Musician Jackie Greene, 45, is a bit older than when he started playing bars at 14, but nothing is slowing him down. Nothing except wanting to spend more time with his wife and children. Most of the time in the evenings, after the kids are asleep, Greene is in the back room with his headphones on, tinkering away at new gems of songs. It’s the American Dream.
“It’s my American Dream, anyway,” says Greene in transit to yet another gig. “I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I like going on the road, but I like being a family man too. There’s a balance that has to be struck, and I’m constantly trying to find that. But I do better and better, as I get older.
In certain circles, Greene is seen as being woven out of the same material as some of the first people that he toured with. A tireless work ethic was something Greene learned on the road.
“My first tours were with really old school folks, like B.B. King and Buddy Guy,” Green begins. “They knew how to work. Everyone I really respect has that same mentality. Warren Haynes is a great example. Nobody works more than that guy, as far as I know. There’s something about performing that’s a privilege. I just always felt that you should do it while you can do it.”
And while life on the road is exhilarating, Greene is in a new place where he’s determined to strike a balance between public and personal. This came about when Greene found refuge and acceptance into the Terrapin Family, born out of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh’s dream of a venue where he and his friends could play as much as they wanted, while keeping family nearby.
“I’ve been very lucky. Bob (Weir) was a good example. And Phil was also a good example of having a good balance. At the end of the day, they were both wonderful family men. They had that portion of their life, as well as the musical portion of their life. That’s a good model for me,” Greene relates.
The Salinas-born son blasted out of anonymity over 24 years ago with the hit song Gone Wanderin’. It was initially radio stations KPIG and KFOG that played the track at a steady rate, where its infectious melody and refrain wormed its way into everyone’s earhole.
Since that initial blast, Greene had an amazing career trajectory. Touring with Susan Tedeschi, Taj Mahal, and leading up to his world tour with The Black Crowes, replacing Luther Dickinson on lead guitar and vocals. Not to mention his Joan Osborne supergroup, Trigger Hippy. But with age comes changes, emotionally and physically.
“I actually do vocal warm-ups now, which I never did before. I actually feel like that helps me out, “ Greene says. “I’m always playing. So, I’m not really particularly practicing. There are instruments in every room in my house and there’s always time to play. I don’t really practice unless I feel like I need to. Unless there’s something like tonight, we’re doing something a little different. We got a little jazz combo, upright bass, piano, so we worked on that stuff. But my main modus operandi is just writing songs. I’m taking my time at this point to make sure the record’s right, the way I want to do it, and what I want to say, and how I want to say it, and all that. I don’t try to push it.”
One thing that stands out about Greene’s career, is his virtuosity with different sub-genres of rock. His vocal ability to mutate into a murderer on a ballad, his innate sixth sense to enter the jam band world with confidence, and the moves (and look) to rockstar out on power chord row. Nowadays, Greene is looking to find the balance between public and private.
“This next record is called, Welcome to the Family. I go between calling it Jackie Greene’s Family Album and Welcome to the Family. It’sthematically family-related stuff. I’m pulling from that heavy right now,” Greene concludes.
On Friday, January 30 and Saturday, 31, Jackie Greene will be at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, at 9pm. Tickets are $30 adv/$35 door. More info at moesalley.com
