Greg Laswell (born April 26, 1974) is an American musician,

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

, and record producer from San Diego, California. He attended Valley Christian High School in

Cerritos, California Cerritos (; Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was municipal corporation, incorporated on ...

. He has released 7 studio albums: '' Good Movie'' in 2003, '' Through Toledo'' in 2006, '' Three Flights from Alto Nido'' in 2008, ''Take a Bow'' in 2010, ''Landline'' in 2012, ''I Was Going to be an Astronaut'' in 2014, ''Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet'' in 2016, and ''Next Time'' in 2018, as well as several EPs and special singles. Many of his songs have been featured in films and television shows.

Career

1998–2002: Shillglen

Greg Laswell was born and raised in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He moved to San Diego in 1993 and graduated from

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a Private college, private Christianity, Christian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with its main campus in Point Loma, San Diego, Point Loma in San Diego, California, Unit ...

. From 1998 through the early 2000s, Laswell was frontman for the San Diego–based band Shillglen. Members of the band included Chad Lansford (backing vocals and guitar), Justin Skeesuck (guitar), Michael de Neve (bass), Marcel de Neve (drums) and Matt Mintz (lead guitar). The band released one album, titled ''Sometimes I Feel'', in late 1999 and had some moderate success when the band was nominated for ''Best Alternative Album'' and ''Best Alternative Band'' at the San Diego Music Awards in 2000. By mid-2001, Shillglen had over 400,000 downloads of their music through

MP3.com MP3.com was a website operated by Paramount Global publishing tabloid-style news items about digital music and artists, songs, services, and technologies. It is better known for its original incarnation as a legal, free music-sharing service, ...

. However, Shillglen quietly disbanded in October 2001 after Laswell suggested the band take a break. The band mutually agreed, but never regrouped.

2003–2006: ''Good Movie'' and ''Through Toledo''

Laswell released his first solo album '' Good Movie'' in 2003. It was self-funded and self-released on his own label All the Rest Records, and won the award for ''Best Local Recording'' by the San Diego Music Awards in 2004.Laswell does a nice balancing act The San Diego-Union Tribune
/ref> Following the album's success, Laswell signed to

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

, and then recorded and released his second studio album '' Through Toledo'' in July 2006. The album was written during Laswell's divorce from his wife; he stated: "It's basically a breakup album...but the biggest surprise has been when you resurface out of the dark little studio. On this tour, people have been coming up to me and telling me about what they've been going through. It has nothing to do with anything that I originally wrote about. So it's become a full circle, healing thing. I'm just lucky to be in the loop."

2008–2009: ''How the Day Sounds'', ''Three Flights from Alto Nido'', and ''Covers''

In spring 2008, Laswell joined the European leg of the

Hotel Cafe Tour Robert Cary Brothers (born 2 April, 1974) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee, United States. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothe ...

, hosted by

Tom McRae Jeremy Thomas McRae Blackall (born 19 March 1969), better known by his stage name Tom McRae, is an English singer-songwriter. Career The son of two Church of England vicars, McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his ...

. He released an EP titled ''How the Day Sounds'' in March 2008, which preceded his third studio album '' Three Flights from Alto Nido'', released in July. Several songs from the album, including "Comes and Goes (In Waves)", "How the Day Sounds" (which features

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...

in the music video), "Sweet Dream", and "And Then You" have been featured in the television shows like ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'', ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'', '' 90210'', ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' and ''

Dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy house made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North Americ ...

''. "And Then You" was also used in the award-winning feature film ''

Where We're Meant to Be ''Where We're Meant to Be'' is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Michael Howard (filmmaker), Michael Howard. The film travels in and out of the lives of a number of different characters as each one connects to the next during their ...

''. Laswell's single "Off I Go" was written specially for the season 5 finale of ''Grey's Anatomy''. It was also featured on NBC's '' Parenthood''. Laswell also contributed his cover of

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

's hit "

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a single made famous in 1983 by the American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard in 1979, with some of the lyrics changed by Lauper. It was released by Portrait Records as Lauper's debut sin ...

" to the soundtrack for both '' Confessions of a Shopaholic'' in early 2009; and to the soundtrack for '' My Sister's Keeper'', also in 2009. In September 2008, ''How the Day Sounds'' won the Best Music Video award at the

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival is an independent film festival held in San Diego, California, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in autumn at venues in the Gaslamp Q ...

. In October 2009, Laswell released a new EP entitled ''Covers'' featuring five cover songs.

2010–2012: ''Take a Bow'' and ''Landline''

Laswell released a new full album, "Take a Bow" on May 4, 2010. All 12 new tracks were recorded in a studio in a cabin outside

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

. "Perhaps the biggest difference with this album", observes Greg Laswell of his new Take A Bow, "is that I'm not miserable." Laswell chimes in on the album stating, "I could not be more excited about how it turned out. Greg Laswell adds that after his Solo Residency Tour wraps up, a full-band tour will commence in May, in support of this new release. He has toured with several artists over the years, including

Matt Costa Matthew Albert Costa (born June 16, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California, United States. He has 13 independent releases: 7 self-recorded EPs, 6 complete LPs, 4 of which are released via Brushfire Records. H ...

, Sia, Tim O'Reagan of

The Jayhawks The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influentia ...

, and

Amy Millan Amy Millan is a Canadian indie rock singer and guitarist. She records and performs with the bands Stars and Broken Social Scene as well as having a successful solo career. Her second solo album, '' Masters of the Burial'', was released by Arts & ...

Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

. Laswell scored several short films, including ''Longbranch: A Suburban Parable'' in 2001; ''Deacon's Mondays'' in 2006. Laswell's fifth studio album, titled "Landline", was released on April 24, 2012.

2013–2017: ''I Was Going to be an Astronaut'' and ''Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet''

In 2014, Laswell released his sixth studio album, ''I was Going to be an Astronaut'', which involved remakes of many of his more popular songs, as well as a cover of

Sparklehorse Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's 2010 death. Before forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Fa ...

's ''It's a Wonderful Life'' and a new song, ''December'', which he had cut from a previous record. In 2016, Laswell released ''Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet'', his seventh studio album. It was featured in NBC's ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'' during the credits of the last episode of season 3.

Since 2018: ''Next Time'' and ''Covers II''

In February 2018, Laswell released his latest song called "What Do I Know?" on his YouTube page. In August 2018, Laswell released "Royal Empress", the second single from his new studio album. In September 2018, he released his full eighth studio album, ''Next Time''. In September 2019, Laswell released his second album of cover songs, ''Covers II''. The album featured covers of obscure songs by

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

and

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...

, as well as "Lucky Man" by The Verve.

Personal life

In early 2010, Laswell and fellow artist

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "The Way I Am (Ingrid Michaelson song), The Way I Am" and her 2014 single "Girls Chase Boys", both of which achieved success ...

were engaged. They were married on August 10, 2011, in Maine. On February 27, 2015, following a rough year both physically and emotionally for Michaelson, the couple announced they were mutually splitting. A joint statement released by Michaelson and Laswell reads: "After careful consideration, and with mutual respect, we have decided to separate. We ask for privacy as we navigate this time in our lives."

Discography

Greg Laswell has released 9 studio albums, 3 extended plays and 10 iTunes music singles.

Song appearances in films and television shows

;From ''Through Toledo'' * "Sing, Theresa Says" ** '' One Tree Hill'', January 2007 ** ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'', October 2007 * "High and Low" ** ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', October 2006 ** ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', January 2007 * "Come Undone" ** ''

Veronika Decides to Die ''Veronika Decides to Die'' () is a novel by Paulo Coelho. It tells the story of Veronika, a 24-year-old Slovenian who appears to have everything in life going for her, but who decides to kill herself. This book is partly based on Coelho's expe ...

'' promotional trailer, May 2009 ** '' Friday Night Lights'' commercial, September 2009 ;From ''Three Flights from Alto Nido'' * "Comes and Goes (In Waves)" ** ''

'', October 2008 ** ''

Taking Chance ''Taking Chance'' is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's p ...

'' promotional trailer, January 2009 * "How the Day Sounds" ** ''

'', July 2007 ** '' 90210'', September 2008 ** ''

The Final Destination ''The Final Destination'' is a 2009 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis and written by Eric Bress. It is a standalone sequel to '' Final Destination 3'' (2006) and the fourth installment in the ''Final Destinati ...

'', August 2009 ** ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'', December 2015 * "And Then You" ** ''

'', September 2008. ** ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', April 2014. Season 2 Episode 20 ** ''

'', July 2017 * "Days Go On" ** ''

'', October 2008 * "Sweet Dream" ** ''

'', March 2009 ** '' Parenthood'', April 2011 ;From ''Take a Bow'' * "Goodbye" ** '' The Hills'', May 2010 ** ''

'', October 2010 * "Take a Bow" ** '' Parenthood'', September 2010 ** '' Friends with Benefits'', July 2011 * "Let It Ride" ** ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Bro ...

'', October 2010 * "Come Clean" ** '' Wentworth'', July 2014 ;From ''Everyone Think's I Dodged a Bullet'' * "Dodged a Bullet" ** ''

'', May 2016 ;From ''Covers 2'' * "Love My Way" ** ''

Station 19 ''Station 19'' is an American action and procedural drama television series created by Stacy McKee that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on March 22, 2018. It is the second spin-off of ''Grey's Anatomy'' (after '' Private Pr ...

'', May 2020 ;Non-album tracks * "What a Day" ** '' Danika'', December 2006 ** ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...

'', May 2007 ** ''

Canterbury's Law ''Canterbury's Law'' is an American legal drama television series, which aired from March 10 to April 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on Fox. The show was created by Dave Erickson and executive produced by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Gr ...

'', March 2008 ** ''

'', April 2008 ** '' CSI: Miami'', October 2009 ** ''

Beauty & the Beast (2012 TV series) ''Beauty & the Beast'' is a science fiction police procedural television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, very loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV series), the 1987 CBS series of the same name. Developed by Sherri Cooper-Landsman ...

'', January 2014 * "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" ** '' The Hills'', 2007 ** ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

'', 2008 ** '' Confessions of a Shopaholic'', February 2009 ** '' My Sister's Keeper'', June 2009 ** ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'', November 2011 ** ''

The Carrie Diaries ''The Carrie Diaries'' is a young adult novel, the first in a series of the same name by American author Candace Bushnell. The series is a prequel to Bushnell's 1997 collection ''Sex and the City'', and follows the character of Carrie Bradshaw ...

'', January 2013 ** ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is a ...

'', March 2013 ** ''

In the Dark (American TV series) ''In the Dark'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Corinne Kingsbury for The CW, which debuted as a mid-season entry during the 2018–19 television season. On January 30, 2018, The CW ordered the show to pilot, with Mic ...

'', May 2019 * "Off I Go" ** ''

'', May 2009 ** ''

House M.D. ''House'' (also known as ''House, M.D.'') is an American medical drama television series created by David Shore for Fox. It ran for eight seasons from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. It features the life of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) ...

'' ** ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', September 2010 ** '' One Tree Hill'', October 2010 ** '' Parenthood'', February 2011 * "

Your Ghost "Your Ghost" is the first track from American singer Kristin Hersh's debut solo studio album, ''Hips and Makers''. It features additional backing vocals from Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Released as a single in January 1994, "Your Ghost" reached numb ...

" ** ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

'', September 2006 ** ''

'', October 2009 ** ''

'', December 2009 ** ''

Verbotene Liebe ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mall ...

'', 2010 * "

This Woman's Work "This Woman's Work" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was initially featured on the soundtrack of the American film '' She's Having a Baby'' (1988). The song was released as the second single from her ...

" ** '' Three Rivers'', November 2009 ** ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'', October 2011 * "In Spite of Me" ** ''

'', November 2009 * "What Goes On" (Velvet Underground cover) ** '' What Goes On'', 2007

Awards and nominations

San Diego Music Awards

, - , rowspan="2" , 2000 , , Shillglen , , Best Alternative Band , , , - , ''Sometimes I Feel'' , , Best Alternative Album , , , - , 2004 , , ''Good Movie'' , , Best Local Recording , , , - , 2006 , , Greg Laswell , , Best Alternative Artist , , , - , rowspan="2" , 2007 , , ''Through Toledo'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , "Sing, Theresa Says" , , Song of the Year , , , - , 2008 , , Greg Laswell , , Artist of the Year , ,

References

External links

Official website

Greg Laswell on YouTube
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laswell, Greg American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American rock singers Point Loma Nazarene University alumni Living people 1974 births Musicians from Long Beach, California American folk rock musicians American indie rock musicians 21st-century American musicians Singer-songwriters from California 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers