Greg Sage
Encyclopedia
Greg Sage was the principal songwriter
, guitarist
, and vocalist for the influential Portland
, Oregon
-based punk rock
band Wipers
. Greg Sage's first recording was on the pro-wrestler Beauregarde
's full length album, released in 1971 (reissued by Jackpot Records in 2004). He met Beauregarde, recorded and played with him when he was only 17. Sage's dark lyrics are rife with references to confusion and severe alienation. His songs took unexpected turns and are typified by fractured melodic passages punctuated by massive, clean, intricate guitar parts. Sage operates his own label, Zeno Records (based in Phoenix, Arizona
) and has also recorded several albums as a solo musician. He also builds his own music equipment and built his own studio. Despite being right-handed, Greg Sage plays guitar left-handed. His instruments of choice are Gibson SG
s.
Greg Sage's first instrument was bass guitar, because of the low tones that made larger grooves in the vinyl records due to slower modulations. Basses were harder to find and much more expensive when Sage was in grade school, so he used guitar instead.
started as only a recording project. The plan was to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promotion. Sage thought that the mystique built from the lack of playing traditional rock & roll would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures, interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity.
It was difficult to fulfill this idea: most labels did not want to accept the band's music. Sage learned that it is almost impossible to be a true artist in the sense of the meaning he started off with, and that survival meant learning to compromise.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and vocalist for the influential Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Wipers
Wipers
The Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. Wipers were one of the earliest American purveyors of the genre, and the group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion has been hailed as extremely...
. Greg Sage's first recording was on the pro-wrestler Beauregarde
Beauregarde
Beauregarde, is a former pro wrestler and musician from Portland, Oregon in the United States.-Career:...
's full length album, released in 1971 (reissued by Jackpot Records in 2004). He met Beauregarde, recorded and played with him when he was only 17. Sage's dark lyrics are rife with references to confusion and severe alienation. His songs took unexpected turns and are typified by fractured melodic passages punctuated by massive, clean, intricate guitar parts. Sage operates his own label, Zeno Records (based in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
) and has also recorded several albums as a solo musician. He also builds his own music equipment and built his own studio. Despite being right-handed, Greg Sage plays guitar left-handed. His instruments of choice are Gibson SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
s.
Early years
Sage had an affinity for music and recording from a young age."I think I got that concept early on as a kid. I was very lucky to have my own professional record cutting lathe when I was in 7th grade due to my father being involved in the broadcast industry. I would cut records for friends at school of songs off the radio and learned the art of record making long before learning to play music. I would spend countless hours studying the grooves I would cut under the microscope that was attached to the lathe and loved the way music looked, moved and modulated within the thin walls. I might have spent too much time studying music through a microscope because it gave me a completely different outlook on what music is and a totally opposite understanding of it as well. There was something very magical and private when I zoomed into the magnified and secret world of sound in motion. I got to the point that I needed to create and paint my own sounds and colors into the walls of these grooves."
Greg Sage's first instrument was bass guitar, because of the low tones that made larger grooves in the vinyl records due to slower modulations. Basses were harder to find and much more expensive when Sage was in grade school, so he used guitar instead.
Trap label
After several years of playing and recording guitar he felt he wanted to do something different in music, and being labeled as a band seemed to be the first tradition and standard he should try to avoid. He wanted to make his own recordings and manufacture and run his own label himself without anyone else's financing to keep it as pure as possible. In 1979, Sage approached several Portland punk bands and asked them to record singles for his new Trap label. Some of those early bands were The Stiphnoyds, The Neo Boys and Sado Nation. Sage later re-released some of the material on a compilation record entitled The History Of Portland Punk.The Wipers
The idea behind the WipersWipers
The Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. Wipers were one of the earliest American purveyors of the genre, and the group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion has been hailed as extremely...
started as only a recording project. The plan was to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promotion. Sage thought that the mystique built from the lack of playing traditional rock & roll would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures, interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity.
It was difficult to fulfill this idea: most labels did not want to accept the band's music. Sage learned that it is almost impossible to be a true artist in the sense of the meaning he started off with, and that survival meant learning to compromise.
Solo discography
- Straight AheadStraight Ahead (Greg Sage album)Straight Ahead is the debut solo album of Wipers frontman Greg Sage. It was released in 1985. Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis covered the song "On the Run" on his 1996 solo album, Martin + Me.-Track listing:#"Straight Ahead"#"Soul's Tongue"...
(1985) - Sacrifice (For Love)Sacrifice (For Love)Sacrifice is the second solo release of Wipers frontman Greg Sage. It was recorded and released in 1991.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Greg Sage unless otherwise noted.#"Stay by Me"#"Sacrifice "#"Know by Now"#"Forever"...
(1991) - Electric Medicine (2001)