Website : www.blossomhead.com

Instruments: Vocals, guitar and keyboards.

Skills : Writing, lyrics, songwriting, media and video production, art direction and CD Artwork.

Greg Reid has been living in Australia for 35 years since moving here from Papua New Guinea where he was born.

He worked in various jobs until around the age of 25 then he followed his love of theater and drama by touring a puppet show across the land. Unleashing the inner eccentric within and bringing joy to children and all was his main aim in life.

Over the last 15 years a genetic defect has created a disease called Ankylosing Spondilits that causes bones to fuse and a great deal of swelling and he is now wheelchair bound. In addition he has won a battle with Leukaemia and has been in remission for the last 4 years.

Despite this great challenge he moved on to become a wonderful songwriter, father of 2 awesome (and also eccentric) children, Galen and Sammalen and now with the release of this new album “Dream Beautiful” he is a published songwriter and singer.

Survivor – Father – Songwriter

Butterfly

About the song

Some People is one of those songs that turned into a gargantuan beast filling nearly every track we had on the mixer and then some. It’s a funky beast that although sweet as sugar in parts, has a message that is quite biting and confronting.

I love the sound Herrin has on his guitar parts and the “Funky Love Horns” do their thing again. The end of the song has a message that sums it all up rather nicely. We’re all much the same as the other when it comes to Love.

Greg Reid

Visit the strange world of Blossomhead here

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All the big issues all rolled into one song. Blossomhead a.k.a Greg Reid has written a powerful song about all these things, and now this video clip will drive the message home. This song has an explicit lyrics warning too…

Read about how Blossomhead wrote the song here.

At 1:45 its like being on a short roller coaster with speakers and a sub-woofer at your feet. Crank it up and enjoy the rebellious side of Blossomheads music.

Visit www.blossomhead.com to read and listen to more on Greg and his music.

Download MP3 Album Sampler – Dream Beautiful (9MB)

Earlier this year Blossomhead completed his fantasmogoric album called Dream Beautiful. It was the result of many years of surviving and investment.

This is a review of the album by local music mag aficianado, Clip Tickles. He’s pretty eccentric so look out for it!

What style would you describe your music as?

“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that question, well I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this, I’d probably be on a beautiful, tropical island watching mermaids at play with the dolphins and whales while the mermen flap by trying to intimidate and impress me with their huge muscles……?”

Uh, sorry bout that’

It’s a tough question to ask a musician especially one like Blossomhead who has created an album that defies the boundaries of that question. I, like many, have tried to classify, file, index, codify, compartmentalize, box, label, typecast, pigeon hole and label the songs from the album DREAM BEAUTIFUL and like everyone else, I have failed to come up with just one place to stuff them into.DREAM BEAUTIFUL is an album of individual songs and one very interesting album of quality that goes beyond the description of one particular genre.

It is an album that lives somewhere else, on some other planet, in some other solar system not because the music is too weird or too strange but because it is unlike any other album I have ever heard before.

For a start it was recorded over seven years by two friends Greg Reid and Herrin Larkan who, it has been noted, the words creative, genius and maniacal commitment would suit very well. Despite many setbacks and adversity in both of their lives they continued to hold on to the dream of actually finishing the bloody thing, much to the disbelief of many people of little faith.

It is the only debut album I know of that has 24 songs laid out on the table for the listener to enjoy, so you’re sure to find at least one song that will grab you and not let go. 24 to1, now that’s pretty good odds.

As far as the songs themselves go, well lets just say that once you listen to them they’ll keep on dancing around in your mind long after they’ve actually stopped playing. Not in a maddening, “get out of my head before I go insane” kind of way, but more a “lets play that one more time” again and again kind of way.

I have heard many songs with great music and crap lyrics and I have heard many songs with great lyrics and crap music but it’s not often you hear an album of songs that have both great music and great lyrics such as you will hear on DREAM BEAUTIFUL.

Apart from the lyrics for “Cassandra” and “Alan’s Song” the songs were written by Greg Reid a musician with a talent for writing lyrics that reflect feelings we all experience as the complex, beautiful beings we are.

The lyrics for Cassandra were found in a children’s book called “The Lions Cavalcade” created by the eccentric and very talented English artist Alan Aldridge who in 1966 became the Art Director for Penguin Books and then became friendly with John Lennon and the other Beatles who asked him to became Visual Consultant to Apple, the company set up by the Beatles to help other creative artists.

He is an artist very much in demand for album covers and book covers but perhaps his most well know work is the wonderful Butterfly Ball.After a few roads that led to nowhere, Greg finally contacted Alan asking for permission to use the lyrics from Cassandra to which Alan agreed, thankfully.

I would place Cassandra as one of the strongest and more unusual songs from the album where the lyrics and music from two different artists unknown to each other at the time, have come together to compliment each other in a rather beautiful and artistic way.

I have visited the Blossomhead website http://www.blossomhead.com and although it is still being added to, I found it most welcoming and informative about the artist and some of the songs in general. All of the lyrics for the songs can be found there as well as brief background of the artist who I have come to admire for not only his creativity but also for the tenacity he has shown in completing such a monumental album.

Praise must also go to Herrin Larkan whose support, musicianship and engineering experience was a major factor in the album finally being completed in the form that it now is.

I encourage you the listener, to wrap your ears around this album as you visit the wonderfully strange world that can only be found in the mind of such an artist as BLOSSOMHEAD.

When I asked the meaning of the word Blossomhead, I was told that it meant “anyone who has a mind full of creative ideas that continually blossom out of the inner world to put colour and meaning into the more mundane world that is often described as reality”.

In the words of Blossomhead himself, “Some people don’t remember their dreams, some want to forget and some just Dream Beautiful”

Clip Tycles

Website:  www.blossomhead.com

[pay]Download Full Album – Dream Beautiful[/pay]

From the album Dream Beautiful
To visit his website, go to www.blossomhead.com

A word from Blossomhead, aka Greg Reid.

“Over the past few years I’ve had to face more than most people probably face in their lifetime, from two major operations, cancer and the ravages of chemotherapy to very deep personal issues surrounding life, death and relationships and yet I still feel as though I am the luckiest man alive.

There are not many people who get a second chance at being alive and the chance to face their death again. The first time I wasn’t ready but the next I think I will be able to leave peacefully.

So I guess you could say I’m a survivor who has been given a second chance to complete the things I have come here to do. One of those things is the making of this album. It has taken Seven years to complete and I think the wait has been worth while, I hope you do to. Dream Beautiful has a life of its own and I believe it will give joy to people and I could ask for no more.”

Visit Blossomhead.com to read more about Greg, his journey and his music.

The next mp3 is from the epic 74 minute album, Dream Beautiful. A 7 year project of immense challenges and struggle has finally come to fruition for artist,

songwriter and eccentric, Greg Reid, aka Blossomhead. This song, Heaven In The Distance is one of the more mellow tracks but as always the lyrics demand a more attentive listen to extract the meaning.

You can listen to samples and read more on our album samplers page.

And if you want to access all our downloads and media, subscribe to the newsletter.

Over the past few years I’ve had to face more than most people probably do in their lifetime.

Writer, artist, poet, songwriter, musician and father Greg Reid has indeed had more than his fair share of challenges.
From cancer and the ravages of chemotherapy, operations that involved replacing both hips and knees to deep issues surrounding life, death and relationships, Greg still feels he’s the luckiest man alive.

“There aren’t many people,” Greg said “Who get a second chance at life and the chance to face their death again. The first time I wasn’t ready, but I think I’ll be able to leave peacefully next time.”
Greg believes one of the reasons for him being given a second chance was to create his first album, ‘Dream Beautiful.’ A collaboration with long time friend, musician, producer and sound engineer Herrin Larkan, the album has taken the pair over seven years to complete.
“Herrin was always there for me, encouraging me to continue with my dream to produce an album. When I went through stages of thinking, ‘What’s the point’, he helped me to keep at it.”

Greg and Herrin decided early on that their philosophy for creating the album would be to try anything. “Over the years,” said Greg “Some talented people heard what we were doing and wanted to become involved. Together we wanted to stretch the boundaries and try whatever would enhance the songs.”

The result of this organic production process has been a fusion of styles, voices and instrumentation that goes beyond description of a particular genre. Greg suggests “Eclectic rock, pop, folk,” but adds “It’s difficult to place.”

Greg and Herrin worked with talented musicians Jason McGowan, Wendy Hodgins, Kit Cotter, Zane Savage, Angie Kennedy, Tappasi, Simone Townsend, Jai Larkan and Isa. “They all helped give the songs their texture and beauty,” said Greg. “They were the right people at the right time.”

The lyrics and music reflect the many phases of Greg’s journey over the seven years and of the 24 tracks featured on Dream Beautiful, only two have lyrics that are ‘borrowed’. One, ‘Alan’s Song’ came from a poem found in an old diary of someone long gone. The other, ‘Cassandra’ was written by Ted Walker and belongs to popular UK artist Alan Aldridge. During the 60’s and 70’s Aldridge was responsible for a great many album covers including Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Butterfly Ball. He helped create the graphic style of that era.
“I had nothing to lose in asking someone so high profile to be involved.” It was wonderful when Alan not only agreed, but liked what I’d done with the poem and gave me his blessing.”

Greg designed his own album cover and has used the name ‘Blossomhead’ rather than his own. “The word refers to someone who has blossoms in their head, meaning a person who has imagination and creativity and does something with it.”

The album is released under the independent label Astronomy Records owned by Herrin. “The aim,” said Greg “Is to eventually feature not only local, but national and international artists and is about quality. I’m proud to be a part of that.

There aren’t many people who get a second chance at life and the chance to face their death again.

“Although the album has taken seven years to complete,” said Greg “I think the wait has been worth while. I hope people who hear it feel that too. Dream Beautiful has a life of its own and I believe it will give pleasure to people and that’s a great thing.”

As for Greg’s health, the Leukemia is in remission and although he has no sight in his left eye and a debilitating form of arthritis that has left him wheelchair bound, Greg remains ever optimistic. “I live in a beautiful place, have two wonderful children, solid friends and the freedom to do what I’m meant to be doing.”

The words from Greg’s album reflect his attitude to life: ‘Everybody dreams, some can’t remember, some want to forget and some just dream beautiful.’

Dream Beautiful is available at The Bower Bird, Maple Street Co-Op, Maleny Music, The Ananda Marga River School or online at and www.astronomyrecords.com/downloads

Visit Gregs Website at www.blossomhead.com

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