Escaping the mundane reality is definitely something music has done for Temporary Grace members Greg Forney and Chuck Epperly. The two met at a Wendy's restaurant in Arizona and watched their band Dislocated Styles become one of the most popular bands in the area, eventually signed to Roadrunner Records. They toured around the world and released their debut record in September 2001. Unfortunately, the timing of the release and some lyrics in the song "Fire in the Hole" crushed any hopes for success as the song was blacklisted due to reminding people of the terrorist attack.
"The Rock Rap sound was changing," said Greg Forney, "and even though we still had a tour in Japan planned for February, I knew that after being blacklisted our days at Roadrunner were numbered. Chuck and I made the decision to leave Dislocated Styles after we returned from Tokyo."
A few years later, their current band Temporary Grace is poised to return them to the top. Comprised of Greg Forney on drums, Rob Eelman on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Chuck Epperly on lead guitar and Anthony Crotta on bass, Temporary Grace ditched the "rock rap" sound in favor of good ol' fashioned rock and roll from the heart.
One listen to tracks from of "Priorities" like "Days Uncounted" and it's easy to see that the band has unlimited potential to work with. The songs deal with topics like addiction, love, and racism and show a band willing to write songs that have serious undertones amidst the steady beat.
The release is the band's first full-length CD after handing out a 4-song demo a few years back. "The demo was an opportunity to get some of our songs out and let people know about the band," said Greg Forney. "It did get our name going. There's definitely levels to it. It's funny, but you don't realize how powerful handing out 11,000 CDs is until you do it."
Temporary Grace spent a year in the studio recording the CD because they wanted it to sound just right. Apparently they made the right decision because within a few weeks of its release, the band was featured on Steve Hook's "The Jersey Rock Show", which runs on WRAT (95.9 FM) from Tuesday to Thursday nights. Equally as important has been feedback from the station about people requesting Temporary Grace each day.
The band has built up a solid following due to tremendous live shows and hard work in aligning with bands with similar work ethics, which help create great show lineups that make it easier to sell tickets. It's a idea that is proving highly successful.
"We can let the clubs just lump us on these shows where we're playing with five bands that aren't that good or we can align ourselves together and just do the work," explained Forney.
"The good musicians find each other just like the good bands find each other," he adds. "It's a lot easier for me to convince people to get tickets ahead of time when the people we're selling tickets know who's going to be there. I mean, wouldn't you rather see three bands play hour sets than five bands play 40 minute sets and three of whom you might not have heard of before? I prefer being able to tell people, ,AeoThis is a great band - we put them on the bill, it's not some band that just got added to the show.' And I've noticed the shows we've done like that have bigger and bigger local numbers."
Forney and Epperly used the same formula to help Dislocated Styles get big. They aligned themselves with other popular local acts. Some like Incubus and Alien Ant Farm became national names. Part of what drives them is using their previous experience and trying to build off of it.
"It's a blessing and it's a curse," said Forney. "It's the reason I can't stop because I know what the next level is like. I've tasted it and lived it and know that's what I was put here to do."
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
