My name is Gregor and I am the engineer and owner of The HQ Glasgow (although everybody calls me “G – man”  ). I started producing music 20 years ago on a ‘Tascam Portastudio’ at the age of 12 just after I started playing guitar and drums. Inspired by a book written by George Martin about the production of The Beatles ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’, I re- recorded the first two tracks off the album to the very note on my trusty Tascam ‘Porta 03’. I played all the instruments myself, used an old Yamaha Portasound keyboard to imitate a brass section and even recorded crowd cheering samples off a video on my VHS recorder , it was then I knew production was for me !

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     After school I attended North Glasgow College in Springburn where (amongst other things) I studied computer recording (when Cubase was just a midi sequencer) and more importantly met producer Nic Williams – the frontman and producer of 90’s rave group ‘The Rhythmic State’. I ended up playing session guitar and bass with Nic in various electronic projects and eventually played with the Rhythmic state too ! This is where I learned a great deal about dance music and general production techniques. By the age of 19 I had the beginnings of my own computer studio setup and continued to teach myself, producing electronic music fused with live elements. During this period I played bass with Scottish drum legend Ted McKenna (Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Womack and Womack, Gary Moore, Joe Walsh, Rory Gallagher etc.)

In my early twenties I formed ‘Rolla’ a three-piece funk act where I was the singer, guitarist, producer and songwriter, we gigged extensively throughout Scotland and we even had a production of mine played on Radio 1 by the late great John Peel.

      At this point I ran a very successful guitar school in Bellshill ‘The Lanarkshire Guitar School’ where I taught Guitar, Bass and Music Production – this was also the home to my first custom recording studio setup.

In my mid twenties I landed a gig playing guitar and bass for bagpipe rock group ‘The Red Hot Chilli PIPERS’ you may well have heard of them ! With the chillis I played all over the world to crowds of up to 60,000 in venues such as Wembley Arena, Glasgow SECC and many, many more. With them I appeared on many prime-time TV shows such as Blue Peter, The Eurovison Dance Contest (to 37 million viewers !) won ‘Graham Norton’s ‘When Will I Be Famous’ on BBC1 as well as many more international TV appearances. I have met and played for many celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, The Queen, Ewan McGregor, Sharleen Spiteri, Ronan Keating, Alex Salmond and more. I also produced the chillies and have Platinum, Triple Platinum and Gold discs for my efforts with over 300,000 units sold.

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     Around this period I formed ‘Danse or Die’ – an electro rock act that I fronted also taking the role of producer and songwriter. Danse or Die gigged around Scotland to critical acclaim, supporting the likes of the Stereo MC’s, The Levellers and The Whip. Where the band is long gone I still occasionally use the name for some of my electronic productions.

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    After leaving the Chillies in 2010 I started ‘Bags of Rock’-  an original heavy rockin’ band with bagpipes for ‘vocals’ that liked to mix up various genres into what rock radio legend Tom Russell called a ‘unique sound’. Bags of Rock played internationally to tens of thousands with many accolades to their name including winning ‘Rock Recording of the Year’ at the Scottish New Music Awards 2012 (fully recorded, mixed and mastered at the HQ), topped German radio charts, performed internationally to tens of thousands and we even had praise from Simon Cowell who said we were ‘Great Ambassadors for Scotland’. During this time i moved into the premises now known as the ‘The HQ Glasgow’ in Glasgow’s east end and have spent thousands on making the place into a fully fledged recording studio complete with all the trimmings.

   

     I recently started my current producing/ songwriting project 'Hotknife'  (facebook.com/Hotknife81)- producing house music and working with singers to industry acclaim - i currently have a publishing deal for some of my original compositions and signed many tracks to Canada's 'play records' - the company responsible for discovering and launching EDM legend 'Deadmau5'.  I also play lead guitar and backing vocals in one of Scotland most popular wedding bands 'Strange-Bru' (click HERE) as well perform at many corporate events internationally with a stripped down version of Bags of Rock called 'The Bagrockers' (click HERE for info) and when i'm not doing that i'm DJing at both clubs and weddings. When i'm not eating, sleeping and working music  i'm father a beautiful baby girl Mia, running marathons, boxing and being a WW2 enthusiast, hope that covers everything !

   

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    I’ve had a great deal of experience in the music industry (on both sides of the mixing desk  ) and I am a huge fan of and have produced all (yep ALL) styles of music. As a musician i’ve performed from pub gigs to arenas to live televised audiences of millions and have an understanding of what it takes to get the best performances in the studio from a musicians perspective as well as a producers. I particularly enjoy working on large projects such as albums etc. this is where i really get to use my the full extent of my mixing/ editing knowledge, however i’m always happy to work towards your timelines where possible. From professional musicians to ‘first timers’ i literally get every musical ‘walk of life’ in at the HQ, no matter your musical genre or experience, i’ll always do my best to encourage, keep a relaxed atmosphere, give advice and work towards what YOU want from your session.

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   Click HERE to see some of the acts i've worked with over the years.

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   I look forward to working with you !

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   Cheers,

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   G-man

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