Biography
The Grift is an independent band from Burlington, VT. Their sound defies easy categorization – one concertgoer described their sound as "post-jam pop-rock rooted in classic rock" – but this much is sure: they are talented musicians with a knack for reading their audience. They can rock, they can groove, and they can charm you with original songs that stick in your head long after the show. Their original songs have radio-friendly hooks, witty lyrics, and tight vocal harmonies. At the root of it all, their musicianship is impeccable. Their live shows are energetic and memorable – it’s not unusual for band members to swap instruments, play two at a time, or for the whole band to perform a brand new song, improvising music and lyrics on the fly. With a deep catalogue of original music that blends rock and pop and jam, and an equally deep catalogue of cover songs from many different genres, The Grift throws their diverse array of musical influences into the oven and cooks up tasty sonic treats for everyone to enjoy.
The Grift has played more than 130 gigs a year since 2003 with 2007 shaping up to be around 165.
The Grift has shared the stage with:
GRACE POTTER
DISPATCH
ZOX
RUSTIC OVERTONES
SEEKING HOMER
LIQUID SOUL
MAX CREEK
BADFISH
THE MOTET
ACOUSTIC JUNCTION
LLOYD BANKS
RUSS LAWTON (TREY ANASTASIO BAND)
FUZZ (DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT)
The Grift has played these Colleges:
University of Hartford (Hartford, CT)
University of Illinois (Champaign, IL)
Depauw University (Greencastle, IN)
Bentley College (Waltham, MA)
Colby-Sawyer College (New London, NH)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY)
St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY)
Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT)
Johnson State College (Johnson, VT
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
St. Michael's College (Colchester, VT)
Lyndon State College (Lyndon, VT)
Castleton State College (Castleton, VT)
University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)
Unity College (Unity, ME)
The Grift has played these Secondary Schools:
Choate Academy (Wallingford, CT)
Loomis Chaffee (Windsor, CT)
Pomfret School (Pomfret, CT)
Canterbury School (Ft. Wayne, IN)
Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, MA)
Deerfield Academy (Deerfield, MA)
Governor Dummer Academy (Byfield, MA)
Groton School (Groton, MA)
Middlesex Academy (Concord, MA)
Milton Academy (Milton, MA)
Miss Hall's School (Pittsfield, MA)
St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA)
Tabor Academy (Marion, MA)
The Waring School (Beverly, MA)
Williston-Northampton (Easthampton, MA)
Camp Belknap (Wolfboro, NH)
Holderness (Plymouth, NH)
Clayton A. Bouton HS (albany, NY)
Christ School (Arden, NC)
St. George's Academy (Newport, RI)
Otter Valley UHS (Brandon, VT)
Gailer School (Middlebury, VT)
Middlebury Union HS (Middlebury, VT)
Vermont Academy (Saxton's River, VT)
Episcopal HS (Alexandria, VA)
The Grift has played these Clubs:
The Pickle Barrel Nightclub (Killington, VT)
Paradise Lounge (Boston, MA)
Tammany Hall, (Worcester, MA)
Sully's Pub (Hartford, CT)
Stone Church Music Hall (Newmarket, NH)
Higher Ground (Burlington, VT)
Nectar's (Burlington, VT)
The Iron Horse (Northampton, MA)
The Middle East (Cambridge, MA)
Harper's Ferry (Boston, MA)
The Boulder Theatre (Boulder, CO)
Wise Fool's Pub (Chicago, IL)
The Trilogy Lounge (Boulder, CO)
The Brandy House (Atlanta, GA)
Eddie's Attic (Atlanta, GA)
Hoghead McDunna's (Chicago, IL)
The Bluebird (Bloomington, IN)
The House of Blues (Cambridge, MA)
T.C.'s Speakeasy (Ann Arbor, MI)
The Barley House (Concord, NH)
The Lucky Dog (Plymouth, NH)
Knitting Factory (NY,NY)
Tribeca Rock Club (NY,NY)
The Mad Frog (Cincinnati, OH)
The Flying Saucer (Columbia, SC)
Main St. Cafe (Lexington, SC)
The Pour House (Charleston, SC)
Boardwalk Cafe (Nashville, TN)
Club Metronome (Burlington, VT)
The Rusty Nail (Stowe, VT)
The Velvet Lounge (Washington, DC)
Whitlow's on Wilson (Arlington, VA)
The Big Easy Saloon (Paoli, PA)
The Perfect Wife (Manchester, VT)
Manchester Bar & Grill (Manchester, VT)
Archie's (Ludlow, VT)
Grizzly's (Stratton Mtn, VT)
Instrumentation
Clint Bierman - vocals, guitar, bass
Peter Day - vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, trumpet
Jeff Vallone - vocals, drums, bass, percussion
Ryan Erskine - keyboards, percussion
Discography
The Grift Live at Nectar's
Personnel
Clint Bierman: vocals, guitar
Peter Day - vocals, bass
Jeff Vallone - vocals, drums
Ryan "Big Time" Erskine - keys
Additional musicians
Russ Lawton: drums (tracks 7 & 8)
Fuzz : guitar (track 4)
Track 11 contains teases from Jay Z and Citizen Cope
© 2007 GlennSource Records
Recorded August 3, 2007 by Jamie Bright
Mixed at Chakra 5 Studios by Jamie Bright and Clint Bierman
Art Direction, front cover photo: Mark Favreau; back cover photo: Brad Pettengill
All Songs by The Grift
Tracks
1. Too Bad
2. Come A Long Way
3. Emily
4. Bloom
5. Block Me In
6. Day and Night
7. Cell Phone
8. Lifetime Guarantee
9. Brown
10. Next Train Out
11. Check One
Life Beyond Aluminum
Personnel
Clint Bierman: vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano
Peter Day - vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, trumpet, percussion
Jeff Vallone - vocals, turntables, keyboards,bass, percussion, programming
Neil Matthews - drums, vocals
Additional musicians
Gary Mallaber: conga, tambourine, shaker, string arrangement
Peter Nilsson: piano, organ
Dave Koltai: guitar
Greg Tobler: percussion
© 2004 GlennSource Records
(P) 2004 GlennSource Records
Produced by Gary Mallaber, Greg Tobler, Dave Koltai, and The Grift
Recorded June 2004 at Audio Magic, Buffalo, NY
Engineered by Greg "Tobi-Wan" Tobler
Mixed by Gary Mallaber, Mike Rorick, Greg Tobler
Mastered by David St. Onge at DMS Productions
All Songs by The Grift except Curtain Call by The Grift and Gary Mallaber
Tracks
1. Check One
2. Too Long
3. Bloom
4. In Between Takes
5. Three Minutes and Counting
6. Vegas
7. Aluminum
8. Too Bad
9. Like I Do
10. Day and Night
11. Curtain Call
Live 2003
Personnel
Clint Bierman: Vocals, Guitars
Jeff Vallone: Bass
Neil Matthews: Drums
© 2003 GlennSource Records/Vallonetone Music
(P) 2003 GlennSource Records
Produced by The Grift
Recorded and Mixed by Rian Alfiero
Mastered at Charles Eller Studios, Charlotte, VT
All music by The Grift
All lyrics by The Grift except 1 & 9 with Ryan Tansiel, 2 with Rich Price, 3 with Wil Rothman, 5 with Jared Mackenzie.
Tracks
1. Territory
2. You Say
3. Next Train Out
4. Too Long
5. Welcome to Jonesville
6. Cobalt Blue
7. Day and Night
8. Bloom
9. Bide My Time
Sleeping Policeman
Personnel
Chris Misner: Drums, Percussion
Rian Alfiero: Keyboards, Vocals
Clint Bierman: Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars
Jeff Vallone: Basses, Vocals, Nylon String Guitar
Ben Lively: Acoustic and Electric Violins
Additional Musicians
Pat Knightly: Drums on 1, 3, 9
Sally Van Meter: Dobro on 8
Phoebe Chase: Backing vocals on 7, 15
Liz, Neil, John, Anastacia: Backing vocals on 15
Ryan: Backing vocals on 8
© 2001 GlennSource Records/Vallonetone Music
(P) 2001 GlennSource Records
Produced by Clint Bierman, Rian Alfiero, Jeff Vallone
Coproduced by Ben Lively
Tracks
1. Territory
2. Ambisinister (Barry's Tune)
3. Tranquility Base
4. And Then...
5. Cobalt Blue
6. Tasty
7. What Could Be
8. Bide My Time
9. 25
10. Prelude No. 2
11. Song for Liz
12. All at Once (The Pop Tune)
13. Prelude No. 1
14. East Meets West
15. Oxygen
The Free Disc
© 2002 GlennSource Records/Vallonetone Music
(P) 2002 GlennSource Records
1. One More Drop
2. Over It
3. WRP
We recorded this 3-track disc as a demo and free giveaway disc on 7 July, 2002. This is the first recording with Clint on guitar, Jeff on bass, and Neil on drums. It's now officially a collector's item.
Links
| http://www.thegrift.com |