Local News | Photos

Greg’s Gig Sounds Great

Posted Aug 6, 2008 by Geoff Fox

Updated Dec 31, 2008 at 02:41 PM

Greg Clifton was born 45 minutes before John Lennon was pronounced dead.

For some reason, that didn’t surprise me. When I first met Clifton a couple of years ago, he seemed like a peaceable guy with an encyclopedic knowledge of most musical genres, but a particular penchant for 1960s rock.

At the time, I was doing a story on his boss, Shane French, owner of the Sounds Great CD store in Zephyr Plaza on Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills. French also is a guitarist in the heavy metal band Jon Oliva’s Pain; a legend among Tampa Bay area metal-heads, Oliva co-founded Savatage, a power metal band that formed in the 1980s. Turns out Clifton, 27, is a musician, too. More specifically, he is a psychedelic Christian musician, perhaps the first of his kind. “I haven’t actually heard any [psychedelic Christian] music yet, except for what I’ve done, honestly,” he said from behind the counter at Sounds Great on a recent weekday. “Most people think it’s crazy to have ‘drug music’ mixed with Christian lyrics.” He recently recorded “The Journey,” a 10-song CD of original songs. On Tuesday, he auditioned to play guitar for an area Christian band led by Talesha Hogan of Brandon. The audition apparently went well. His first gig with the band is Friday at Grace Community United Methodist Church in Lithia. A Florida native and Dade City resident, Clifton said he has been a Christian since about age 12, when he took a tae kwon do class that featured a gospel message at the end. As a child, he said, he endured numerous health issues, including an inability to breathe through his nose and back problems. “Plus, I’m legally deaf,” he said. “I’m totally deaf in my left ear and I have about 45 percent [hearing ability] in my right.” Thanks to his faith, he doesn’t worry about losing more of his hearing, even if performing music eventually becomes a full-time gig. “Even if I go deaf, I can still feel it,” he said. “You can still feel the vibrations of the music. All it is is vibrations.” The store’s telephone rang as Credence Clearwater Revival thumped from indoor and outdoor speakers. “You’re ‘Captain January,’ the Shirley Temple movie, just came in,” Clifton told to the caller. Minutes later, Maine native Brad Johnson entered the store, looking for movies starring Bing Crosby and Mario Lanza. “You’ve probably never even heard of Lanza,” Johnson said. “I’ve heard of him,” Clifton said. “I didn’t know he did movies, but we’ve had a bunch of his CDs.” Lanza, who starred in 1951’s “The Great Caruso,” among other movies, died in 1959. The store didn’t have in stock what Johnson wanted, but Clifton offered to order the items. While Johnson weighed his options, regular customer Rob Dunton picked up some items he had ordered. “The people here are awesome. They treat you great,” he said. “Every other Friday, when I get paid, I’m here.” For a while, customer traffic bustled. People dug through bins of merchandise outside and flipped through rows of CDs and DVDs inside. One guy considered buying a tie-dyed Jerry Garcia T-shirt, while another bought guitar strings. Later, I asked Clifton if he thought the timing of his birth had anything to do with his musical taste. “I don’t think it does,” he said. “I think I just like the Beatles’  music. I don’t know a lot in terms of [Lennon’s] solo career. I was always more into Paul and George.” More into McCartney than Lennon? Just when you think you know a guy. Learn more about Greg here: http://www.myspace.com/thegregclifton

TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online    ©2010 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us

TBO.com:Feedback | Advertise With Us | Email Alerts | SMS/Text Alerts | Make Us Your Home Page | Member Center | Contact Us | Site Map | Media General Operations Credit Terms and Conditions
WFLA: See news developing? Email or call our Tipline at 1-800-348-WFLA | 8 on Your Side | 8's Army | Links We Mentioned | EEO Public Filings | Children's Programming | FCC Form 388
The Tampa Tribune: Subscribe | Place an Ad | Electronic Edition | Photo Reprints | Public Research | Archive | Corrections