Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group

Grant Lee Buffalo Grant Lee Buffalo was an American rock band based in Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All three were previously members of another Los Ange ...

in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour in ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American Comedy drama, comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and beca ...

''.

Background

Born in Stockton, California, Phillips began playing the guitar in his early teens. At age 19, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked tarring roofs to fund evening classes at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and forming bands. He eventually dropped out of college and linked up with an old friend from Stockton named Jeffrey Clark. In the late 1980s, Phillips lived on campus at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

with future wife Denise Siegel, whom he met at a party through a fellow student and first Shiva Burlesque bassist, James Brenner. Phillips informally took art classes, went to public lectures and film screenings, and immersed himself in the school's World Music program until 1990
Shiva Burlesque
released two LPs, ''Shiva Burlesque'' (Nate Starkman & Son; 1987) and ''Mercury Blues'' (Fundamental; 1990). Brenner was replaced by Paul Kimble, thus completing what would be the basis of Grant-Lee Buffalo. But Shiva Burlesque made no commercial impact, and Phillips and Clark disbanded in 1990. Phillips began playing solo around Los Angeles under the stage name Grant Lee Buffalo.

Grant Lee Buffalo

Following those handful of solo shows at clubs around Hollywood, Phillips recruited ex-Shiva members Joey Peters (drums) and Paul Kimble (bass) for rehearsals as

in mid-1991. Phillips was now writing lyrics as well as music, and the trio quickly built up a local following, selling out clubs on the strength of Phillips's intense performance. His political storytelling was delivered in a recently discovered voice: both a soaring falsetto and a drawl that matched his aggressive acoustic guitar stomp and pouting physicality. One song, "Fuzzy", was released on

Bob Mould Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s. Early years Born in Malone, ...

's Singles Only label in 1992 to critical praise and led to Grant Lee Buffalo being signed to

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual ac ...

. The debut LP, also called ''Fuzzy'', was released a year later, upon which

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

declared it "the best album of the year hands down". In 1995 Grant-Lee Phillips was named the critics’ choice for Best Male Vocalist of 1995. A further three Grant Lee Buffalo albums followed: ''

Mighty Joe Moon ''Mighty Joe Moon'' is the second studio album by American rock band Grant Lee Buffalo, released in 1994 by Slash Records and Reprise Records. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes. * Grant Lee Phillips – vocals, acous ...

'' (1994), '' Copperopolis'' (1996), and ''

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

'' (1998). A live performance of ''Mighty Joe Moon''s title track is available online from the South by Southwest festival. Though all were heavily promoted through concert touring, they never escaped cult status. Phillips disbanded the band in early 1999.

Solo career

Phillips signed to the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based indie label Rounder Records and launched a solo career, issuing '' Ladies' Love Oracle'' online in 2000. The recording was later more widely released. His first full-length album, '' Mobilize'', was released in 2001. Being praised as much for its gentleness as Buffalo were for their rock, it featured Phillips on many instruments. During a short tour with

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

, Phillips co-produced and co-starred in a concert film of the tour shot in Seattle titled ''Elixirs & Remedies'', directed by Kris Kristensen. Kristensen would later direct the video for "The Sun Shines on Jupiter", from Phillips' solo release "Little Moon". In 2004 '' Virginia Creeper'' arrived and with it a more folky, almost country record noted for its complete absence of electric guitar. In 2006 Phillips released another acoustic album, ''

Nineteeneighties ''Nineteeneighties'' is a cover album by American singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips. It was released on June 27, 2006 under Zoë Records. Critical reception ''Nineteeneighties'' was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Met ...

''. A set of cover versions, it featured songs from

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

, New Order,

, The Church, and Echo & the Bunnymen. A new record of his own material, ''Strangelet'', was released on March 27, 2007. On October 13, 2009, Grant released "Little Moon" on Yep Roc records. In October 2012, "Walking in the Green Corn" was released, partially funded by fans through a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

campaign. Phillips toured with Glen Phillips to support the album. * Grant-Lee Phillips is a registered member of the Creek Native American tribe (on his mother's side) and a direct descendant of those who walked the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

. * Phillips is related to Chief John Ross on his father's side. Paternally he is of both Blackfoot and Cherokee ancestry. * Phillips has been married for more than 20 years. He became father to Violet Thea Phillips, January 11, 2008. * Phillips has scored several films and TV shows as well as having a recurring role as the town troubadour on the 2000–2007 TV series ''

'' and its follow-up miniseries in 2016. * Phillips has a comedic background, having been a cast member in high school of the only professional theater in Stockton, Pollardville. * Phillips has co-written songs with numerous people, most recently with comedian

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

. He can be seen featured in her video "Asian Adjacent." The song was partially inspired by Phillips and

Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of th ...

(of

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

), who is part Māori. In 2015, Phillips released ''The Narrows,'' which extends Phillips' exploration of roots and folk music.

Discography

Compilation appearances

* ''I. C. Independent Celebration, Vol. 1'' (2015, Birdstone Records) (song: "Buffalo Hearts")

References

External links

*
Grant Lee Phillips Forum

Grant Lee Phillips Group on Bebo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Grant-Lee Eels (band) members 1963 births Living people Musicians from Stockton, California American alternative rock musicians Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers Zoë Records artists Singer-songwriters from California