Before I began playing the guitar, I studied the violin. Peer pressure led me to the guitar. Early on I listened to all the standard prog rock, but very little blues or jazz or even pop stuff for that matter. My musical tastes really changed when my older brother turned me on to a few albums including: Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Inner Mounting Flame and King Crimson, Larks Tongue and Aspic. That set me down a jazz fusion path for quite some time. There was something unpredictable and intricate about this music.
In 1989, I won a guitar performance contest hosted by D’Addario Strings in which musicians were invited to submit a 30-60 second guitar solo. I did a 58 1/2 second version of a piece called 61 Wiggins Street (which is where I was living in Princeton), mailed in the tape and pretty much forgot about it. A year went by and I think it was the day before Thanksgiving that they called me and said, “you won.” I was asked to visit and to prove that it was me who played the solo. The prizes included a very special electric guitar built by the guy who does Steve Vai and Joe Satriani’s axes. Cool stuff. But I entered the contest with a piece performed on an acoustic guitar. After a little huddle on the D’Addario side, they asked, “will you use that guitar?” I answered, “no, I probably won't”. So they decided my prize would be a trip to the NAMM convention in California to play at their booth (this was a much better prize). They told me to play and during breaks, “just go find a guitar (smile) and we’ll pick up the tab.” Awesome. I met Richard Hoover of the Santa Cruz Guitar Company and played what I still believe to be some of the most amazing instruments made today. After the D’Addario scene, I produced a video of 61 Wiggins Street. This launched me into a semi-pro opening act mode.
I’ve opened for many great solo acts and bands: Taj Mahal, John Gorka, Patti Larkin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lynn Myles, Iris Dement, Dave VanRonk, John Hammond Jr. and Johnny Cash.
Nowadays, I listen to everything, especially blues, jazz and drumming-- really eclectic. I like the interplay, syncopation and layering of trio and quartet music where amazing things happen with minimum instrumentation. I got a good taste of Delta blues when opening for John Hammond Jr. (twice). He banged out some of the most soulful music I had ever heard. While I do listen to lots of guitarists, many of my influences are percussionists and drummers. Sometimes I think I’m a drummer trapped in a guitarist’s body.

I got involved with film through working with The Hooters on the design of their album cover, Out of Body.

I collaborated with the band and Bo Bartlett who was then working with Andrew Wyeth.

I wrote the theme for a documentary of Andrew Wyeth called Snow Hill. It was based on a folk melody that I remember hearing on an old Sing-Out record. Also with Bo, I worked on an autobiographical film, Heartland. Bo is an amazing artist to have collaborated with.

Currently, I am producing and shooting new music videos. The moving picture is such a great way to capture what I do. The first of the new pieces is called Trenton, where I'm currently living. The transitional old neighborhood in Chambersburg is full of sounds and on one particular day I heard at least three latino family parties, all blasting their music in a war of claves. The next morning, I wrote Trenton, inspired by what I had heard.

Intricate yet simple and unpredictable music for the guitar.

Contact/Booking
Greg Merkle
www.merkleworks.com
609 240 3435
greg@merkleworks.com