Greg Koch | |
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Born | Gregory Koch 1966 (age 57–58) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Education | University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
Spouse | Sarah Koch |
Children | 4 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer-songwriter |
Instruments |
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Years active | 1978–present |
Labels |
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Website | gregkoch |
Signature | |
Greg Koch (born 1966) is an American guitarist from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. In April 2012 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation named Koch one of the top 10 unsung guitarists. In April 2023 The Wisconsin Area Music Industry announced that Koch would be inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame
Koch grew up in the Milwaukee area and began playing guitar at the age of 12. He was influenced by the guitarist and singer-songwriter Jimi Hendrix. [1] Koch was the youngest of seven children. He attended college for jazz performance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. [2]
Koch won first place in the 1989 Bluesbreaker Guitar Showdown judged by singer/guitar player Buddy Guy. [3] Koch has also played with Joe Bonamassa. Greg Koch is currently a Martin Guitar clinician. [4] In addition to playing guitar, Koch has authored many books on various guitar methods and styles. He also gives Skype guitar lessons and in 2020 Guitar World called him one of the 15 best guitar teachers. [5]
The group was formed as a trio that included guitar, bass, and drums. The original band members include journeyman drummer and vocalist Gary Koehler, bass and vocals Kevin Mushel, and Koch on six-string guitar and vocals. [6] Other members of the band include John Calarco on drums and Tom Goode on bass.
Koch and the Tone Controls won five Wisconsin Area Music Awards for Blues Artist of the Year (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998). [7]
Koch recorded a live album, Greg Koch and Other Bad Men Live on the Radio, with bass player Roscoe Beck, vocalist Malford Milligan and drummers John Calarco [8] and Tom Brechtlein. [9]
The Koch Marshall Trio is an instrumental organ/guitar trio established by Koch in 2017. The Trio includes Koch's son Dylan Koch on drums, Toby Lee Marshall on Hammond organ and Koch on guitar. The Koch Marshall Trio has signed a contract with the Mascot Label Group. They released their debut studio album, Toby Arrives , on February 23, 2018. [10] Toby Arrives was submitted for a Grammy nomination 2018. [11]
Koch works as a clinician for Fishman and Martin. In addition, Koch has his own signature amplifier The Greg, manufactured by the Koch Amplifier company. [12] Koch also has a signature guitar which was released in 2019 by Reverend Guitars, named the Greg Koch Signature Gristlemaster. The guitar colors were given somewhat humorous names like: Kochwork Orange, and Blucifer. [13]
Since 2011, Koch has made monthly promotional videos for Wildwood Guitars in Colorado. He has made approximately 4000 videos which have over 50 million views. [14] Koch released an acoustic album in December 2019. [15] The 38-minute album has 14 songs. [16] Also in 2019, Koch signed with True Grit Talent Agency. [17]
Koch has developed his own style of chicken picking on the guitar and has taught his method, referred to as hybrid picking. Koch uses a guitar pick held with the index finger and thumb of his right hand to pick the bass notes; he uses his other three fingers to pick the treble strings. [18]
In April 2012 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation named Koch one of the top 10 unsung guitarists. [19]
Koch's ability on the guitar has been admired by other guitarists. When guitar pioneer Les Paul had his 100th birthday celebration Koch was invited to play. [20] Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai praised his mastery over guitar and versatility in style. [21] [22]
In April 2023 The Wisconsin Area Music Industry announced that Koch would be inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame. [23]
Koch met his wife Sarah while he was attending college and together they have four children, two boys and two girls. Koch and his wife have been married since 1993. Their oldest son (Dylan Koch) is the drummer for Koch's band, The Koch Marshall Trio. Koch stands 6 feet 7 inches tall. [24] [25] [26]
Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies.
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Robben Lee Ford is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield, Little Feat, and Kiss. He was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.
William Rory Gallagher was an Irish musician and songwriter. He is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing, and is often referred to as "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of". A number of guitarists, including Alex Lifeson of Rush, Brian May of Queen, and Eric Clapton, have cited Gallagher as an influence. He was voted as guitarist of the year by Melody Maker magazine in 1972, and listed as the 57th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2015.
John Dawson Winter III was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances and slide guitar playing from the late 1960s into the early 2000s. He also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. After his time with Waters, Winter recorded several Grammy-nominated blues albums. In 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and in 2003, he was ranked 63rd in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
G&L is an American guitar manufacturing company founded by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Dale Hyatt in the late 1970s. G&L produces electric guitars and basses with designs based on some classic Fender instruments. The company also produces effects units. G&L's most notable player is Jerry Cantrell, vocalist and guitarist of Alice in Chains, having played several models of the guitar since the '80s, Cantrell also has his own signature Tribute Series Rampage and Superhawk. Cantrell can be seen playing a single-humbucker G&L Rampage in the music video for Alice in Chains' "Man In The Box".
Troy Stetina is an American guitarist and music educator with more than forty rock and metal instructional methods to his credit, and total sales currently over 1 million units. He was the director of Rock Guitar Studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and writer for GuitarOne magazine, and now teaches independently.
Jason Eli Becker is an American composer and guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988). Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut Perpetual Burn. He later joined David Lee Roth's solo band and recorded one album with him, A Little Ain't Enough.
William Frederick Gibbons is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist and primary vocalist of ZZ Top. He began his career in Moving Sidewalks, who recorded Flash (1969) and opened four dates for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969 and released ZZ Top's First Album in early 1971. He has also maintained a solo career in recent years, starting with his first album Perfectamundo (2015).
Robin Leonard Trower is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.
Willy Porter is a contemporary American rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mequon, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In April 2023 The Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) announced that Porter would be inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame.
The Marshall Bluesbreaker is the popular name given to the Models 1961 and 1962 guitar amplifiers made by Marshall from 1964/65 to 1972.
This is a list and description of the guitars and other equipment played by musician Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan played a number of Fender Stratocasters throughout his career, one of which, a 1963 body and a 1962 neck, became "the most famous battered Strat in rock history." He was notoriously hard on his guitars, and many of them required extensive periodic maintenance, as well as other equipment. He used a limited number of effect pedals, and favored Fender and Marshall amplification.
Koch Marshall Trio is a three piece band which formed in 2017 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The band consists of a guitar player, a drummer and a B3 organ player. The guitar player is Greg Koch who grew up in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. The drummer in the band is Dylan Koch. The B3 organ player is Toby Lee Marshall, from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Toby arrives is the debut studio album by American instrumental band Koch Marshall Trio. Released on February 23, 2018, the album has received praise from many reviewers.
Unrepentant is a studio album by American guitarist Greg Koch. Released April 24, 2017 just prior to the formation of his new band Koch Marshall Trio.
John Calarco is an American musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Calarco was drummer for many Milwaukee area bands. He also co-wrote and performed in several songs on the very successful Willy Porter album Dog Eared Dream and toured with Porter as his drummer. He has made an impact as a touring performer, band member, recording artist, session musician and song writer/producer.
Media related to Greg Koch at Wikimedia Commons