Tom Farley - Musician Showcase: Greg Wikle

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Musician Showcase: Greg Wikle

I consider my crossing paths with Greg Wikle as one of the most creative intersections in my musical career. Versatile, professional, genuine, focused, and fun: you have to look pretty hard these days to find artists who consistently demonstrate those qualities. His ability to consistently provide my original material with notable performances – either live or in the studio – brings us both a sense of accomplishment that keeps us looking forward to “the next time around”.

Greg currently plays electric guitar with Gina Dalmas and the Cow Tipping Playboys, and, mandolin with local bluegrass favorite More Perfect Jones. His live recordings showcased here are from the "By the Fence in the Sun" album (2016), The High Energy Acoustics Band: First Take album (2017)...part of an inspired one-time-only performance from an exceptional band...and the 2017 singles "Ten and Fourteen" and "Free Me: A Song About Addiction". In 2023, Greg and Tom collaborated on a new studio duet: "Say You Will"...with Greg on Electric Rhythm Guitar and Electric Lead Guitar, and Tom on Vocals and Loop Composition. As always...too much fun...

We met while working on a commercial with Bob Smith at Earworks Media in 2004. Bob needed an acoustic guitar pairing for a radio spot. He introduced me to Greg…told us what he was looking for…left the room for five minutes…and when he returned, Greg and I had the part ready to go. The link we made was immediate, and has been the foundation of our creative musical collaborations ever since.

For whatever reasons, Greg and I did not cross paths again until 2016 when I messaged him to see if he’d like to work on the title cut for my new album “By the Fence in the Sun”. I sent him the basic practice track – a vocal and an acoustic guitar. In a few weeks, he called and we set a date to record. He brought his mandolin. I had the studio set-up when he walked in the door. We talked a bit…tuned up…I set the levels…and with a 1-2-3, we recorded the song. No warm-up…no rehearsal. And it was perfect. What gave me the greatest joy was not just the fact that we nailed it on the first take, but that the moment would be preserved. Lots of remarkable musical moments with Greg...

Here are some of the finished recordings from our sessions that followed. Below is a listing of the songs, contributions, and links to albums and videos that make up this “Musician Showcase”...with a full preview playlist for you to enjoy and share this wonderful body of studio and live performances:

Studio and Live Recording Performances

“By the Fence in the Sun” – Mandolin

(By the Fence in the Sun)

“Mental Map Blues” – Rhythm and Lead Electric Guitar

(By the Fence in the Sun)

“You Ain’t Never” – Lead Electric Guitar

(By the Fence in the Sun)

“Free Me (A Song About Addiction)” – Rhythm and Lead Acoustic Guitar

(Reflections)

“Ten and Fourteen” – Rhythm Electric Guitar

(The Instrumentals)

“Fadeaway” (Live) – Rhythm and Lead Electric Guitar