Gregory Johnathon Cartwright,[1] also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian (born March 18, 1972), is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee.
As of 2019[update], Cartwright has reformed his past band Greg Oblivian & the Tip Tops and is playing shows.
Aside from also playing occasional solo performances (including one that led to his solo record "Live at Circle A"), Cartwright also plays in The Parting Gifts, a band also featuring Lindsay "CoCo" Hames of The Ettes and Patrick Keeler of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes, and a guest appearance from Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.
[4] With his parents' busy work schedule, Cartwright spent his summer vacations and weekends at his grandmother's Memphis home.
Around this time he also inherited his aunt and uncle's 45rpm collections, which according to Cartwright, included a lot of "oddball Memphis stuff you wouldn't hear on the radio."
After becoming exposed to music, Cartwright began writing songs and forming bands as early as seventh grade.
Panther Burns is fronted by Tav Falco, a '50s-style Memphis rocker who blends blues with rockabilly and soul music – a mix that most touring punk bands were not playing in the 1980s.
Suddenly I thought I’ve been wasting my time trying to like hardcore punk and here's this thing that was in my own backyard that I was totally unaware of.
"[4]After that show, Cartwright would begin heavily collecting rare garage, country, soul and doo-wop records – and also formed a few high school bands.
Shortly after finishing high school he would meet Jack Yarber and form his first notable band, The Compulsive Gamblers.
Cartwright and Yarber would also form The Oblivians in 1993, along with another Memphis musician, Eric Friedl, who now owns Goner Records.
After the addition of keyboardist Philip "Flipper" Tubb, drummer Rod "Bushrod" Thomas, and fiddler Greg Easterly, the new lineup was rechristened "The Compulsive Gamblers" and work began on their first four-song EP, Joker, which was recorded in 1991 in a friend's kitchen.
The bands kicked off the tour in their hometowns, Memphis and Detroit, they also played at the VICE Garage Fest in Lawrence Kansas in Oct 2010.
The other release was an outtakes compilation, Home For Orphans (Sympathy) – which has two slower, moodier versions of tracks from Too Much Guitar.
The band's debut single, "Walking Thru The Sleepy City," a Rolling Stones cover, was released in October 2010 by Norton Records.
In a June 8, 2022 message on the group's Facebook page, Cartwright formally announced the end of Reigning Sound.
I thought we could support the album with some touring and go out on a high note, but Covid has proven to be a long-lasting concern and more difficult to navigate than anyone could have anticipated.
Airplane Man, Porch Ghouls, The Cuts, Detroit Cobras, The Horrors, The Deadly Snakes, Goodnight Loving,[12] and Andre Williams.