Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Greg Herriges. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Greg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Having lived both the artistic/creative and regular workaday lives, I can say without a doubt that I am happier creating. The experiences of day jobs helped equip me for supporting myself as an artist, which is more meaningful and fulfilling in every way.

When I was just starting my latest phase as a self-employed musician, I learned that almost half of my time would be spent doing non-musical things: booking, promoting, grant writing, web site management, accounting, etc. It was daunting and frustrating. I even took a temporary day job to take the pressure off myself. And there I was again, sitting at someone else’s computer and doing work that I felt made no difference in the world and sapped my creative energy. I weighed the options: I could continue doing mundane administrative work for someone else, learning new technical skills that would support the interests of an employer; or I could do it to support my own art. I can do it with a sense of purpose, knowing that every moment I spend working is helping to bring some benefit to the world and creative fulfillment to myself. It’s a job for which I pay myself, and the music I create and share with the world brings ineffable returns. I will never go back.

Greg, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I compose and perform what I call “progressive whirled music” on guitar, bouzouki, vocal, and various other instruments. I also play and direct music for theater and dance groups, collaborate with other musicians, and write instructional music books. As a composer, I like to integrate influences from the many cultural traditions and natural sources that inspire me. Currently I’m doing a lot of solo gigs, playing live accompaniment for Wisdom Dances, and performing with my “world-prog power trio,” Terminal Three.

With a background in art-rock and fingerstyle guitar, I spent my early days in rock bands, living the starving-artist life and creating some very dark, experimental music that I’m still very proud of. I went on to study ethnomusicology, with a focus on Indian, Indonesian, and East Asian classical traditions. This inspired me as a composer and laid a great foundation for my current endeavors. I also spent some time as an editor/producer of instructional music books and multimedia for Hal Leonard Publishing, then went freelance and started writing my own books, specializing in world music for guitar.

My musical career since then has blossomed in three branches. I still write books, and do theater/dance music, but the main focus is the creation & performance of new music that integrates all the influences I’ve gleaned in my half-lifetime of music-making. My specialty instruments are guitar and bouzouki (a Greek lute that lends itself to lots of different genres), but I also play keyboards and percussion, and sometimes I work with others from Indian, Balkan, East Asian, and many other traditions. The results are unique, maybe evocative of something “exotic” or “worldly,” but never culturally appropriating.

I started to feel really validated as an artist when I received a Bush Foundation composer fellowship, the first of many grants and awards I’ve gotten over the last decade or so. Minnesota is a great place to make music, where artists are awarded and cultivated by the Legacy amendment and philanthropic foundations. So far I’ve released four CDs under my name and collaborated on many more. I perform mostly around the Midwest, and I’ve been lucky enough to play occasional gigs in Western Europe.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I am most rewarded when I know that my music has contributed something positive to the listener. It’s easy to feel like you are working inside a bubble, creating for the sake of creating, until you hear from someone else that you have made their day better, helped them get through something emotionally challenging, provided a cathartic experience, helped them dance their worries away, or even inspired their own creativity. It took me a long time to realize that art is vitally important in society, and what I do makes a difference in the world.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

In a word, create. I want to create something new out of all the influences and experiences that have seeped through me. I always learn new things via the traditional music I’ve studied, but I am more satisfied playing original music than I am playing existing trad tunes. I think creating is an essential part of the human experience, and everyone does it in different ways. Mine is musical. It can happen in a moment of improvisation, or in the most arranged and thought-out composition. It is an especially profound experience when shared with an audience who are taking part in the creative act as listeners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gregherriges.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregherriges
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/gregherrigesmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GregHerriges
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/gregherriges
• Soundcloud: https://Soundcloud.com/greg-herriges
• Other: sites.google.com/view/terminalthree
  facebook.com/TerminalThreeMusic

Image Credits

Rebecca Goodwyn
Heidi Mae Niska