Early works
Born in western Canada, in the province of Alberta, Greene's formative years were spent moving around Canada. She finally moved to the U.S. and settled in Wisconsin when she was in the third grade. Greene's father worked as a music professor and introduced her to classical music early on in her childhood. Her first musical memory is being able, at four and a half, to stand up with six other kids and play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on the violin before her adoring fans-mom and dad. Greene's classical training continued throughout middle and high school, but in addition to a sound grounding in classical music theory and violin instruction, Greene found time to experiment with the fiddle, an instrument that informed her later experience with the guitar.
When it came time to choose a college, Amherst was not even one of Greene's choices-until she came to Northampton and then later saw Kid Sampson perform at Schwemm's. After this experience, she decided that Amherst was going to be the place for her. "What's funny," Greene admits, "is that it wasn't a conscious choice on my part. I didn't think, 'wow the music is really good here.' But looking back now, that was definitely what drew me."
In fact, when Greene came to Amherst, being involved heavily in the folk music scene was the last thing on her mind. Despite being voted "Most likely to major in music" by her high school class, Greene decided that she "wanted no part of that, I wanted nothing to do with music, I was going to quit everything." She wanted to strike out in a new direction, leaving on the back burner her years of musical training and theory. Sociology, especially Associate Professor of Sociology Ronald Lembo's course Sociology 34: "Social Class," introduced her to a new area of study. After taking several music classes and flirting with a psychology major, she decided to focus on sociology.
However, several members of the faculty recognized her exquisite ear and long musical training and were determined to lead her back into music. It was the orchestra conductor, Lanfranco Marcelletti, who encouraged her to try out for the Tsrema Quartet, which she continued to play in for the first two years of her Amherst career, and generally encouraged her classical career at Amherst. "He was like a surrogate father to us," Greene said. "He had us always over to his house and everything." Greene also continued violin lessons for her first two years at Amherst, but, by this time, she had received her first guitar as a nineteenth birthday present, and her true love became the guitar.
"Sophomore year I could play about three chords," Greene said, "and since most songs only use three chords, I got really good at those three!"
The turning factor for Greene's music came when she saw Emily Shore '98 perform. It was "the first realization for me that a singer-songwriter was something that actual people did," she said. "I was like, here's a girl who's my age and she writes songs!"
World beat
Determined to improve her own music and broaden her repertoire, Greene spent much of her semester abroad in New Zealand learning more chords and writing songs.
"I found a guitar downtown and just bought it. I sat on my bed and learned how to play," she said.
Greene was responsible and methodical in her approach: "I gave myself assignments. I would say to myself, by the end of the week, I have to play a song with a C chord." Through her determination and talent, Greene managed to land a couple gigs in the area, and so, during her five-month stay in New Zealand, she was soon playing regularly in New Zealand folk clubs.
Coming back to Amherst, Greene dedicated her senior year to final projects: a special topics course with Lembo on the sociology of folk music that explored the incipient folk scene of the 1930s, charting its progress into the political arena of the 1960s through the present. Aside from teaching her about the history of her music, Greene found out a lot about what her own music represents. "A lot of folk music is less overtly political now," Greene said. "I mean, it doesn't address the political issues as it did during the '60s, but I like to think of my music as personally political. I like to play for reproductive rights conferences, but mainly my music is about the everyday political, my experiences rather than traditional politics."
Media mogul
Greene's second project consisted of a CD which she wrote, produced and distributed. As part of producing a CD, Greene had to create a record label, "Citrus Tree," essentially becoming the CEO of her own company: "I've had to wear a lot of hats, it's just all these things I have to get done that usually, at a larger record label, other departments would take care of. I have to do everything from tech to publicity to setting up my own sound." She did the editing on a friend's computer, then sent out the CD to be digitally mixed and mastered.
The CD, titled "Terra Nova,", was an all-consuming project; yet Greene considers it the best experience she has had at Amherst. "It taught me more than anything else I did at this school, about myself and about the business end of the music industry," she said. The theme of "Terra Nova" was one of "new discovery and self-realization," according to Greene. "It's a chance for me to sing about letting go, taking time and reflecting about where I am headed."
The CD is a collection of songs that chart everything from the thoughtful "Family Pictures" and more traditional "Tribute to Heartbreak" to the more upbeat, clever "Hippie Song" and the hilarious "Another Thing You Won't Have to Worry About After the End of Industrialized Civilization." The entire CD flows gracefully from track to track, never repetitive, focusing more on the musical order. Greene's thoughtful arrangement takes into consideration "how does it relate to the song before it," making the entirety a stylish, polished, tight blend of music.
The song that never ends
Greene gushed enthusiastically about the reception she has received at the College. She remembers that "playing in the Frontroom was always an experience and Marsh helped me out; it is such an incredibly supportive community ... It's a rush to play at Marsh."
"I never thought of myself as high profile," she said, giggling, "but I am so grateful. I've definitely bombed some coffee houses and messed up on a lot of stuff."
Regardless, her main thanks go out to her fans. "The people here are a big reason that I am still going and still want to continue after college. They have always been so nice and so generous with their time, coming to see me at my shows and giving me great feedback," she said.
Despite having no set plans after graduation, Greene knows that she will remain in the area, taking voice lessons from her teacher in Northampton and working at a nonprofit organization, perhaps one that works with developmentally disabled adults and helping with job hiring.
Greene's fondest memories revolve around her friends and supporters. "I'm so sad to leave. On the whole, I've had some great, great times here. I've made some great friends, awesome roommates." These are the same people that gush about Greene's talent as well as her innately kind and open nature-the same people that might be saying in a couple of years "we knew her way back when…"
Leaving college is a big deal for Greene, not only because she will lose the close community that has supported her for four years, but also because it is a chance for her music to grow in a whole new direction. "It's funny," she said, "I sometimes feel like I am still a little baby, a newborn, particularly in this music scene. I keep hearing new material and learning from other styles. For instance, right now I am interested in jazz and funk and whatever else. I feel like my music can be more versatile. I need to see what else is out there. At this point I'm not sure exactly where I want to go with it, but I'm sure I want to learn more stuff. I can't be stuck in a rut, I don't have enough time. I have to keep going to more shows and hearing what people are doing."
Greene is ready to move on, to tackle the world outside of Amherst, to take the world by storm and leave her mark on the musical scene that so far has welcomed her with open arms.