Parker Griggs is an American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and founder of the rock band

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...

Career

Before the formation of Radio Moscow, Griggs was a fan of

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. He was known under his solo stage name as ''Garbage Composal'' and completed an album's worth of material before finding a bassist named Serana Andersen to form Radio Moscow in 2003. When recording, Griggs would play both guitar and drums. However, the band were known as a trio due to various live drummers joining the band as tour members. After the duo relocated to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, Griggs managed to hand a demo to

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

frontman

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

. Radio Moscow were then helped by Auerbach in getting signed to

Alive Naturalsound Records Alive Naturalsound Records (also known as Alive Records) is an independent record label formed in 1993 in Los Angeles, California by Patrick Boissel, specializing in garage rock, punk, psychedelic, and blues rock. It grew out of Boissel's as ...

. The band then returned to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and new bassist Luke McDuff was brought in. Griggs and McDuff then recorded the band's debut album in 2006, with Auerbach handling production duties. ''

'' was released in February 2007. In April 2009, the band self-produced their second studio album ''

Brain Cycles ''Brain Cycles'' is the second studio album by American psychedelic rock band Radio Moscow. Released on April 14, 2009, it was the band's first album to feature bassist Zach Anderson, who replaced Luke McDuff in 2007. Issued by Alive Naturalsoun ...

''. In 2011, Griggs produced '' The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz'' by himself and in 2012 ''

3 & 3 Quarters ''3 & 3 Quarters'' is a compilation album by American psychedelic rock band Radio Moscow. Released on April 17, 2012, it was recorded and produced in 2003 by frontman Parker Griggs before the formation of the band when he called himself ''Garbage ...

'' was released which featured Griggs only. This is because the material from the album was written and recorded before the formation of Radio Moscow. In January 2012, Alive released a compilation album titled "Where is Parker Griggs?" Griggs then released ''

Magical Dirt ''Magical Dirt'' is the fourth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Radio Moscow (or their fifth studio album, if the 2012 album 3 & 3 Quarters, which was a collection of demos recorded and produced in 2003 by frontman Parker Griggs befo ...

'' with Radio Moscow in June 2014. Alongside

Mario Rubalcaba Mario Rubalcaba (also known by the pseudonym Ruby Mars) is an American drummer from San Diego, notable as a member of numerous rock bands including Clikatat Ikatowi, Thingy, Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Earthless, the Sultans, and Off! H ...

of ''

Earthless Earthless is a mostly instrumental psychedelic rock band from San Diego, California, consisting of guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton and drummer Mario Rubalcaba. The band formed in 2001 and released their first album, ''Sonic Pray ...

'', and fellow Radio Moscow Member, Paul Marrone, Griggs founded ''Alpine Fuzz Society'', a side project from Radio Moscow, with intentions of playing more Garage Rock oriented music.

Style

Reviewing the band's self-titled album for music website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Greg Prato of AllMusic described the group's sound as "a throwback to the

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

of the '70s", comparing certain songs to artists such as

Ram Jam Ram Jam was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1977, predominantly known for their hit single "Black Betty". Overview The band consisted of Bill Bartlett (guitar and lead vocals) born 1946 in South Harrow, London, England, Howie ...

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

and

The Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. First ...

. He admired Griggs' voice describing it as "powerful, but stylish". Following the release of ''Brain Cycles'', the band have also been cited as an example of the

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

genre.

Discography

;Studio albums ;with

*''

'' (2007) *''

'' (2009) *'' The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz'' (2011) *''

'' (2012) – a collection of demos recorded in 2003 by Griggs before the formation of the band *''

'' (2014) *'' New Beginnings'' (2017) ;EPs *''Rancho Tehama EP'' (2013) with El Perro •''Hair Of'' (2022)

References

External links

Radio Moscow official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griggs, Parker Living people American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Lead guitarists Year of birth missing (living people)