Luster

2023-2024 was a strange time in Greg's personal life, as he had separated from his wife of 17 years and was in the midst of a divorce. He also began a new relationship. In the wake of these personal changes, Greg took to music to work through his feelings as he often does, and what emerged were twelve songs comprising the album Luster. The result is a curious combination of optimism, anger, grief, and rapturous love all captured in song form. Originally titled About Face, Greg turned to AI to generate an album cover and was ready to use the result when his 12 year-old son expressed serious concerns about the use of AI to do an artist's job. Greg heard these concerns and reconsidered, turning instead to his old friend Jenny Sarrat for the gorgeous photo that became the cover (Jenny's photos were used for the covers of Cathexis and Isolated Incidence).

As usual, Greg played every instrument and recorded the album in his home studio in St. Louis, Missouri. His now-standard instruments include a Tobias Growler 5-string bass, an Ibanez AS53TF semi-hollow-body 6-string electric guitar (and sometimes a Gretsch BST 1000), a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, (and for one solo a Yamaha C40 nylon string guitar), an Akai MPD218 drum pad, and a Nektar Impact GX61 keyboard. Reaper remains his DAW of choice. For mastering, Greg used Izotope Ozone Elements for the first time.