Album Notes

With the release of his new album Directions, singer/songwriter, pianist and guitarist Greg Hayden introduces his unique and refreshing approach to songwriting to the world. After many years of searching, Hayden finally gave in to his desire to write and record original music. Directions chronicles and details Hayden’s long struggle with finally deciding to pursue his dream. As a music school graduate and a music educator, Hayden has spent many years performing in a large variety of venues and for many different events, but recently decided to follow the direction of his music with reckless abandon.

Greg Hayden’s music takes a bit of the past and molds it with the sounds of many of today’s contemporary artists. In many of Hayden’s songs, you can clearly hear the soulful melodic influences of artists from the past like Jackson Browne, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, and John Cougar Mellencamp. In those same songs, you can also hear many similarities in the musical lines that resemble sounds from today’s artists like Dave Matthews, Josh Kelley, Jack Johnson and John Mayer. Hayden’s musical influences from the classic rock bands of the late seventies and early eighties can also be heard in many of the rhythmic patterns that drive some of the songs like “Will You Be There” and “The Ride”. In contrast, a song like “Dignity”, shows off Hayden’s ability to write in a complete different style using dry, up front vocals with a steady driving piano part that brings home a message with attitude. Hayden’s ability as an accomplished guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, give him the flexibility to write and produce music that is very diverse.

Hayden says, “The coolest thing about writing a song is that you begin with a set of ideas that the music somehow brings to life and the finished product ends up packaging a message that emotionally moves people from one place to another.” Hayden believes that songwriting is the ultimate test of patience, joy and frustration. “For me, writing songs is most satisfying in the end, but it is a constant struggle throughout the process to make sure that the music compliments the message and drives it home”, Hayden says. His debut album Directions features songs that bring clear, yet subtle messages about life, time, love, joy, sorrow and frustration to the listeners. Hayden’s purpose in songwriting is to write music that moves people and lyrics that cause them to think. He is currently writing songs for his next project due out in the Fall of 2008 and will be out promoting Directions by playing and singing live at gigs starting in Feb. 08 and continuing on throughout the year.