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Filmmaker Bio

Producer and director  Greg Lehman's connection with Weiser began a number of years ago when, as an itinerant street performer, musician friends told him to go to Weiser [WEE-zer], Idaho for the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest® and Festival.  'What's that?' he asked.  'Don't worry, just go.'  Many years later, Greg's goal is to tell the story of Weiser on film.


Producer Director Greg Lehman on location, photo
Producer / Director Greg Lehman


Hitchhiker   Hitchhiking the U.S. for four years with backpack and guitar, Greg worked as an oilfield roustabout in Louisiana and Texas, a janitor in Texas and a day laborer in Southern California.  He baled hay, picked potatoes and was a DJ at a windmill powered radio station in the Colorado mountains.  He drilled for oil in Colorado and Wyoming and worked construction in New York City.  He rode the rails 'hobo' style for one long trip on freight trains from Colorado to Southern California.


Street performer  Along the way, Greg rigged one of those around-the-neck harmonica holders to hold everything but.  In its place, he installed a kazoo, train whistle, goose call, police whistle, a Three Stooges-like 'wheeeee' whistle and various other accoutrements - all the while singing, dancing and playing guitar.  The act was as understated as a runaway train (the subject of several songs he performed).

His one-man-band act appeared in places ranging from Jackson Square in New Orleans to hootenannies in Western Colorado, Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Pike Place Market in Seattle, in addition to living rooms, front porches, hippie cafes, redneck bars and street corners in between and beyond.


Education  When his hitchhiking days drew to a close, Greg continued his real world education driving a taxi cab on the streets of New York City.  At a point, he volunteered at one of the two major political conventions.  A few days later, he was working with the immediate family of the President of the United States.  His subsequent experiences as a Presidential Advance consultant during the Fall campaign led him to return to college in earnest. 

After study in New York, Madrid and Paris, Greg received his B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.  Throughout his college career, Greg worked as a waiter and bartender in New York.


Wall Street  Greg's hitchhiking and cab driving experiences helped him land his first job on Wall Street - as a municipal bond trader for a major international investment bank and brokerage.  He left Wall Street after the stock market crash in the late 1980s and returned to it several times in subsequent years.


Entrepreneur  Greg has nurtured and developed a lifelong taste for entrepreneurship.  Forming his first business shortly after leaving Wall Street, his entrepreneurial endeavors have included turns as Special Events producer, Computer Systems trainer, and Sales and Marketing trainer and consultant. 

After pursuing graduate studies in Political Science, he returned to Wall Street as Director of Conferences for two daily trade papers covering the bond markets.  He subsequently became an Investor Relations consultant to several top international and domestic companies where he worked directly with senior managements and C-level executives.


Filmmaker  Greg finally left Wall Street to make a documentary film about the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest® and Festival, held in Weiser, Idaho.  Based in New York City, he has made repeated trips to the West and Southwest to pursue the stories of the people involved in the contest fiddling scene. 

Generally a self-contained operation, Greg usually traveled, researched, interviewed and filmed solo, with occasional support from locally based production assistants.  Currently preparing to edit the voluminous amount of footage shot, Greg plans to have an experienced editor help shape the footage into the finished feature-length film.





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The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest is a registered trademark of National Oldtime Fiddlers', Inc., which is not affiliated with Weiser Films, LLC.