BIO
The guys in the Josh Grider Trio get it. Even though, like any band, they believe describing their sound is like dancing about architecture, they know they’ve gotta provide an inkling or two to those who might read about it before listening. So here goes …
Singer/guitarist Josh Grider: “Everybody knows who Merle Haggard is, everybody knows who Dave Matthews is, so if you say we meet in the middle, that’s kind of what’s goin’ on.”
Drummer Daniel Jones: “In a nutshell. You just put some sexiness into Nashville, that’s all. … Roots music with a sense of adventure.”
Grider: “It’s got the boogie in it. These guys are so funky.”
Bassist Chris Grady occasionally tells people they might hear strains of early Robert Earl Keen, or a vibe “kind of like Jack Johnson.”
Adds Grady, “Repeatedly, I find myself going, ‘I don’t know, it just sounds like us.’”
Yeah. What he said.
The band actually took shape after Grider released Million Miles to Go, his new album. Though Grady and Jones were not involved in recording it, once these three players joined forces, they quickly became a solid unit. They’re already making plans to record together sometime in 2008.
Already, they’ve loaned a new dimension to the rich, slightly Southwest-accented baritone that populates Grider’s album, a mix of twang and pop that can’t, for the most part, be called classic country, but certainly evolved from it. There are well-placed touches of pretty fiddle and mandolin, as in the gently upbeat “Stumbling on the Edge of Greatness,” about making music not just for a living, but for life, or “Crazy Like You,” about finding the perfect soul mate. (Grider’s soul mate, his wife, Kristi, offers clear, elegant soprano harmonies on many of the album’s cuts.)
There are also places where country meets syncopated jazz, as on “Love Went Wrong.” Twinges of folk (but no earnest-singer-songwriter-with-an-acoustic-guitar angst), tweaks of … well, whatever. Americana is as good a description as any.
Onstage, minus the extra strings, things do get even more funky. Grady, as a matter of fact, was in an R&B band once upon a time. Jones’ original frame of reference is metal. Even Grider confesses the first CD he ever bought was Metallica (the black album. Grady’s first was Kiss’ Alive. On cassette.)
Right now, the excitement and creativity level among the three players are so high, they’re ready to create the next potential hit.
“I haven’t been in a band where (after the show), it’s back to the hotel, ‘let’s talk about the tunes,’” says Grider. “We got in the car the other night and literally, the first 30 minutes of the ride was talking about this new tune that we tried for the first time and how we could change it. We’re just really jazzed about playing the music and arranging it in a way that a trio can really present it.”
Both Jones and Grider swear they’re in awe of Grady’s creativity; he’s always got new ideas about where to take a song, they say.
According to Grady, the respect and creativity is shared three ways, which helps a lot when they’re racking up miles and hours in the van.
“We’ll go from hardcore metal to bluegrass to one of the Beck records and it’s just all over the place,” he says. “You realize if you just open your ears wide enough, you’re gonna end up ingesting stuff that’s gonna find its way back around.”
That’s part of the reason they enjoy traveling together so much – literally and musically. (Grider characterizes their off-hours dynamic as a mellow hang. “We get up earlier than most bands,” he adds.)
Though Grider is interested in finding a publishing deal, these guys aren’t taking the molded-personality/packaged hits route to success.
“We’d like to have a good time playing our music without losing our dignity,” says Jones. (It should be noted that for them, a good time apparently includes cracking all sorts of jokes and riffing off one another in short bursts of what sounds like a comedy routine in the making.)
That attitude is definitely paying dividends. Grider already has been recognized as Newcomer of the Year at the Gruene With Envy Awards, and comparisons to Radney Foster have earned him opportunities to perform with the songwriting/production guru.
Grider’s lyrics are the sort that sometimes stop you a little short when you fully realize their intensity. They have impact, weight, yet there’s no hammering over the head, no whining, no woe-is-me or man, the world sucks. They’re just … great thoughts, well put together. Like he sings in “Stumbling,” for him, it’s all about takin’ a chance on maybe.
Might be the next Johnny come lately/but you can ever tell, he sings. And in “Million,” the title tune – which can be called a classic country twanger – he gives shoutouts to Johnny, Hank and Waylon. It’s a nice coda to “Stumbling”; both address the musical life, but the truth is, Grider and the band don’t have a million miles to go till they stumble on the edge of greatness. They’re already there. And ready to fall right in behind their heroes.
PRESS
Josh Grider Stumbles on the Edge of Greatness and into San Angelo Again
The Austin Chronicle - Texas Platters, For the Sake of the Song
"Million Miles to Go': Las Crucen
Josh Grider's journey includes album release, opening for Reba |
