Greystone is a blues, rock, funk and R&B powerhouse cover band from Toronto.
We’re musicians with decades of professional experience who love to entertain and are passionate about the music we play.
Based in Southwest Scarborough, we play across downtown Toronto and the GTA, plus all surrounding area–from Hamilton to Oshawa, Newmarket to Downtown to Barrie, and anywhere in between!
All of us are musicians with decades of professional experience. Our repertoire includes classic R&B tunes, from giants like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Amy Winehouse, Bill Withers and Stevie Ray Vaughan. We also mix in a bunch of rockers with our versions of The Beatles, Allman Brothers Band, and classics by Jimi Hendrix, the Doobie Brothers and Stevie Wonder, to name just a few artists.
It’s high energy music executed with passion. You’ll dance your a** off!
Meet the Band
Andrea Smitko, lead vocals
Andrea has always been passionate about music and has been singing as long as she can remember.
Along her journey she gravitated towards blues, soul and gospel music.
She is a classically trained pianist and plays the guitar. She also writes her own music and enjoys performing at open mic nights.
Her influences include Etta James, Joss Stone, Sara Bareilles, Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald.
Mike Stuart, Guitar, Greystone core member
Inspiration? Stevie Ray. Austin City Limits in the mid ‘80’s.
I’d never seen anything quite like it. Could I play like that? Nah, but I’d sure as hell try. That’s what got me to pick up a guitar at age 17.
No lessons for me, I’d had enough of that with the keyboards. So it was guitar player magazines, try, try and try again to get the sound until the skin was pulling away from the nails on my fret hand.
Then the world came knocking… University, first job, marriage and raising a family and so the Strat sat quietly, seldom played for about 20 years.
No regrets, I wouldn’t change a thing, but the time came around to dig it out and start playing again.
The long break brought a new appreciation of the instrument, and new technology to learn how to play it better. Some tough times put soul into my playing.
Getting the vibrato into those full step bends. Learning how to make it speak, scream, cry, brag, forcefully. The joy of meeting new people and jamming whenever I could brought me to the beginnings of something new and exciting.
Meeting and falling in love with a new guitar, hence the two faithful companions, Strat and Tele (Yin and Twang), and gradually coming together with a fine group of friends to form this audacious, tenacious, scrappy and ever evolving band.
Inspiring. I’m having the time of my life, and I hope you are too.
Ian Harvey, Bass Guitar, Greystone core member
My first instrument was a recorder, which wasn’t so great. But I did start to read music while learning it at primary school. Then came cornet in a school brass band. I confess I wasn’t that good at it either.
But the guitar? Ahhh. Magic. Started studying Spanish classical guitar, learning to pick the strings with my fingers.
Turned out it was perfect training for bass guitar, which I picked up because my friends were two years ahead with guitar and someone always needed a bass player.
Bought my first bass, then an amp, then a Gibson EB0. Broke the neck on that puppy so I bought a 1976 Rickenbacker brand new. Then an Ampeg rig.
All the time players like Jack Bruce, John Entwistle and Chris Squire inspired me. Then I discovered Jaco Pastorious, then James Jamerson, Tony Levin, Carol Kaye, the list of great players I studied got longer and longer.
Over the years I’ve played in power trios, played classic rock, prog rock and even jazz pop.
Now with Greystone I’ve found my groove. Love those R&B bass lines, those funk lines and those blues and rock lines. It’s a perfect balance.
Seven people in a band is a lot of people but I’ve never worked with a nicer, more talented group of musicians.
The chemistry is perfect and it comes out in our sound, the Greystone sound.
Sam McClay, drums, vocals, Greystone core member
Sam McClay has been playing the drums for most of his life. taking them up 35 years ago thanks to the Music program at Birchmount Park C.I.
He is South Scarborough born and raised so most of his early influences and opportunities are reflected in that geography.
Sam has played in the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra and early on played in the Rock bands: Light and Sound Delusion, Boneshake and Andyspromise. After a bit of a hiatus he regularly sat in on percussion with the Army of Freedom and during the same time joined the band ITSJUSTSMITH who had a song selected that received regular airplay on Rock 95 Barrie. Over the years about every drummer Sam has ever heard has had an influence on him from Big Band greats like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich to the typical Classic Rock Masters like John Bonham and Keith Moon. Then there was the alternative and grunge scene of the 90’s .Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, to name a few.
“I’m musically curious, so if I hear a great groove, I want to run back to my set and figure out how it goes together and then play it over and over and work it into my chops.”
Sam is currently playing in the original rock outfit FlightRisk as well as keeping time in the solid rhythm section for Greystone.
Greystone Friends:
Jeremy Smith, Vocals, Harp, Percussion, General Mayhem
Hailing from Scarborough, Ontario Jeremy has been writing and playing music for what seems like all his life. His high-energy stage presence and song selections are a reflection of his own dynamic spirit that also brings his influences of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Ben Harper, Ron Hawkins, Frank Turner, The Lowest of the Low, Nirvana, John Lennon and Pearl Jam.
Whether it be through his vocals, harmonica, guitar or percussion Jeremy always brings a full show to the table and is ready to Rock n’ Roll when needed.
Jeremy has played in many bands throughout his carrier. Most recently Jeremy has played with Drummer Sam McClay in bands such as “Flight Risk“ and “The Army of Freedom“.
He’s also busy fronting his own band Boneyard and joins us when his schedule allows.
Sam Sharkawy, Vocals, Guitar
I was born and raised in Cairo and started playing acoustic guitar when I was 10, learning music theory from neighbour who was a pianist. By 14 I was in a band!
That led to my first paid gig in a wedding band playing 70’s covers and some Egyptian songs as well. We went on to play 5 star hotels in Cairo where we had to learn some jazz standards.
So my first jazz song was C Jam Blues by Duke Ellington. That in turn inspired me to take some jazz lessons with a renowned Grammy winner, Egyptian pianist Fathy Salama.
Later I joined a band playing on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean for the summer, then went back to playing the Hotel gigs until I was about 25 years old.
The following year I came to Canada and started my own home recording studio while also studying jazz guitar with Nathan Hiltz who was at the University of Toronto.
I started my band the Mediterranean Stars in 2010 playing Gypsy Jazz and Middle Eastern music with guest musicians sitting in with the band including Leslie Dawn Knowles and Mark Tetrault from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Rita Di Ghent, and Titi Bamberger, Django’s great nephew. We have been playing at Castro’s in the Beaches since 2010.
I also recorded “Gimme Some Of it” with jazz singer Rita Di Ghent which produced and engineered by the legend Nick Blagona.
I also recorded several original songs by Jeremy Smith and Army of Freedom and I co-wrote Trouble Follows Me with Louise Elder and the Greystone Band.
Sam spends much of the year in Egypt now and joins us when he can.
Madelaine Curry, Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals
Madeline Currie has been playing trumpet with Greystone since 2017. She plays with us now when schedule allows.
She has a degree in music at Humber College, studying jazz and contemporary music under some of the most in-demand musicians in Canada.
She also learned to perform and write in a variety of styles. She loves dance music—disco, nu disco, house, R&B, funk, synth pop—and some wild and quirky indie rock on the side.
Older influences include Earth, Wind & Fire, Boney M., Nile Rodgers, KC & the Sunshine Band, and the Bee Gees. Newer influences include Miami Horror, Foster the People, Kimbra, and St. Lucia.
Above all, her greatest pleasure is getting in a room with people, forgetting their differences, and enjoying the music.
Peter Crolly Vocals, Sax, Flute
A recent addition, Peter is primarily a bass player who has toured and recorded with numerous bands ( Frank Soda and the Imps, Lee Aaron, Sylum, Stratos, Chicago Project, among many others). He also writes and records his own music, playing all the instruments ( https://spleen6.bandcamp.com/ ) and has been playing sax for about 12 years. Other interests include sailing and camping with his trailer. Also likes streaming Raptors and Habs games ( and Blue Jays when they don’t suck). He loves R ‘n B, funk, fusion and prog. His fav colour is invisible!