Jonathan Gregg


Jonathan Gregg is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who plays pedal steel, guitar, and dobro. Based in New York City, he is a founding member of ambient country pioneers SUSS; he also led Jonathan Gregg & the Lonesome Debonaires and The Combine, and, with Kevin Johnson, co-led alt-country band The Linemen.

Early life

Jonathan Gregg was born and raised in New York City, where he lived until the age of 14, when his family moved upstate to Poughkeepsie, NY. He attended Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and in 1977 graduated from Brown University with a degree in French. He returned to New York in 1981.

Career

1979–1985

Gregg led two bands in college, the Lonesome Debonaires and Guns Galore, the latter of which included saxophonist Ken Field. In 1979, he joined the New Wave band the Mundanes, led by bandleader/guitarist/songwriter John Andrews. The Mundanes also included keyboardist John Linnell, who went on to form They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh. The band won the first WBRU Rock Hunt in 1980 and released an indie single that charted on WBCN. They played throughout New England, opening for artists including the Ramones, Talking Heads, Joe Jackson and the B-52's, and appeared on Boston's WGBH-TV.
In 1981, the Mundanes moved to New York, at which point Linnell and drummer Kevin Tooley left the band, and Gregg began to take on a more prominent songwriting role. The band recorded a demo produced by Mick Ronson in 1982.
Gregg then played guitar with various groups, including The Egyptians, who were managed by CBGB owner Hilly Kristal and opened for Spinal Tap; Lonesome Val, winner of the Musician best song contest in 1985; and Life in a Blender, whose first album was produced by Chris Butler of The Waitresses.

1985–2000

In 1985 Gregg formed a new version of Jonathan Gregg & the Lonesome Debonaires that included John Linnell on accordion before settling on a permanent lineup of Michael McMahon, Chris Smylie and Ken Meyer.
Jonathan Gregg & the Lonesome Debonaires released their first album, Blue on Blonde, in 1992, on the JAGDISC label. Described as "clever and intellectual," the album was a critical success. Rolling Stone compared Gregg to Dave Edmunds and Albert Lee and called him a "triple threat" based on his guitar playing, singing and songwriting. Stereo Review Magazine compared the band to Dire Straits, and Gregg to John Hiatt and Tom Verlaine of Television. Allmusic compared Gregg to Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention and Elvis Costello. The band toured with They Might Be Giants and appeared on Vin Scelsa’s radio show, Idiot's Delight.
Two other well-received releases ensued, Unconditional in 1994 and The Hardest Goodbye in 1998, but Chris Smylie was offered the bass chair for the Broadway musical The Full Monty and it was decided that the band had run its course. They played their last show in March 2000.

2000–present

In 2000, Gregg decided to focus full-time on pedal steel guitar. He made a pilgrimage to Nashville to study with the late Jeff Newman, and has since played frequently as a session musician and sideman, most notably as a longtime member of The Doc Marshalls. Gregg filmed a series of pedal steel instructional videos for Howcast, leading to over 100,000 hits worldwide through Howcast site and its distributed videos on YouTube. In 2020, he was featured in a profile of six modern pedal steel players on Reverb.com. He currently gives lessons from his New York apartment. He has also performed onstage and/or recorded with Eric Lindell, Bob Woodruff (singer), Eric Brace and Last Train Home, Jesse Malin, Jim Petrie, Emily Duff and Cliff Westfall.
In 2011, he formed an instrumental group, The Combine, with veteran New York musicians Josh Kaufman, drummer Brian Kantor and bassist Terence Murren. He also started playing dobro with bluegrass ensemble The Crusty Gentlemen.
In 2013, Gregg teamed up with Kevin Royal Johnson to form a new version of The Linemen, with D.C. veterans Antoine Sanfuentes, Scott McKnight and Bill Williams. Johnson and Gregg knew each other since the '90s, when their bands shared bills. Their first — and only — album, titled Close the Place Down, featured songs written by Johnson and Gregg, individually and together, with both as featured vocalists. The record was released in 2016 and rose to Number 50 on the Americana (music) charts. It was recorded at Brooklyn Recording Studios by Andy Taub and mixed by producer/engineer John Alagia and Promise, which both appeared in best-of lists for their respective years.

Discography

As bandleader or co-leader

;With Jonathan Gregg & the Lonesome DebonairesBlue on Blonde – on JAGDISCUnconditional – on JAGDISCThe Hardest Goodbye – on JAGDISC
;With The LinemenClose the Place Down – on SAM Records

As band member/sideman/session player

;With The Mundanes
  • Make It the Same 3-song EP – on Portable
;Life in a Blender
  • Welcome to the Jelly Days – on Fake Doom Records
;Kevin Johnson
  • Sunday Driver
;Chris Rael
;Edward Rogers
;The Doc Marshalls
;Deena
  • Somewhere in Blue Rock River
;Arty Hill
;Mark Cutler
  • Sweet Pain
;Runner of the Woods
  • Thirsty Valley
;George Usher
Jim Petrie
  • Perfect on Paper
Emily Duff
  • Maybe in the Morning
;SUSS
  • Ghost Box 2018
  • Ghost Box – on Northern Spy
  • High Line – on Northern Spy
  • Promise – on Northern Spy