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Despite the fact that he is only in his early 20s, Gregg Welty is in the midst of creating an ode to his past.
The Mayville native is in the final stages of producing his debut album, entitled “Memoirs,” which is comprised of 10 traditional and contemporary songs from a variety of genres that have been reformatted and arranged by Welty to suit his particular brand of bluegrass music.
Welty has made a name for himself as a bluegrass musician at a national level, having toured regularly throughout the Northeastern U.S. with his band, South 79, and recently placing third in last year’s Eastern USA Banjo Championships in Lawndale, North Carolina. Despite his unquestioned bravado on the banjo from a performance standpoint, Welty said he is a relative newcomer to the recording process.
“It’s been quite a learning process,” he said. “I had to go out and invest in some quality equipment for myself, and consult with several professionals around the country that I’ve come into contact with over the years on what kind of programs and techniques I should be working with.”
The process has been made even more difficult for Welty from the standpoint that, not only is he compiling the album himself at home, but he has been collaborating with several professional musicians from around the country to piece the product together. This, he said, has been most challenging in the sense that he has needed to communicate things such as the keys and tempos of his arrangements to the musicians, who then record their respective instruments in areas such as Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee, based on his schematics and email him their parts.
“The other guys that are guest performers on my album would record their parts at these professional studios, and then email the files to me,” Welty said. “After that, I combine all the parts together, make sure they fit well, and then record my banjo parts over top of them as the last piece of the puzzle.”
Each song on the album has some sort of special relevance to distinct points in Welty’s career as a musician. The album title “Memoirs,” he said, references what he describes as a “transition period” from his life as a musician into a more professional setting. As a second-year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, he said there was no better time for him to compile an album that would commemorate his experiences before he settles into a medical career.
“Every song on the album is a tribute to a memory or person who helped me along on my journey, and I felt that if I didn’t do it now, I probably never would,” he said.
Welty said the album is expected to be available for presale – prior to its official, hard-copy release next month – on Friday, when he also anticipates receiving the album art. When the album does become available, it can be purchased through the website of his full-time band, South 79, at south79bluegrass.com.
The website also includes a listing of Welty and South 79’s upcoming performances and, following the official release date slated for Aug. 5, hard copies will also be available for purchase at each of these shows.