Career
Greene was born in
Salinas, California, and developed an interest in music at an early age, starting with the
piano. At 14, he began to play
guitar and within a short time, was able to sit in with local
bar bands. As he got older, he began
composing his own songs. He recorded in a makeshift garage
studio, burning his own CDs and selling them everywhere he could. Using the money he saved, Greene was eventually able to record and release his first full-length album,
Rusty Nails
, on his own.
After graduating from
Oak Ridge High School in
El Dorado Hills, California, Greene moved to
Sacramento, where he began performing regularly. Marty DeAnda, owner of local label
DIG Music, noticed Greene at an open-mic session in 2001 and signed him as the label's first artist. In late 2002, Greene released his first album with DIG, ''
Gone Wanderin, which won the California Music Award for the Best Blues/Roots Album in 2003 and remained on the national Americana charts for over a year. In 2004, Greene released his third album,
Sweet Somewhere Bound'', and began receiving radio play for singles like "Honey I Been Thinking About You".
Greene has toured nationally with
B.B. King,
Phil Lesh,
Huey Lewis,
Susan Tedeschi,
Taj Mahal, and
Buddy Guy, and has played most major U.S. festivals, including
All Good,
Gathering of the Vibes,
Mountain Jam,
Newport Jazz,
Newport Folk,
South by Southwest,
Wakarusa,
Winnipeg Folk,
Bonnaroo,
Outside Lands, and
Rothbury.
In early 2005, he signed with a
major record label,
Verve Forecast.
Sweet Somewhere Bound
was reissued that year, followed by a new release,
American Myth
, in March 2006. The following year, Greene joined
Phil Lesh and Friends, the
Grateful Dead bassist's ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of the Dead's extensive song book. Other members of the band at the time included
John Molo,
Larry Campbell and
Steve Molitz.
Meanwhile, Greene continued to pursue solo efforts, releasing
Giving Up the Ghost
on 429 Records in April 2008, and made his second visit to
Late Night With Conan O'Brien
in June 2008, performing "Like A Ball & Chain". Another song from the album, "I Don't Live in a Dream", was featured on episodes of the
NBC television series
Life
in November 2008 and
ABC's
Private Practice
in March 2009.