Greg Rich knows a good song.He and
some friends, Joe Herringshaw and Scott Paluch, have hosted some top songwriters at his Bowling Green
home.These house concerts featuring Dan Bern, Will Kimbrough, Tommy Womack, Chuck Brodsky and Chris Castle,
have helped fan the fires of Rich’s own songwriting ambitions.He’d always penned songs for special
occasions, birthdays, anniversaries and the like. One of those was the first of the house concerts featuring
Bern.He decided he’d kick off the night with a song written for the occasion. That song, "High
Ceilings," is now one of 11 originals on Rich’s debut CD "Winds of Bowling Green." The CD is
available through various online sources."I generally wrote these songs to try to impress the
particular songwriters at my house concerts; and I also was trying to entertain my audience of Bowling Green
friends."The songs on the CD came together over that time, and when Castle offered to record him in his
Norwalk studio, the project was jump started.Originally Rich did solo versions of his tunes, and then asked
Castle about the possibilities of bringing in a few more musicians to fill out the sound. Castle added some
instrumental support as did Matthew Kean and Womack Family Band members Tony Schaffer and Cory Webb.The
songs involve childhood memories and memories of raising his own children."The Herringshaw Pine"
tells the story of his having a role in knocking his son’s front tooth out, and the doctor who shoved to get
it back in place.Rich is a man of firm opinions in politics as he shows in "Privatize the Fire
Department," and his reflection on his own sense of male certainty in "Not Right."Hockey and
golf play their role, including "Hole in One (On a Mulligan Alone)."He also name checks a lot of
songwriters he admires including his favorite John Prine. And in "My Song about Sangria Wine" he
reflects on his own life through the lens of a song by Jerry Jeff Walker. And he weaves a intricate story
probably best appreciated by songwriting credit geeks into the love song "Linda, I Remember."Rich,
who teaches marketing at Bowling Green State University, is donating the proceeds from sales of "Winds
of Bowling Green" to the locker room fundraiser for the BG Bobcats hockey team. He’s also performed at
Hump Day Revue as part of a fundraiser for the downtown Christmas lights.He says that songwriting continues
to be an enjoyable avocation. And while he has no intention of leaving the classroom for music, he has begun
to research and write about marketing music.