Greg was born in Oakland California in 1952 and was raised in the east bay area. At the age of thirteen, he began playing the guitar and attended music lessons until the age of seventeen. Throughout the next few years, he played with numerous bands and developed into a lead singer and guitar player. In 1969 he had his first experience in a recording studio and made a demo record with the band he was playing with at that time. This was virtually the beginning of his music career and became the passion of Greg's life. From 1970 to 1974, Greg performed in a well known band by the name of "Saba". The band consisted of eight pieces and performed extensively around northern California.
Toward the end of 1974, Greg left the band and moved to Hawaii to pursue a solo career as a singer/songwriter. He performed mostly on the Island of Oahu within the Waikiki area. Greg earned the respect and honor of the talented close nit family of musicians in Hawaii. In 1976 Greg entered into a recording project with the producer of Napali Musical Society and recorded his album "Dreamer of Life". He gathered musicians from Hawaii to perform on the record which consisted of many instruments, including the vibraphone, a horn section, keyboards, bass guitar and percussion. Most of the music on the album was arranged by a long time friend and bass player Randy Carnevali.
When the album was finished, Greg and the band performed in concerts within the Island of Oahu including the Crater festival and opening band for Sha-Na-Na at the Blaisdale Center to promote the record. In addition, the "Dreamer of Life" album was played on local radio stations of which live performances were made as well. In 1977, Greg was asked to bring the band to the Big Island of Hawaii to perform at the Kona Surf Hotel and various venues on the Island. Greg is very proud of his original songs on the album. The song "Things were so easy" was written by Greg when he was 19 years old and the song most dear to him is a song written for his wife Sheri titled "She's my Lady". Greg continues to play and write music to this day.
by Greg Yoder, 2011
Dreamer of Life by Greg Yoder is a killer AOR private press LP infused with Folk, Jazz and Soul notes and maybe one of the best albums from the Hawaiian Scene in this style.
Originally from San Francisco, Greg Yoder moved to Hawai'i in the early seventies and after achieving some local fame in the Waikiki area, recorded this one-off LP in 1976 at Audissey Sound studios, in Honolulu. The music is smooth and soothing, mixing xylophones, percussions, sweet guitars and brilliant orchestrations. In short, Dreamer of Life is full of hidden hits and faultless from the first note to the last.
Following his various projects at Favorite Recordings, DJ and producer Charles Maurice recently unveiled this masterpiece by selecting the song 'Things Were So Easy' on the AOR Global Sounds Vol.2 compilation. And after the label contacted Greg Yoder about it, the idea of reissuing this amazing album quickly became obvious.
Tracks
1. Dreamer Of Life (Greg Yoder) - 4:00
2. If There's A Chance Tomorrow (Rider Kiaha) - 4:39
3. Parchment Farm (Mose Allison) - 3:32
4. Golden Lady (Stevie Wonder) - 4:37
5. She's My Lady (Greg Yoder) - 3:35
6. Moondance (Van Morrison) - 5:10
7. You Must Have (Emitt Rhodes) - 2:12
8. Things Were So Easy (Greg Yoder) - 4:19
9. Haven't We Met (Kenny Rankin) - 2:25
Personnel
*Greg Yoder - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
*Randy Carnevali - Bass
*Creed Fernandes - Percussion
*John Raposa - Lead Guitar
*Bob Cabral - Flugelhorn
*Roger Bailey - Sax
*Travis Fullerton - Drums, Percussion
*Dennis Graue - Essemble, Arp Odissey, Piano, String
*Doug Johnson - Vibes
