David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

guitarists A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves ...

in the world. His crosspicking, unique phrasing, and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his playing style.

Biography

Early history

Grier was born in Washington D.C. in 1961. His family moved to Nashville when he was 3, and 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 usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player in Bluegrass legend

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'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. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

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 ''The Country Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Massachusetts towns of Bellingham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville and Wrentham. The free paper is distributed to residents of these towns located along the ...

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 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's mando ...

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 awa ...

(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 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

, and

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

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 * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

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 ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

Marty Lanham in

Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, 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 music, bluegrass and "twang". Specializing in fretted instru ...

. His current principal guitar is a

D-28 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.

Discography

References

External links

Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grier, David American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists Living people 1961 births Psychograss members Fellows of the American Physical Society