Greg Harrison knows what it’s like to be on the edge. He’s been there before. He’s back there again – both times in very differing capacities.

 

The edge this time, although with its rewards for getting over, is nothing compared to the edge before. Because of that, Harrison is just fine with where he’s at now despite wanting badly to get past the edge and move forward. He knows that life will not stop, which was a possibility before, if he goes no further than where is right now.

 

Right now, the 2000 Bridgeport High School graduate is the vocal leader of the Greg Harrison Band. Not too long ago they released their first album – “As Long as We’re Dancin’” of 10 original songs. Since then, the foursome of Harrison, lead guitarist John Bonnett, drummer Zack Lilley, and Sam Nesbitt on bass have watched as their collective stock has risen in the modern age of digital music.

 

They’re almost there; right on the cusp of big things. Although things are going well now, Harrison knows he’s close. He knows, also, that where he’s at is the place where many a talented act have progressed to and not gone further. He understands all of that and is okay with it because of where he was six years ago.

 

Where the 34-year-old Harrison was at was at the doorstep of death. Not figuratively and not in some metaphoric way. He was there; close to passing on before he ever saw a single birthday in his 30s.

 

It’s changed him in many ways, which most would expect. And as much as some might never want to talk about what happened, Harrison will talk about it because it’s shaped him to what he is today both personally as Greg Harrison the man and professionally as the lead vocalist for the Greg Harrison Band.

 

Ironically, the day that changed Harrison’s perspective began Friday, August 13 of 2010. Although regularly playing music in the area and working at Oliverio’s Ristorante, Harrison was out having fun with friends at a Main Street Bridgeport bar that night. He, admittedly, didn’t have a care in the world as all seemed well with his world.

 

All that would change stating on this Friday the 13^th in a horrific way.

 

“We were out having some drinks and the bar was packed; there were just way too many people,” said Harrison. “Eventually there was an altercation. I had no clue who was involved.”

 

Harrison walked outside as things escalated. The fighting, by this time, had entered the street and Harrison was in spectator mode.

 

“I got hit as I was standing there. I may have even had my hands in my pocket and never saw it coming. I honestly don’t remember much after that,” said Harrison.

 

This wasn’t your typical bystander getting hit situation. The hit to Harrison’s skull did more than knock him out – it fractured his skull and one of the two main arteries in his brain busted open. As he lay on the sidewalk, Greg Harrison was dying as he was bleeding inside his skull.

 

“They did CPR on me and then neurosurgery … They had to open my brain up because of the swelling and that’s never a good thing,” said Harrison of the incident that actually took place around 1 a.m. on Saturday the 14th.

 

For 11 days, Greg Harrison lay in a hospital bed in a coma. When he awoke he was confused, angry and dealing with serious short-term memory loss – an issue he occasionally deals with to this day.

 

“You wake up and you don’t know how old you are and that’s a problem. My mother had passed away 10 years ago, prior to that incident, and my father was in there with his girlfriend and I’m thinking about what he was doing with this woman because I didn’t remember my mother had passed,” said Harrison. “My brother Mark sat down beside me and told me the best he could of everything that happened that night and since. He was the first face that I saw ... Mark was just awesome in that situation and I know it was tough on him.”

 

And it was still going to be tough on Harrison. He would spend another week in intensive care and 25 days total in the hospital. Bouncing back from brain surgery requires time, therapy and patience. It also has to come with knowledge there may be things you don’t recover from – including the ability to remember and more.

 

“To get told by the doctor and totally comprehend just how close you were to dying, yeah, that changes things … God pulled me through this. He told me I’ve got another shot here so I channeled everything into what I love and that’s music,” said Harrison. “Even when I’m having my worst day, if I have chance to play or even sing and be able to watch people dance then it’s still a good day. Trust me, I’m aware of how things could have been. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life for whatever reason, and perhaps it’s a sign that I shouldn’t waste it. I don’t plan to.”

 

The ups and downs included a case of spinal meningitis while at Bridgeport Middle School that put him in the hospital for 24 days. It also included a severe bout of diverticulitis as a senior at BHS that required another stay in the hospital; this time for 17 days. It would be during that same senior year that he tapped into music for good.

 

His later mother – Linda Harrison – told Greg as a kid he sang Elvis and Jackson 5 songs. She thought he was talented, but Harrison was certain he was going to coach college basketball or get to the NBA. Music eventually would replace basketball dreams and ironically the replacement process began while playing basketball.

 

“I picked up a guitar back in my senior year of high school because I was frustrated playing basketball. It was an old guitar, but I learned a couple of chords and soon enough I played in front of my mother,” said Harrison. “She yelled at my father (Mark) to come in and they both had huge smiles on their faces and eventually I got my own guitar.”

 

And the music journey began.

 

Harrison played with the local organization Young Life and then he would go to local bars and just sing or sit in and sing with others. The first time he realized he might have something going on came at the now closed JC Maxey’s on Tolley Drive.

 

“I was singing there and I really noticed girls looking at me while I was singing and they kept coming up and requesting songs. I was at the age where you were an idiot if you didn’t pay attention to girls noticing you and decided that I’m going to sing and play with anyone that wants to play,” said Harrison. “I played a lot, but wasn’t serious about it. I played cover songs and whatever people wanted to hear. I played because it made them happy.”

 

That was the trend for years – until a few year after his incident. Eventually, Harrison knew he was at an age that if he was going to make a go of it as a musician he needed to do his own music and find permanent partners to play with as opposed to “a whole bunch of local talented artists” that he would team up with.

 

“I saw John (Bonnett) out and asked if he wanted to jam with me. We had played before. Eventually, we ended up in Morgantown and we got a gig in kind of a unique way,” said Harrison.

 

The bar in Morgantown wanted to know if Harrison and Bonnett had a full band. They, of course, said they did when it wasn’t the case. Because of that, the pair knew that if they were moving forward they couldn’t just get folks whenever they needed and, again, things worked out in a unique way.

 

Harrison said they needed someone for percussion and Bonnett got Lilley, who was in Bonnett’s wedding. Then, when the pair needed a bass in walks Nesbitt to Bonnett’s place of employment and the band was together.

 

“When we played together we all had a great time. I eventually showed them some original songs I worked on and we took it from there,” said Harrison.

 

Where they took it was to Mr. Smalls Recording and Mastering Studio in Pittsburgh in November of last year. It was there that the first album with 10 original songs was released.

 

“What works is that I wrote six of the songs and Zack wrote four of them and we all agreed to play our music how we would play music and it works,” said Harrison. “It’s kind of rock and it’s kind of country, but it is all music.”

 

That music can be purchased on iTunes on Amazon or any digital market format that is out there. Music can be found on Spotify, ReverbNation and, incredibly, the Greg Harrison Band has their own station on Pandora.

 

“I woke up to an email about that and thought it was a joke. If you type us in, we come up and it’s our songs and our favorite songs. That’s a really cool feeling,” said Harrison, who also has a sister, Leslie Brooks. “It’s got us moving ahead and sales are good. It’s all part of being an independent musician and being right there on the edge of the next level.”

 

Recently, the group has performed in New York at Arlene’s Grocery, a rock music bar that has propelled many bands to bigger things. And now they’re booked in the near future at Pianos in New York City, which is a two-level bar and music venue that also has served as the starting point for many that have broken out nationally in the music industry.

 

“That first show in New York was incredible because we weren’t playing in front of anyone that any of us knew and they were dancing and jammed up by the stage. We love playing locally, but when you get a reaction like that from those that have never heard you before is a pretty good sign,” Harrison said. “It was more validation that we can do this.”

 

The same guy who faced major health scares in middle school and high school and was on the edge of death CAN do it. And if he gets no further and goes all out trying to get past the edge, he’s okay with that too.

 

“Every day I’m amazed at how far we’ve gotten and that we have good fans here, and in other places, even like the UK and Spain,” said Harrison. “What I do every day is count my blessings. My only job is to play music and I’m able to do this after an incident where I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t live, let alone sing.

 

“I always say ‘music for the soul’ and there’s a lot to that because it’s my medicine. I’m so very thankful I’m able to play,” he continued. “I can’t thank my friends and family enough. I’m lucky to be alive.”

 

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Editor's Note: Photos shows Greg Harrison performing and also during his battle for his life after his incident in 2010. Below, he's shown performing in New York City.