Greg Evigan – A Different Kind of Leading Role

PopEntertainment

48 minutes ago

2 min read

Greg Evigan

A Different Kind of Leading Role

by Ronald Sklar

Greg Evigan remembers the moment his music suddenly became bigger than himself. Inside London’s Abbey Road Studios, the musicians were tuning, the clock was ticking, and the familiar pieces he had developed at the piano were about to acquire an entirely new dimension.

“All of a sudden, raise the baton, and jeez, we’re off to the races,” he recalls.

For audiences who know Greg from B.J. and the Bear and My Two Dads, his orchestral project reveals a less familiar side of a familiar personality. His album, Greg Evigan with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, brings together eight original compositions. Behind it is a musician whose enthusiasm remains unmistakable – and whose easygoing manner conceals considerable discipline.

The adventure began when conductor and arranger Joe Curiale heard some of Greg’s piano pieces and suggested recording at Abbey Road. Greg hadn’t assembled a complete album. He had music, fragments, and the willingness to find out where they might lead.

Then came two concentrated months of writing. Starting with roughly three pieces, he developed five more, gathering ideas and turning them into a coherent project. The opportunity was exciting, but the expectations he felt were largely his own.

“My pressure is always with myself,” he says. “My pressure is always with getting things done, getting things finished, embarking on something.”

At Abbey Road, wonder had to coexist with practical demands. The orchestra sessions amounted to six hours across two days: four pieces each day, with little room for distraction. Greg could appreciate the building’s extraordinary musical history, but he also had to deliver.

“You never stop thinking about what took place under that roof,” he says.

That combination of awe and work ethic runs through his story. Growing up in Sayreville, New Jersey, Greg benefited from a school arts program that took its students seriously, even bringing in professional choreographers from New York. Meanwhile, local rock bands gave him opportunities to sing, perform, and experiment with original songs.

Music preceded television. Piano lessons began at eight, introducing him to classical repertoire long before viewers recognized his face. After high school, professional performing arrived quickly.

“I went from a school bus to a tour bus,” he says.

He acknowledges luck without confusing it with readiness. Opportunities mattered because he had spent years preparing to meet them.

Today, the piano remains both a favorite instrument and a demanding companion. Traveling means returning home to reacquaint himself with his own compositions. He wants accurate written scores to preserve the way he plays them, and he already has enough additional material to contemplate another orchestral recording.

“I just consider myself a writer at this point,” he says.

There is warmth and humor in Greg’s conversation, but also urgency. Promoting the album, mastering distribution, and maintaining the music require sustained attention. He sounds less interested in resting on recognition than in making something that can outlast the moment.

“With whatever time I got left, man,” he says, “that’s what I look at. Do the music that I wrote.”

Find out more about Greg here.

Purchase Greg’s music here.

Follow Greg on Instagram and Facebook.