Greg Haymes — known to a generation of Capital Region music fans as Sarge Blotto — was the connective tissue of Albany’s arts scene for more than four decades. As a musician, journalist, visual artist, and community builder, he occupied a role that no single person has been able to fill since his death in April 2019. He didn’t just cover the scene. He was the scene.
Blotto and the Birth of MTV
Haymes co-founded the new wave band Blotto in 1978, adopting the stage name Sarge Blotto as the group’s lead vocalist. Blotto’s self-released single “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” — a surf-rock-meets-new-wave novelty recorded on their homemade Blotto Records label — became one of the first music videos played on MTV when the network launched on August 1, 1981. The low-budget video, filmed by SUNY students as a senior project, landed in heavy rotation alongside clips from far bigger acts, giving Albany an unlikely moment in the national spotlight.
Blotto played relentlessly across the Capital Region in the early 1980s — JB Scott’s, The Ritz, the Chateau — and opened for Blue Oyster Cult. But the 1984 shift of the drinking age to 21 devastated the club circuit, and the band’s touring days wound down. Haymes also performed with the Star-Spangled Washboard Band, the Ramblin’ Jug Stompers, and the Reno Bros.
25 Years at the Times Union
After Blotto’s active years ended, Haymes channeled his energy into music journalism, spending 25 years as a music writer and critic for the Albany Times Union. He also wrote for the Daily Gazette and Metroland. His reviews were meticulous, opinionated, and immediately recognizable — the kind of criticism that made you seek out an album or skip a show based on the strength of his argument alone. He championed emerging artists with the same intensity he’d brought to the stage, providing mentorship and promotion to countless musicians who might otherwise have gone unheard.
Nippertown and Beyond
In 2009, Haymes co-founded Nippertown.com, an award-winning arts website covering music, theater, film, and visual art across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. He was also a visual artist whose work appeared in galleries throughout the region. Greg Haymes died on April 10, 2019, at age 68, from complications of metastatic lung cancer at Albany Medical Center. He left behind a legacy that encompasses early MTV, decades of essential music criticism, and a community that was immeasurably richer for his presence in it.