint. I started during the pandemic and actually stopped playing guitar altogether at the time. I needed a break, but painting allowed me to continue being creative and I think opened up some new neural pathways when it came time to pick up the guitar again!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A few months ago I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system. I began chemotherapy in late September, but the music continues! I still gig regularly. Around 2-4 times a week. I am little bit more picky about which gigs I take but for the most part I have continued my normal gigging schedule, and I teach guitar lessons on the side as well. The timing of the diagnoses is pretty much the worst possible, as I have been on constant a trajectory with my career for the past year and a half, but I persist and I think my trajectory continues, and I’ll be back to normal as soon as I’m done with the treatment. Nothing stops the music. Nothing!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artists is when a listener tells you how your music made them feel. One time someone told me that when they listen to my play, all of “their problems just melt away,” and that really meant a lot to me, to the point where I started to tear up!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gregdallas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregdallasgregdallas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregdallasmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/

Image Credits
Alexander Joseph