Craig Dreyer
Craig's Life Story
Born in Summit New Jersey in 1968 and raised in New York City, I started playing saxophone and singing at around 8 and I played my first pro bar gig at the age of 14. It was at The Office in Nyack, New York. I played in the following high school and college years around town with my brother Matt and freind Dave Hamburger in The Electric Jellyfish, a psychedelic rock band. In 18 I played my first blues gig with Ellard Moose Bole, with Popsy Dixon from the Holmes Brothers on drums, and Bill Simms on guitar!!! For the next two years I began playing between 15-20 nights a month with Moose, and I was off...During this time I had a band with Mike Parrish called The Whales, with Masa Shimizu on guitar. I also played in a band of guys from Trinidad and Grenada called The Liberation Posse. I think they liked my cuz I had my own P.A. system and a lot of pretty college girlfreinds! In 1990 I dropped out of NYU where I studied philosophy and went on the road with a guitar player called Bobby Sheehorn. I can officially say that I have played the Chitlin Circuit . It was fun but I returned to NY with no gigs and my girlfreind moving out on me...but the night I got back I received a call from Jerry Dugger seeing if I wanted to audition for the Mighty Sweetones. I got the job on on the first day played two gigs with them. I must say that in the Sweetones , I had some of the most fun playing I ever had, and it is the band where I grew up so to speak. I am still great freinds with Jerry dugger the bass player, and Jono Manson the lead singer. It was during this time I met and played with Joan Osborne, The Holmes Brothers, Irving Louis Lattin , Bill Simms, Pat Cisarano, Frankie Paris and other bands from The Dan Lynch blues crowd. After The Mighty Sweetones, I started my own band again with my brothers, Matt and Christian called The Dreyer Brothers. We toured around opening for Blues Traveler, Steppenwolf, Widespread Panic, The Band and Marshall Tucker. I also got to meet The Allman brothers during this period and play with Greg Allman as well as working for a bit with Warren Haynes.I also returned to New Orleans and did some session work with Johnnie Lee Schell and George Porter from the Meters.After The Dreyer Brothers , I started up playing with Jerry Dugger again in 1994 for a few years. Back in the bars again!!! I also began playing with Ron Sunshine in his funk band The Smoking Section and his Swing band Full Swing, which I am still currently a member. I have had stints during the last several years with Jerry Dugger and The Black Pearls, Brian Mitchell, Adam Hirsh and others. In 1998 I formed Craig Dreyer and Fiends and made our first record What Are Fiends For?. Produced with Adam Hirsh it was released on Omega Records. 1999 saw the release of Craig Dreyer and Fiends You've Got a Fiend album.
More recent years coming soon