Song Stories
Greg Kocis Song Stories is a YouTube series created by Greg Kocis that explores the stories, ideas, and creative origins behind my original songs.
The series grew out of my desire to document more than just the finished recordings. A song can go through several stages before it becomes the version people eventually hear. Sometimes it begins with an acoustic guitar and a few lines of lyrics. Sometimes it starts with a production idea, a melody, or a recording that has been sitting around for years. Other times, a song evolves considerably during the production process.
With Song Stories, I take a closer look at that process and talk about where each song came from, what inspired it, how it developed, and how I eventually arrived at the version being presented.
About the Series
I created Song Stories as a way to put some of the history back into my music.
Rather than simply releasing a song and moving on to the next one, each episode gives me an opportunity to tell the story behind the recording. Some songs have very specific stories attached to them, while others are more about a particular period of my life, a musical idea, or an experiment that eventually turned into something bigger.
The series also documents the changing technology and production techniques involved in my music. Some of the songs began as traditional songwriting projects, while newer recordings may incorporate modern production tools and AI-assisted performances.
For me, the important distinction is that the song itself comes from my songwriting and creative work. The technology may change how a song is produced or performed, but Song Stories is about documenting the human story behind the music.
Episode 1 — “Beautiful Day, Beautiful Life”
The first episode of Song Stories is “Beautiful Day, Beautiful Life”
The episode established the basic format of the series: rather than simply playing the finished song, I use the recording as a starting point to talk about its background and development.
It marked the beginning of what I hope will become an ongoing archive of the stories behind my songs.
Episode 2 — “No More”
The second episode focuses on “No More.”
Like the first episode, this installment looks beyond the finished recording to explore the song’s origins and how it developed into the version featured in the series.
“No More” also represents the direction I wanted Song Stories to take—using individual songs as a way to document different pieces of my songwriting history and the creative process behind them.
Song Story Episode 3
“This Life Is Driving Me Crazy” is Song Story Episode 3.
Release Date: September 9, 2006
Unlike a traditional song-story episode that focuses primarily on the history of a song, this episode combines songwriting history with a comparison of AI music models. The Suno V6 experiment provides another opportunity to hear how the same underlying song can change when different AI performances and production approaches are applied.
The song itself remains a simple songwriting idea from around 2020, but the different recordings show how an existing song can continue evolving long after the original writing session.
Continuing the Series
Song Stories is intended to be an ongoing series rather than a collection limited to a particular period of my music.
As I revisit older songs, create new material, and experiment with different approaches to recording and production, there are plenty of stories to tell. Some episodes may focus on songs that were written years ago, while others may document songs as they develop into their final form.
The goal is simple: preserve the story behind the song, not just the song itself.
Each episode becomes another piece of the larger history of my music.