Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the influential Portland, Oregon-based band Wipers.
Greg Sage
Birth name
Greg Sage
Born
(1951-10-21) October 21, 1951 (age 71) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Greg Sage was born in Portland, Oregon, on October 21, 1951. His involvement with music began with cutting records at home as an adolescent, due to his father being involved in the broadcast industry.[1] 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.[2]
Sage has been involved in music professionally since the age of 17, when he worked on a full-length album by the professional wrestler Beauregarde (Beauregard, 1971; re-released 2004). After several years of playing and recording guitar, Sage founded Wipers in Portland in 1977.[2]
The mood of Sage's lyrics is frequently dark, and rife with references to confusion and severe alienation. His song structures often take unexpected turns and are typified by fractured melodic passages punctuated by massive, intricate guitar parts, and use of heavy distortion.[3] He usually plays on a 1969 left-handed Gibson SG with attached Bigsby tremolo.[4][5]
In 1977, Sage founded the Wipers. The name was inspired by a job he had picked up cleaning windows at a movie theatre; the crystal clear transparency of the glass was what he realized he wanted to emulate with his music. Its inception was at first an exclusive recording project. Then Sage planned to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promoting. He believed it would be possible to avoid live shows, press, pictures and interviews, and this – coupled with the mystique of his unorthodox music – would encourage a deeper, more imaginative engagement with the recordings.[4][6]
In 1979, Sage established his own record label, Trap, and asked several Portland punk bands to record singles. 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.
Solo career
Since the demise of Wipers, Sage has also recorded several albums as a solo musician and operates his own label, Zeno Records, based in Phoenix, Arizona where he currently resides.[1]
– Greg says he was 17 when he met Beauregarde in 1969.
References
^ abHann, Michael (January 22, 2015). "Cult heroes: Wipers – the sound of emptiness and dread". Theguardian.com.
^ abGreg Sage. . Zenorecords.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
^Rabid, Jack (December 30, 2019). "Greg Sage Is Living In The Land of the Lost". Rock and Roll Globe. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
^ abMcMurray, Jacob (May 23, 2011). Book:Taking Punk to the Masses 'From Nowhere to Nevermind. ISBN9781606994337. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
^"Greg Sage of Zeno Studios and The Wipers". tapeop.com. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
^. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
March 05, 2023
greg, sage, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, potential. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Greg Sage news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Greg Sage born October 21 1951 is an American songwriter guitarist and vocalist regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post punk artists Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist guitarist of the influential Portland Oregon based band Wipers Greg SageBirth nameGreg SageBorn 1951 10 21 October 21 1951 age 71 Portland Oregon U S OriginPortland Oregon U S GenresPunk rock post punkOccupation s Musician songwriter record producerInstrument s Vocals guitarYears active1977 presentLabelsEnigma Records Restless Zeno Records Jackpot Records Contents 1 Early years 2 Wipers 3 Solo career 4 Discography 4 1 Solo albums 4 2 with Wipers 5 External links 6 ReferencesEarly years EditGreg Sage was born in Portland Oregon on October 21 1951 His involvement with music began with cutting records at home as an adolescent due to his father being involved in the broadcast industry 1 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 2 Sage has been involved in music professionally since the age of 17 when he worked on a full length album by the professional wrestler Beauregarde Beauregard 1971 re released 2004 After several years of playing and recording guitar Sage founded Wipers in Portland in 1977 2 The mood of Sage s lyrics is frequently dark and rife with references to confusion and severe alienation His song structures often take unexpected turns and are typified by fractured melodic passages punctuated by massive intricate guitar parts and use of heavy distortion 3 He usually plays on a 1969 left handed Gibson SG with attached Bigsby tremolo 4 5 Wipers EditMain article Wipers In 1977 Sage founded the Wipers The name was inspired by a job he had picked up cleaning windows at a movie theatre the crystal clear transparency of the glass was what he realized he wanted to emulate with his music Its inception was at first an exclusive recording project Then Sage planned to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promoting He believed it would be possible to avoid live shows press pictures and interviews and this coupled with the mystique of his unorthodox music would encourage a deeper more imaginative engagement with the recordings 4 6 In 1979 Sage established his own record label Trap and asked several Portland punk bands to record singles 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 Solo career EditSince the demise of Wipers Sage has also recorded several albums as a solo musician and operates his own label Zeno Records based in Phoenix Arizona where he currently resides 1 Discography EditSolo albums Edit Straight Ahead 1985 Sacrifice For Love 1991 with Wipers Edit Is This Real 1980 Youth of America 1981 Over the Edge 1983 Land of the Lost 1986 Follow Blind 1987 The Circle 1988 Silver Sail 1993 The Herd 1996 Power in One 1999 External links EditThe Wipers official homepage Greg Sage at TapeOp com Wayback Machine Greg says he was 17 when he met Beauregarde in 1969 References Edit a b Hann Michael January 22 2015 Cult heroes Wipers the sound of emptiness and dread Theguardian com a b Greg Sage The Wipers history Zenorecords com Archived from the original on May 15 2008 Retrieved June 11 2008 Rabid Jack December 30 2019 Greg Sage Is Living In The Land of the Lost Rock and Roll Globe Retrieved July 18 2020 a b McMurray Jacob May 23 2011 Book Taking Punk to the Masses From Nowhere to Nevermind ISBN 9781606994337 Retrieved February 27 2020 Greg Sage of Zeno Studios and The Wipers tapeop com Retrieved July 18 2020 Smokebox Interview with Greg Sage Archived from the original on July 16 2007 Retrieved May 3 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Greg Sage amp oldid 1109478440, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
