Bone cracker. Bassist. Guitarist. Vocalist. Author. This edition of Fistful of Questions goes out to Greg Green of Burnt Sherpa.
What is your full name?
Greg Green
Do you have any aliases?
Doc G (I’m a chiropractor by day, and that’s what they call me at the clinic).
What bands are you actively involved with?
Right now, it’s only Burnt Sherpa, although I played bass for, and was a founding member of, Mr. Plow.
What was the first instrument that you played?
I started with the bass, fell in love with the low end, and never looked back until I was forced to learn guitar to keep playing music on my own.
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
My mom grew up with Don Henley of the Eagles, and when they’d come on the radio, she’d just refer to him as “Don,” which gave me a strange understanding of celebrity right from the start. She also took me to see and meet him on the Building the Perfect Beast tour when he came through Houston.
What was the name of the first band you were in?
Axle Grease! It was a couple of friends from high school, and I still have some songs we recorded on a cassette player. You can hear the youthful energy in those songs, and at some point, I’d like to get a proper recording of them. I’m still in touch with the guitar player.
Tell me about the genesis of Burnt Sherpa.
In 2019, I found myself in a weird spot. My personal responsibilities were too intense with my business (and a second business I was opening) to contribute adequately to Mr. Plow.
So, I stepped away, even though I hated to do it, because I loved those guys and the music we made.
I then spent 2019 working on my vocal skills and singing at a dive bar at the end of my street. It has a karaoke night two nights a week. My wife and I started practicing at home, and I took some lessons.
Then, when the shutdown happened, I spent a lot of time learning more guitar and recording. I started writing my first new batch of songs then, but it took a few years to get a real groove going with songwriting.
Once I had a few tunes in the works, I reached out to my old friend Dean Dichoso, who had just finished recording Candlebox’s last album, Wolves. It was then that I realized I had no business mixing my own album, and he helped me bring these tunes to the finish line.
What inspired the name Burnt Sherpa?
Somewhere in there I got the phrase Burnt Sherpa in my head and tucked it away in case I ever needed another band name, and here we are.
How long did it take you to write and record Last or Later?
I worked on these songs starting in 2021, completed three that year, and then paused until 2023 when I wrote the others.
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
I’d love to fill in on bass for Clutch for a night. They have great songs that groove hard! Not that Dan doesn’t hold it down properly. I just read that they’re playing Blast Tyrant in its entirety on the next tour, so I’ll see you there.
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
There are plenty of songs I wish I’d written, but the one that comes to mind right now is the Soundgarden song Tighter and Tighter on Down On The Upside. That song is genius, and I’m always surprised people don’t know it more.
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Absolutely. Some of my greatest influences are Sade and some other Neo Soul music from the 90s and early 00s like Maxwell and D’Angelo. If you play bass, you must know those albums. I always try to inject hooky, groovy bass parts into a more rock context.
What’s a non-metal song that you'd like to do a cover of?
It’s Gonna Get Better by Genesis. Somehow, I got that cassette as a kid, and it's imprinted in my DNA. That song, in particular, is super fun to play along with on bass. I think a modern take on it would be really cool.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
Plenty of Ripple bands like War Cloud, which I played with in the Plow. We also got to play with Nebula one time in Houston, and it was a night to remember–those guys rocked the house.
I also love Vermilion Whiskey from Louisiana–super cool dudes with the hookiest, most rockin’ riffs ever.
Do you have a favorite venue to play at?
In the Plow days, we loved a club called Rudyard’s but hated the staircase you had to hump your equipment up to get to the stage. I hear they only have comedy there now, though. Their sound guy also engineered the Mr. Plow album Asteroid.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Since I’m a one-man band right now, no. But in Mr. Plow, our ritual was to get to the club hours too early, get bored, go eat questionable food from the closest taco joint, and pray for the best.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Meeting the guys from the other bands and the fans of the music. Most of the touring scene is a lot of “hurry up and wait,” but when you meet people who showed up to see you and are into what you’re doing, it’s an amazing feeling.
What is your least favorite thing about touring?
The “hurry up and wait” part. And the bad food. Most of a tour is the waiting around to play, the part you live for, but the waiting, as Tom Petty said, is the hardest part.
Is there a city that you love to hit while on tour?
My favorite show to this day was in College Station, Texas, where Texas A&M is. If you play in Austin, you’re dealing with a jaded crowd surrounded by live music. In College Station, you have 30,000 college students without nearly as many options, and they get really into it.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?
Jumping off a drum riser to accentuate the rock and tearing my ACL in half. It was in 1999, and we were playing our third set of the night because the coked-up bartender loved us and kept giving us fifty more dollars to play longer. If we had just stopped after our first set I would not have a cadaver tendon in my knee right now.
The year is 2000. Where are you at and what are you listening to?
The first Plow album, Head On, came out that year, so I was living in Houston, and listening to a whole lot of Fu Manchu and Kyuss at the time. I listened to The Action is Go probably more than any other album in my life. I know every single second of that album.
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Tour as much as you can when you’re young because it gets way harder to break out of the orbit of your life to go on the road when you get older and have more responsibilities.
What is an absolute band killer?
Have you ever recorded a song that you really didn’t like, but somebody else in the band really did?
Everyone has varying levels of passion for any given tune. Sometimes, after you play a song a million times live, it starts to feel like work–that happened with a Plow song called Molly off our first album that was a fan favorite, but it got hard to play with passion over the years.
If you were to start your own music festival what would be the name of that festival and who would be the three headlining bands?
The High Hills fest–you’d need a sherpa to get you to the venue. And I’d have Clutch, Fu Manchu, and Queens of the Stone Age as the headliners–my favorite three bands to see live.
What’s the longest time you’ve gone without bathing?
Probably a few days during a camping trip when I was a preteen. I’m sure the car ride home was awesome for my parents.
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
Nothing I can share here! But, for real, I’m a pretty open book. Probably the fact that I’m a chiropractor would be the biggest surprise for the people reading this interview. I’ve also written two books on the mechanics of weight loss.
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
Of course!
Do unicorns sleep standing up?
No–on their backs, so they have to use a post-hole digger to make a spot for their horns. Looks awesome out in the field.
Give me three albums that I should listen to immediately, if not sooner.
I’ve been concentrating on my own music so much lately that I was struggling to answer this one, but another band I’ve noticed lately is a Nashville heavy rock band called Dead Runes. Those dudes can play. The day I’m answering these questions the new Melvins album released, and it’s killer. I’m also looking forward to the new Pallbearer album.
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
I’ll go with Physical Graffiti because it’s a double album and my favorite Zep album.
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
What is your favorite song by Taylor Swift?
I hear her songs at my office because the front desk is playing the radio all day, but I couldn’t actually name any of them.
Sleep or Mastodon (if you had to choose)?
Oooh. Dang. Sleep by a whisker, but I’m glad I don’t have to choose.
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
I love the Doobie Brothers, so Doobies.
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Waffles–can’t have chicken and waffles without the waffles.
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
Wars–at least the first three.
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
I have a Pink Floyd shirt from their show at the Astrodome in 1987. I only wear it on special occasions.
Favorite meal?
These questions are hard! Probably some kind of curry. I also make a mean jerk chicken.
Favorite book?
My favorite novel of all time is Shogun, and I would have said that last year before it was made into a series for Hulu.
Favorite movie?
Pulp Fiction
Favorite album?
Dang. I don’t know. I’ve probably listened to Moving Pictures more than any other album just to figure out the bass parts.
Favorite video game?
I always feel like I should be practicing an instrument instead of playing video games, but when I was in grad school I got really into the original Halo.
Favorite Professional Wrestler?
I couldn’t name a professional wrestler other than Hulk Hogan, so I guess I’ll go with him.
Massive thanks to Doc G for taking the time to answer my questions, and for being a hustler. I have a ton of admiration for those that can juggle so many exquisite projects at such a high level. As for the rest of you, click on the link so generously provided below and treat yourself to some delightfully mellow rock tunes. You will be glad that you did.
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson from the Fistful of DOOM show)
https://burntsherpa.bandcamp.com/album/last-or-later (note… full album will be available on 5/17)
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