Jefferson Grizzard
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Jefferson Grizzard

Nashville, Tennessee, United States | SELF

Nashville, Tennessee, United States | SELF
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"A Modern Day Poet"

Yesterday and Today

Jefferson Grizzard is a singer/songwriter from Rome, GA who has recently released his first album "A Crack in the Door" on Backporch Syndicate Records. Jefferson began both playing the guitar and writing at the young age of thirteen. As he grew up his writing style began to take the mold of the many artists Jefferson had grown up listening to. It is easy to hear the stylistic murmurings of such artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Donovan, and Kris Kristofferson within Jefferson's songs. Musically "A Crack in the Door" echoes the tonality of 60's and 70's Rock and Roll and Country music.




Jefferson Grizzard
As I listened to Grizzard's record, all the names mentioned above kept coming to mind, and I was reminded of the sounds of my youth coming at me over the radio. All it needed was a bit of static or the hum and hiss of a beat up turntable to take me home.

I was struggling with an introduction that involved something about a lost highway or traveled road, when "Gypsy Sally" came over the phones. "The road I've travelled ..." sang Jefferson, while I began reading the bio on his web-site. Well, that sums it up, said I, hence the above quote.

"A Crack In The Door", his most recent release by Back porch Syndicate can be found on CD Baby. He has been gigging in Georgia and Nashville, most recently playing Spanky's - he just may return soon!



This young man is making some serious new, old-school, folk music with organs and horns and guitars! Oh, My! I even think I heard a touch of Tom Petty in there. The old movie critic guys would say, "Two Thumbs Up!" - Middle Tennessee Music


"Jefferson Grizzard - A Crack In The Door"

Jefferson Grizzard came from a small town in Georgia, and his debut is A Crack in the Door, the product of his home, his musical upbringing and his songwriting habits. A songwriter since he was a kid, Grizzard had scribbled out enough lyrics by age 18 to have impressed Ryan Adams. Like so many young contemporaries, Grizzard’s sound imitates the greats that spun on their parents’ record players. A Crack bears generous similarities to Dylan and Young, as well as hints of The Band, Skynard, Ryan Adams, The Highwaymen and far too many more to list.

Immediately, on the opener “Forces They Fail,” Grizzard establishes the spare, twangy, southern-plus-something-else sense of melody that channels Young with an unassuming little electric melody backing a haphazard philosophical daydream: “If all forces that fail are originally good/and if nothin’ is real/how can I make myself feel/like I know I should.”

The Traveling Wilburys-esque chug-a-lug of “Since You Came Around” sounds as if as if Tom Petty or Roy Orbison should be switching off verses with Grizzard, and tracks like “Alaska” and “Puppet Show” have the same hushed beauty as those Dylan songs when he decides to soften his rustic vocals and woo the listener.

Dennis Wage’s keys ooze, bleed and crash over a somber stretch of guitar on “Burned Out Son,” bringing to mind something off Ryan Adams’ Cold Roses, and “Poisoned” has all the nighttime-car-ride charm of Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever. Some understated but killer bass from Dow Tomlin bubbles up rather sexy-like amidst the Van Morrison-ish reeds and brass of “I Got the Spirit,” which conjure a sort of burlesque-show image.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Grizzard’s songwriting on the album, however, is the fact that he can create a full story with only about four lines repeating (“Horseleg Road”), one of the most prominent talents of a country artist. If this is Grizzard’s debut, it seems like he will only get better from here - Murfreesboro Pulse


"Jefferson Grizzard - A Crack In The Door"

Hailing from Rome, GA, Jefferson Grizzard is a unique pleasure to the ears. Some have described him as somewhat of a southern Bob Dylan. At times, that description is pretty much dead on. Though, I think his vocal approach is somewhat less polarizing than that of Dylan.

Still, as a writer, Grizzard specializes in that deep introspective style, and there are plenty of examples of that here. “Forces They Fall” is a neat little piece of Americana-type sounds, with Grizzard handling the vocal part well. As writer on all of the cuts, he is able to weave many different emotions together in these eleven tracks.

Other highlights include the wistful “Puppet Show” and “I Got The Spirit,” on which Grizzard infuses with a little bit of New Orleans-style Jazz. Then, there’s the blues-laden “Gypsy Sally,” which kind of reminds me of some of the work of Hank Williams, Jr. – not the singles he released, but rather some of his album cuts, such as his cover of Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone.”

He closes out the album with perhaps his strongest statement, “Don’t Wanna Lie,” where he mixes all of his influences the best. In this day where you must fit in a neat little box for radio success, Grizzard doesn’t. He’s as out of the mainstream as another Georgian named Grizzard – Lewis – was in the publishing world some thirty years ago, but he does what he does, and he does it very well indeed! Definitely a name to watch!

For more information, log on to www.JeffersonGrizzard.com - Music News Nashville


Discography

A Crack In The Door (2011)

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Bio

Jefferson Grizzard is a singer/songwriter from Rome, GA who has recently released his first album “A Crack in the Door” on Backporch Syndicate Records. Jefferson began both playing the guitar and writing at the young age of thirteen. As he grew up his writing style began to take the mold of the many artists Jefferson had grown up listening to. It is easy to hear the stylistic murmurings of such artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Donovan, and Kris Kristofferson within Jefferson’s songs. Musically “A Crack in the Door” echoes the tonality of 60’s and 70’s Rock and Roll and Country music.

Growing up in a small town, Jefferson spent a lot of time listening to his father’s records - citing acts such as The Beatles and The Band as major influences. By the age of eighteen Jefferson had already written over a hundred songs. After graduating high school he attended St. Edwards University in Austin, TX. While in Austin, Jefferson continued to write and frequented local bars and clubs, observing different acts and managing to get on the stage a few times himself.

After his freshman year, Jefferson decided to pursue music full time. He returned to Georgia, met with producer Ben McRee, and made his way up to Nasvhille. The record was cut at the Sound Emporium in Nashville, and after a few months of tracking at The Temple in Rome, GA the record was complete. Released on March 19th, 2010, “A Crack in the Door” has been met with much critical acclaim.