Gregory Grene
Encyclopedia
Gregory Grene is a musician and teacher based in New York City
, who grew up between Chicago
and County Cavan, Ireland. He is the son of classicist David Grene
.
With his band The Prodigals, he writes and plays a style of music that melds Irish traditional and rock
influences, and he has also recorded a solo album, FlipSides (2008), with musicians ranging from John Doyle
, former guitarist with Solas, to Tony Cedras, a multi-instrumentalist who has played in Paul Simon
's band since the Graceland
tour. Grene's music has received notable critical acclaim over the years, was included in the Rough Guide to Irish Music compilation, and was featured in the soundtrack for Pride and Glory
, a movie starring Ed Norton
, Colin Farrell
, Jon Voight
and Noah Emmerich
, as well as on television in the ABC show Mercy
and the FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
.
He currently teaches English literature at the upper school of Saddle River Day School. He also previously worked as Director of Music for the New York advertising agency Draftfcb, and in that capacity recorded tracks ranging from reggae
in Kingston
to the Beatles
tracks and symphonic music in Abbey Road, and has spoken on Shoot and Billboard
music industry panels in Los Angeles
and Las Vegas
.
Prior to his musical work, Grene worked as an actor, appearing in both regional and Broadway theater, and in independent film
.
Grene's beloved twin brother, Andrew Grene, died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
while working for the United Nations
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, who grew up between Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and County Cavan, Ireland. He is the son of classicist David Grene
David Grene
David Grene was a professor of classics at the University of Chicago from 1937 until his death. He was a co-founder of the Committee on Social Thought and is best known for his translations of ancient Greek literature.-Life:...
.
With his band The Prodigals, he writes and plays a style of music that melds Irish traditional and rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
influences, and he has also recorded a solo album, FlipSides (2008), with musicians ranging from John Doyle
John Doyle (musician)
John Doyle is an Irish musician and songwriter. For four years he served as acoustic guitarist with the Irish/American band Solas. He is now an active solo artist...
, former guitarist with Solas, to Tony Cedras, a multi-instrumentalist who has played in Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's band since the Graceland
Graceland
Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
tour. Grene's music has received notable critical acclaim over the years, was included in the Rough Guide to Irish Music compilation, and was featured in the soundtrack for Pride and Glory
Pride and Glory
Pride and Glory is Zakk Wylde's first self-fronted album. It has more of a Southern rock sound than Zakk Wylde's other albums incorporating the likes of banjo, harmonica and mandolin....
, a movie starring Ed Norton
Ed Norton
Edward Norton is an American actor.Edward Norton may also refer to:*Edward Norton , MP for Carlisle and Haslemere*Edward Felix Norton , British army officer and mountaineer...
, Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
and Noah Emmerich
Noah Emmerich
Noah Nicholas Emmerich is an American film actor who first broke out in the film Beautiful Girls. He was later seen in movies like The Truman Show, Cop Land, Frequency, Love & Sex, Windtalkers, Miracle, Super 8 and Little Children.-Early life:Emmerich was born in New York City to a Jewish family,...
, as well as on television in the ABC show Mercy
Mercy
Mercy is broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts.The concept of a "Merciful God" appears in various religions from Christianity to...
and the FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
.
He currently teaches English literature at the upper school of Saddle River Day School. He also previously worked as Director of Music for the New York advertising agency Draftfcb, and in that capacity recorded tracks ranging from reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
to the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
tracks and symphonic music in Abbey Road, and has spoken on Shoot and Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
music industry panels in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Prior to his musical work, Grene worked as an actor, appearing in both regional and Broadway theater, and in independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
.
Grene's beloved twin brother, Andrew Grene, died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
while working for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.