Donna Grantis is a Canadian guitarist, best known for performing and recording with
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
&
3rdeyegirl. On September 30, 2014, Prince and 3rdeyegirl released their debut album, ''
Plectrumelectrum
''Plectrumelectrum'' is the thirty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and first (and only) to feature his backing band 3rdeyegirl. It was released on September 26, 2014 by NPG Records under a renewed license to Warner Bros. ...
'', which reached #1 on the Billboard Rock chart. The album's title track, "Plectrumelectrum", was originally written by Grantis and later arranged by Prince. Since 2013, Grantis has been a member of Prince's funk supergroup,
The New Power Generation. On November 16th, 2018, Grantis released two new songs, “Trashformer” and “Violetta,” featuring Hall of Fame Pearl Jam guitarist
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...
, as a limited edition 7” via his vinyl label HockeyTalkter Records. The tracks appear on Grantis’ debut album, ''Diamonds & Dynamite'', released March 22nd, 2019, via
eOne Music. The album and lead track reached #1 on iTunes Canada for top jazz album and top jazz song.
Biography
Early life
Grantis grew up outside of Toronto, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She began playing acoustic guitar at the age of thirteen. Inspired by her older brother's classic rock record collection, she switched to electric guitar at fourteen. She was awarded a music scholarship to
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...
where she received a bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance. During her time there, she worked as a freelance musician, performing often throughout Montreal in various blues, jazz, funk and fusion bands.
2002-2012
Upon relocating to Toronto, Grantis worked as a session musician and bandleader, writing, performing and recording in the city's diverse music scene. She worked with artists such as blues vocalist
Shakura S'Aida
Shakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited Shakura.
History
Shakura S'Aida was born in Brooklyn and lived in Switzerland before moving to Canada.
S'Aida was lead singer of the 13-piece wo ...
, rocker Sate (formerly known as Saidah Baba Talibah), an all-female reboot of soul-funk band Sue de Nym led by singer-songwriter Suzanne Nuttall (in 2009), hip hop artist
Kardinal Offishall, indie artist
Hill Kourkoutis (Hill & The Sky Heroes), jazz vocalist
Kellylee Evans, R&B songwriter
Haydain Neale
Haydain Neale (September 3, 1970 – November 22, 2009) was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario. He was best known as the lead singer of Juno Award-winning band jacksoul. Neale also served on the faculty of the Humber College ...
(Jacksoul) and multi-platinum pop singer
Amanda Marshall
Amanda Meta Marshall (born August 29, 1972) is a Canadian pop-rock singer. She has released three studio albums; the first was certified Diamond in Canada, with the latter two certified 3× Platinum and Platinum respectively. She is best known fo ...
. As a band leader and composer, Grantis fronted an instrumental jazz-fusion trio called the Donna Grantis Electric Band. Her debut solo album, ''Suites'', was independently released June 26, 2012. The Donna Grantis Electric Band marked the release of the album with a performance at Toronto jazz club, the Rex Hotel, before touring Europe in support of the record through the fall of 2012. As a musical director, Grantis worked on special events with the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
(CBC) and the Women's Blues Revue among others.
Prince
In November 2012, Grantis received an invitation to
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
's Minnesota recording complex,
Paisley Park
Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. ...
. Alongside Prince, drummer
Hannah Welton, and bassist
Ida Nielsen, Grantis jammed a short list of songs as an audition for what would evolve into the funk-rock recording and performing trio,
3rdeyegirl. The group toured throughout the UK, Europe and North America. On September 30, 2014, Prince & 3rdeyegirl released their only album, ''
Plectrumelectrum
''Plectrumelectrum'' is the thirty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and first (and only) to feature his backing band 3rdeyegirl. It was released on September 26, 2014 by NPG Records under a renewed license to Warner Bros. ...
.'' Upon release, the album reached #1 on the Billboard Rock Chart in the USA. The title track, "Plectrumelectrum", was originally written by Grantis and later arranged by Prince. From 2013 until the death of Prince in 2016, Grantis was a member of his funk supergroup, the
New Power Generation
The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...
.
Equipment
Grantis' primary instrument is a custom private stock
PRS guitar. It is based on a Mira semi-hollow, with a Korina body, gold mirror pick guard and headstock, maple neck and
whammy bar. Her purple PRS CE 22, which she has used extensively in performances and recording sessions, is named "Elektra". Grantis has several specialized effects pedal boards, including one referred to as "the starship". The board consists of twenty pedals across three interconnected boards. It was built by
Craig Pattison specifically for her role in 3rdeyegirl to cover a wide array of tones. Grantis uses Delrin 0.73mm picks.
References
External links
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grantis, Donna
McGill University School of Music alumni
Living people
Canadian women guitarists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Toronto
Blues rock musicians
New Power Generation members
Year of birth missing (living people)
3rdeyegirl members