User:Gregboerner/Greg Boerner

Make no mistake...Greg Boerner is a straight-shootin', clean livin' guitarist/singer/songwriter who performs like some kind of a road-hardened guitar maniac on one song, a 1950's pop idol on another, a Southern troubadour on the next - and at last blows you out of the galaxy with an antique blues tune that might well give John Lee Hooker pause.

Today at a young 42, Greg Boerner ( pronounced "Burner" ) shows a musical maturity that favors traditional forms of blues, folk, country, roots rock n' roll and all that comes between. His songwriting reflects this eclectic mix and Boerner cites Ray Charles, Tom Waits, Willie Dixon, Mose Allison, J.J. Cale, Bob Dylan and Willis Alan Ramsey as a few of his influences. Audiences feel quite at ease with where he takes them - as if they are being taken to an old familiar place, but by way of a Southern backroad that only Boerner knows. His "blues based" performances are immaculate, emotional and convincing, standing proudly on the shoulders of B.B. King, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and all the giants that have come before.

Boerner hasn't always been an acoustic solo performer. He was a much sought after sideman with an electric guitar steeped in traditional blues and roots rock n' roll. At 18, he was touring the Southeast playing the cool rockabilly of Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent and Elvis as if he had been born to it. Through the years he found his singing and songwriting were being appreciated as much as his potent Stratocaster. Countless bands, gigs and hot licks later, he arrived on the solo scene, discovering the simple and straightforward pleasures of just a voice and guitar.

But the rock n' roll attitude of those younger days has never left him. It is the very thing that separates him from the majority of singer/songwriters who offer an audience a pleasant "folk" experience - but little more. Boerner's audiences, on the other hand, are quite used to him expending more energy and passion playing one song than most of us are born with. Like most great musicians with something to say, Greg Boerner plays and sings as if his life depends on it...it does.

Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Greg Boerner now lives in Naperville, IL (Chicagoland) with his beautiful new wife Rebecca and near his 15-year old son Jake. In addition to his three cd's, his music can be heard in several independent films and he can be seen performing at clubs, coffee houses, listening rooms, house concerts and festivals. He has opened shows for Leon Russell, Patty Larkin, Willy Porter, Bill Morrissey, Chris Smither, Maria Muldaur, Pierce Pettis, Robbie Fulks, Gove Scrivenor, Wayne Toups and Tinsley Ellis.