David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. A three-time IBMA guitarist of the year, Grier has been lauded as highly influential and a master flatpicker by music publications and several of his colleagues. Grier is particularly known for

crosspicking Crosspicking is a technique for playing the mandolin or guitar using a plectrum or flatpick in a rolling, syncopated style across three strings. This style is probably best known as one element of the flatpicking style in bluegrass music, and it cl ...

, as well as unique phrasing and repeated variations of melody and harmony parts. The Bluegrass Situation has noted Grier's "phenomenal cross-picking guitar techniques, which put him among the greatest bluegrass players of the last several decades." He has the rare distinction of appearing as a guitarist on bluegrass albums which have been nominated for

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

in three different decades.

Biography

Early history

Grier was born in Washington D.C. in 1961. His family moved to Nashville when he was 3, and he began playing guitar at age 6. Grier's father Lamar was a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player in Bluegrass legend

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

's band for a number of years.

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017. Biography White wa ...

was a major musical influence on the young Grier, and helped him learn to play. Grier's guitar playing is also heavily influenced by that of

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds ...

, Roland's brother. When he was 20 years old, Grier joined the Virginia band Full Time. During the 1980s, he performed with Country Gazette and

Doug Dillard Douglas Flint Dillard (March 6, 1937 – May 16, 2012) was an American musician noted for his banjo proficiency and his pioneering participation in late-'60s country rock. Biography Early life Dillard, who grew up on a farm near Salem, Missouri ...

, and then began to record his own albums beginning with ''Freewheeling'' in 1988.

Psychograss

Grier performs solo and as a member of the group Psychograss, founded by

Darol Anger Darol Robert Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Career Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman' ...

and Mike Marshall.

Helen Highwater

In 2015, bluegrass supergroup Helen Highwater, consisting of Grier, Shad Cobb (fiddle),

Missy Raines Missy Raines (born April 6, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year. Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA Bass Player of the Year aw ...

(bass), and Mike Compton (mandolin), released one self-titled EP.

Music instruction

Grier worked with Matt Flinner,

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2020: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

, and

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (born Todd Philip Bunzl; December 19, 1970) is an American filmmaker. Phillips began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip'', '' Old School'', ''Starsky & Hutch'', and '' School for Scoundrels''. ...

to prepare the ''All Star Bluegrass Jam Along'' instruction books and CDs for Homespun Music Instruction.

Musical instruments

Grier owns his father's 1955

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

D-18. The D-18 was his main guitar for a number of years but is now "retired." He also played a Nashville Guitar Company dreadnought, built by renowned

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Marty Lanham in

Nashville, TN Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the guitar was sold in 2009 with the music store

Elderly Instruments Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument retailer in Lansing, Michigan, United States, with a reputation as a "megastore", a repair shop and a locus for folk music including bluegrass and "twang". Specializing in fretted instruments, including ...

. His current principal guitar is a Martin D-28, which was built in 1946.

Awards

Grier was named "Guitar Player of the Year" by the

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

three times (1992, 1993 and 1995). Grier was recognized by ''Acoustic Guitar'' magazine as one of the top ten influential artists of the 1990s.

Influence

Molly Tuttle Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993) is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, recording artist, and teacher in the bluegrass tradition. She is noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar prowess. S ...

has called Grier "one of erguitar heroes". During her appearance on the

Guitar Player Magazine ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contained articles, interviews, reviews and lessons covering artists, genres and products. The magazine was last edited by Christopher Scape ...

show "My Life in Five Riffs", called Grier's version of "Bill Cheatham" a "masterclass in flatpicking guitar" and said of his influence, "he plays around with a melody, and also fills out the melody, so you can hear these chord changes around the melody of a fiddle tune, and I love that about his playing - that he incorporates a lot of crosspicking so you don't just hear the melody, you hear all the harmony."

Discography

References

External links

Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grier, David American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists Living people 1961 births Psychograss members