Greg Fair :: January 30th, 2009
This morning it warmed up just enough to get Greg and I up early for a Portrait Session! Well, not too early… and we went for breakfast instead of starting right away. Jim’s Restaurant is good, cheap and fast so we started our day right! Once we woke up a little, we headed over to the High Falls area of downtown Rochester! So much history, so much struggle to keep going… much like Old-Time music! We both had a blast just rambling around, doing what we do best. When I photograph Musicians, I enjoy a new level of my job because I feel like I am in my very own personal concert and the music gives me a soundtrack when looking through the images.
I met Greg last year when I was buying my first banjo, Betsy, from Bernunzio’s Uptown Music. While taking banjo lessons last winter, I became a fan of the Varnish Cooks and hit it off with Greg, their mandolin player. Skip forward a year, and now Greg owns Betsy, which I found out on Thanksgiving night when I went to see him play in the Dark Holler Duo!! I am so happy that she has a good home and I still get to play her every once in a while.
“Greg Fair is pursuing an American roots music revival in his home town of Rochester, NY. A multi-instrumentalist (mandolin, banjo, guitar, voice), he has a passion for old-time music, the music of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as well as early bluegrass, country, and honky tonk. He performs these traditions not according to a formula but with creativity and energy, drawing upon many diverse influences for his sound. While he offers his own interpretation of the music, the essence of the traditions is not lost. Greg proudly roots himself in what has come before and is able to capture the mystery, joy, grit, and sorrow that is at the heart of American roots music.”
