David Grier is one of the most popular flatpicking guitarist and teachers in Bluegrass music today. April 3, 2008

Thursday, April 3rd
DAVID GRIER
Tickets $15.00

Grier won the IBMA 'Guitar Player of the Year' award for several years. He has also appeared on two Grammy- winning recordings: "True Life Blues-A Tribute to Bill Monroe" and "The Great Dobro Sessions." David is also included in the book, "1,000 Great Guitarists." His inspiration to learn guitar came from exposure to Bill Monroe while his father, Lamar Grier, played banjo for the Blue Grass Boys in the middle 1960s. Although considered a young flatpicker when compared to legends such as Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and Dan Crary, David has now been "playing" and "having fun" on the guitar for the past thirty-five years and has earned himself the same degree of respect and admiration that has been bestowed upon the afore mentioned giants. Three time National flatpick champion Steve Kaufman said, "David Grier is the best player out there today because he is so versatile. He can tastefully adapt his style to fit any situation or any musical context." Butch Baldassari, mandolin player and Grier's former bandmate in The Grass is Greener, said, "I heard someone recently compare David Grier's playing to that of a guy who is a grand master chess player who is about 20 moves ahead at all times when he is playing the game. I think Grier's playing is like that. I don't think he consciously thinks twenty or thirty moves ahead, but his mind works that way. His mind is so far ahead and so advanced of everything that is happening. His variations and improvisations are endless." In addition to encouraging David to stick close to the melody when working out solos to tunes, Lamar also encouraged him to find new variations to every song he learned. Lamar said that he always enjoyed the way fiddlers could take one song and play it for ten minutes without ever playing it the same way twice and encouraged David to learn to do that on the guitar. The encouragement must have worked because David is a master of playing endless variations on a theme. (www.davidgrier.com)