About Gregg Prickett

Dallasite Gregg Prickett is my favorite guitarist, full stop -- none of that weak-ass "from around here" bullshit -- but his artistry has been documented less fully than many lesser lights. My intent here is to assemble as much evidence as possible for the curious listener who doesn't live in North Texas.

Here's video of a set he played recently at Fort Worth's Grackle Art Gallery under the rubric Habu Habu, which can mean Gregg solo (acoustic or electric) or in a collaborative trio with Drew Phelps on bass and Alan Green on drums. It's refreshing to hear an improvising guitarist who uses harmonic motion, as well as drones and noise, in his spontaneous compositions, and employs electronic effects to augment his musicality rather than just overwhelming the listener's senses. He possesses classical dexterity and jazz harmonic knowledge, but all of his tools are directed at expression, not showy chops-mongering.

Gregg also performs in Trio du Sang, an acoustic outfit with virtuoso violinist Andrew May and percussionist Bobby Gajardo.

Garland native Gregg started his career in 1984 with Dallas surf rock band the Buena Vistas. He had formative experiences playing bass for guitarist-songwriter Bill Longhorse in the lounge/swing outfit Mr. Pink, ironic jazz-rock unit Shanghai 5 (with whom Gregg recorded a CD, Under a Tent, in 2005), and the Immaculates, which mixed live instrumentation with lo-fi samples. A five year sojourn in Chicago included a stint with doomy noise rockers Rabid Rabbit which resulted in an eponymous 2009 LP. Gregg also played with Denton/Dallas scene mainstay Wanz Dover in space rock unit The Falcon Project and garage rock juggernaut Black Dotz, with whom I first saw Gregg play back in 2011.

Gregg began developing his current concept of free playing after moving to Oak Cliff in 1998, influenced by the Charles Mingus bands of 1964 and 1975, the "classic" John Coltrane quartet and the late-period Trane exorcisms Ascension and Om. He formed the original Monks of Saturnalia around that time, with Drew Phelps on bass and a revolving door of drummers and horn players. Gregg was the last guitarist to play in pioneering harmolodic drummer-composer Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society, and was onstage for Shannon's very last gig, at Oak Cliff's Kessler Theater, on July 7, 2012, when the setlist included Gregg's composition "He Walked Into the River," dedicated to free jazz martyr Albert Ayler.

Meeting the  Gonzalez siblings, Aaron and Stefan, Oak Cliff natives who'd grown up hearing punk through one ear and free jazz (via their father, musician-broadcaster-educator Dennis Gonzalez) through the other, led to Gregg joining ritualistic metal-jazz trio Unconscious Collective with them and releasing two albums under that rubric for Dallas indie Tofu Carnage. Good luck finding either of those records now, or Far from the Silvery Light, the sole artifact of They Say the Wind Made Them Crazy, a moody experimental duo with Sarah Ruth Alexander.

Those three records, all currently out of print but findable online, are the best documents extant of Gregg's music. However, there are plans for a recording and vinyl release by the fiery current lineup of Monks of Saturnalia, with a three horn frontline of Steve Brown, Dale Fielder, and Aidan Sears alongside Gregg, Drew Phelps, and drummer Alan Green. Currently, the only Monks recording online is this one from 2004, released digitally in 2022. All I ever need is something to look forward to.