Greg Grant

Biography

Greg Grant started playing music when his mother made him take violin lessons when he was 8, that didn't last long, however, and Zoot from the Muppet Show inspired him to start playing the saxophone at the age of 9, and he's been playing ever since. Born in New York City, raised in New York State, he grew up near one of the most diverse melting pot cities on the planet. He studied classical and jazz at Oberlin college/conservatory for a bit, but realized that he wanted to experience life and music outside the walls of an ivory tower. He admires and is inspired by many different styles of music from all over the world ranging from jazz to rock, folk to techno, classical to electronic, ambient, textural, flamenco and Arabic. This love of diversity caused him to travel around quite a bit, he has lived in Barcelona, Spain for 3 years but has been more or less nomadic, traveling around Europe, Canada, Central America, and the U.S.A. Now based in northwestern Montana, Greg has founded Strawbale Studio, but he is always traveling around, finding new influences and inspiration for his music.

After being mainly a saxophonist for many years, he has added guitar, voice, and drums to his musical palette. He came to the realization that his favorite musicians were the ones who could write well crafted songs, that serve as a springboard into improvised jamming. He has added his musical style to various bands, including jazz orchestras, world music groups, blues bands, rock bands, funk rock bands, and experimental groups. He has done countless solo performances as well at nightclubs, cultural centers, universities, festivals, concert halls at parks and on the street all over north America and Europe. Greg is a sonic adventurer who likes to explore unknown territory. The music that attracts him dives into deep places that pulls, both him and his listeners along. Some major influences on him are: King Crimson, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, Greg Brown, John Fogerty, John Coltrane, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Ani Difranco, Ali Farka Toure, The Beatles, Brian Eno, Wim Mertens, Steven Reich, Laurie Anderson, Keith Jarrett and Dead Can Dance.

When asked about himself, Greg replied, " I love developing my skills as a songwriter and musician, but it is only to serve the music. I'm not interested in huge amounts of technique that show off my abilities and stroke my ego. Technique is necessary, but only to the point that it allows the music to come through fluidly and powerfully. I think that if you approach music with this attitude then you end up doing things that you never would've been able to imagine. The music uses you and plays through you and what comes out of you is a surprise, even to yourself! I 'm not interested in playing something over and over again, even if it's at a high level of playing. I'm interested in using songs I am comfortable with in order to get to that place where I can go away from the song to an unknown, magical place that even I don't know about, and then come back to the song. I love musicians that have that proper balance of structure and freedom. Too much structure leaves me bored and stifled, and too much freedom leaves me wanting something more solid and well crafted... It's a difficult thing to achieve, but it's what I strive for."

Discography

Tour Dates

Greg Grant

Past Shows

2009 Journal

6/6/09. Riley's Irish Pub Helena, MT
I had a good time tonight. I pulled up to the pub and put my flashers on and started unloading. Right away, someone offered to help carry gear in and did. That's a pretty nice way to start an evening. Really good food and beer and some interesting conversation tonight, got here early enough to be relaxed. Some very drunk locals came in and were falling off their stools until they were asked to leave. The first set was mellow but the place filled up for my second set and I was able to turn it up and really get into it. I drove home after the show - I got some coffee and put in some sugar and then realized as I was drinking it that it was cappuccino. So sweet... disgusting, but it got me home by 6am and I didn't hit an elk (I almost did).

2/14/09. Valentine's Cabaret, Trego, MT
The Trego Hall was decked out in sarongs, blankets, carpets and a tent made out of some kind of cloth. Incense in the air. Belly dancers in head wraps with henna tattoos serving middle eastern food and, of course, dancing. I played a set with my stripped down rig, tried to play mostly love songs. We did sound as well for a bunch of musicians and it was great to have something like this going on in Trego.

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