The incomparable mr. Grier played at my club last night and performed most of his reportoire on a borrowed Collings 'Clarence White' model. I have never heard a better guitar tone in my life. David absolutely RIPPED fiddle tunes on it with unbelievable dynamic range and the fattest, cleanest tone you've ever heard. I know that a lot of that is in the hands of the player, but that guitar should have taken a bow at the end of the performance as well.

Ray,

Do you know the story of how he ended up using the CW? To my understanding, he has mostly played old Martins or NGC (Marty Lanham) guitars these last 10 years or so. On the other hand, I have heard him express the opinion that a competant player should be able to make good music on any well-set-up guitar: to prove his point at the time, he was playing an old black and white Kay he found in a pawn shop, and he sounded great.

Re Mr. Grier, "incomparable" is the right word. He's the most underappreciated genius I know of in the guitar world. He's the best flat-picker ever. Tony Rice's name often gets mentioned there, but if you put the two together trading licks, Grier could play anything that Rice played, but Rice couldn't play half of what Grier plays. His creativity literally seems to know no bounds.

For the uninitiated, my favorite ensemble recording is "Lone Soldier," but his unbelieveable inventiveness is on full display in the solo effort, "I've Got the House to Myself." There are a few short clips from this to listen to at davidgrier.com, but they only hint at his awesome skills. Cheers!

B

Agreed. I wish David's live performances were a little more frequent and accessible. I've yet to see him live and he's about the only guitarist on my "to see" list. Lone Soldier is great...not as fiddle tune-ish as his solo recordings (which are great in themselves). I really like his playing on The Grass is Greener albums too. And then he plays with Phillips-Flinner-Grier. The Psychograss albums aren't as pleasant to my ear. Panorama also has good ensemble playing.

I'm willing to bet that he borrowed it from my guitar teacher, Mr. Lincoln Meyers. That guitar is a monster (as is its owner). Lincoln credits Grier as a huge influence, and you can hear it in Lincoln's playing. On another Grier note, I went to David's workshop last sunday night, and it was pretty gosh darn enlightening. I really didn't know what to expect going in....I've never been to a workshop before. I think that a lot of people showed up expecting to learn some signature licks, and they might have been dissapointed. There really was not very much lick instruction. However, there was a lot of talk about how to really master the guitar, and I found that it reinforced what I already believed. Learning the guitar is nothing more than a lot -- years and years -- of playing and messing around with it. Figuring out tunes (happy birthday, christmas carrols, etc.) that you know in your head, figuring out how to play them in different ways with chord mellodies, etc. It comes down to really loving to play, and a lot of time with the guitar. He also played a few tunes during the workshop, and his creativity is amazing. At one point he played "America the Beautiful" into "Yesterday", and they were the single best versions of those songs I've ever heard. Fantastic. If you can't tell, it was pretty inspiring.

Grier is great. But I'm not sure I'd say he's *better* than Tony Rice. (1)Rice was paving the way in acoustic guitar before Grier was ever heard of. (2)Rhythm guitar playing counts for a heck of a lot, and Rice's rhythm work alone should put him near the top for acoustic guitar playing. Grier might equal Rice, but I would seriously hesitate to put him above Rice.
Having said that, I listen to a lot more Grier than Rice these days. The guy is a monster player, and the most creative I've ever heard.

I believe that with instruments and players you get to a point where there is not such thing as better, only different.

Is Sam Bush a better mandolin player than Tim O'Brien? Nope, just different.

Is your Collings better than a (inset high caliber builder here)? Not to many people. But we would all agree that they are different.

I don't think Rice could make an album like Grier's "House" as well as Grier can, but would the "Lighfoot" album be as monumental as it is (at least to me) with Griers clean but thinner than Rice sound. I think not.

No better. Only different.

--David

Got tix to see Mr.Grier at a private house next week. Me and 24 other lucky people. Can't wait- I'll keep you posted.

My only criteria about guitar players is what moves me. Could be one note in the right place, or a cascade that makes the heart race. It's about music, and technique is only the road, it ain't the destination. That said, I have nothing resembling the facility of Grier or Rice, but the man who blacks me out is Django Reinhart. Any time I think I'm getting pretty good, I put on "Shine", listen for five minutes, and readjust my ego back to real-world levels. I'm sure there are a lot of players whose names we'll never know that could play songs that would bring us to tears. I got away from the "whose is biggest" way of thinking about playing thirty years ago. The solo is for the song, not vice versa. Listen to what Joe Pass does behind Ella Fitzgerald sometime. Or those amazing old dudes on Buena Vista Social Club. What's heartening is that love of music, and playing for others, is life long. Just to see my 22 month old granddaughter dance in perfect time when I play Key to the Highway beats any club I've ever played, or will play. Sorry for the rant. I just love music, and the guitar, so very much.

quote:

Originally posted by sonoman:
...I'm sure there are a lot of players whose names we'll never know that could play songs that would bring us to tears. I got away from the "whose is biggest" way of thinking about playing thirty years ago. The solo is for the song, not vice versa. Listen to what Joe Pass does behind Ella Fitzgerald sometime. Or those amazing old dudes on Buena Vista Social Club. What's heartening is that love of music, and playing for others, is life long...

Not to take away from the original post but I might add that so many fine players are becoming quickly forgotten. I just saw Larry Carlton with Robben Ford is Ashland, OR. Only 900 people showed up. What a shame as Larry IMO made a huge impact on today's music. The Bela Fleck concert only drew 1100!

Gone are the days when I got to hang out at the Blue Note and Dimitriou's of Seattle taking in the likes of McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey, Freddy Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Ernestine Anderson...

Larry Carlton...amen. Son House. Hubert Sumlin. Blind Lemon. On Carlton, listen to "BP Blues" on "Last Nite" from the early eighties. Shivers, guaranteed.

Hi All-

Haven't been around here in awhile and decided to check it out after meeting Musashi yesterday (thanks for the tip on the string deal!!!).

David will be performing at our house next week for the second time this year and we are really looking forward to it! I've seen David probably nine times in the past two years (with PsychoGrass, a Vassar tribute, with Mike Compton, and solo/workshops).

I'll agree that he is not "better" tha TR, how can you be better than an icon? But IMHO he is the next level in the development of flatpicking. Bryan Sutton describes him as "being from another planet".

I also like sonoman's comment's on music and I couldn't agree more and I think David would agree as well - for someone who owns and plays so many beautiful instruments he seems genuinely disinterested in discussing them.

I on the other hand love discussing guitars

I don't beleive David has played the NGC in a couple of years. The two guitars I've seen him with have been a brz Kim Walker dread and a D-21 style Merrill that has a mermaid decal on the headstock.

He recently bought a mid/late 40's D-28 and I know he bought a 50's D-18 trying to replicate the D-18 he grew up playing until it was damaged by a repairperson.

On his forthcoming album he used a local luthier's dread that is on loan to him. I forget the nam and the only detail I can recall is that it had a sitka top and was rosewood (probably EI).

I'm really looking forward to the new album - rumor has it there will be some hot, tele picking'!!!

Alan Cline
Eugene, OR
"I pick, therefore I grin"

It sounds like a Grier and Rice duet recording would be a good thing.