 “I
try my best to make sure that whatever groove and style [I]
play is solid and in the pocket.”
Spoken like the true professional he is. From his very
first gig in the ‘70’s until today and beyond,
Gary Grainger is the consummate musician. He is talented,
versatile, and knowledgeable both on stage while playing bass,
and in the behind the scenes world of music production.
Gary Grainger began playing bass in his mid-teens. His
father brought home an old bass that belonged to one of his
coworkers one day, and Gary took a liking to it. Because
he comes from a musical family, it was almost inevitable that
Gary would play an instrument. (His father plays the
trumpet, his brother Glen plays trumpet and keyboards, and
his brother Greg plays drums and percussion.) Gary began
on the drums, but soon realized that the bass was his instrument
of choice, so, he taught himself how to play it. He
still dabbles a little in the drums through computerized drum
programming.
He was influenced by many of the great bass players, including
Stanley Clarke, Ray Brown, Chuck Rainey, and James Jamison. Throw
in some of the other great bands and musicians of the day:
Sly & The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Stevie
Wonder, most of the Motown line-up, and EWF, and you have the
prerequisite for some serious R&B and funk.
Gary was an art major at Morgan State University, but soon
realized that music would be his way of life. “I
did everything. I did graphics, I drew, I painted, [and]
I sculpted.” He put the artwork aside to concentrate
on being a musician. “I can get paid doing what
I love. I think we can work this out.” When
asked about whether or not he still does any artwork, he says: “I
sit down with a sketch pad every now and then, but no, not
really. I need to.”
He began his career back in the mid ‘70’s with
a band called Pockets, which was produced by EWF. That
connection allowed him to do some studio work with the legendary
group, as well as record with another of their protégé groups,
The Emotions. Gary has also worked with Deodato, and
Blue Magic. Gary spent several years working with John
Schofield, Dennis Chambers, Maysa, and Luther Ingram. In
addition to the touring and roadwork, Gary has done extensive
studio and recording work for a variety of musicians including
Mary Ann Redmond, Lonnie Liston Smith, Nancy Wilson, George
Duke, Eric Marienthal, Najee, Slim Man, Jay Rowe, and Nelson
Rangell.
Gary plays quite often with guitarist Ken Navarro. Their
relationship spans some 13 years. He can be heard on
many of Ken’s recordings, and, is a longtime member of
his touring band. This is what Ken says about Gary’s
abilities: “Gary brings a sophistication and sensitivity
to my music every time he plays it. I have long believed
that the key to great music making is listening, and Gary is
THE model for that belief. Plus, he has the most amazing
musical memory of any musician I have ever worked with.”
As of this writing, Gary is in Florida with Acoustic Alchemy
on the final leg of their US tour. He and the band just
returned from a successful run in Japan. In addition
to those gigs, Gary is part of the WPG Trio. He is also
collaborating with Spanish singer Meritxell and plays on, produces,
and promotes The Meritxell Project. As
if that is not enough on his already full plate, he is working
with his brother on their next Grainger project, Phase
III. “We’re supposed to be
doing a lot of recording this November. I’m home
and he’s home. We’re going to make some time
to finish it up.”
For several years, Gary has been working with Eastern Shore
guitarist and guitar maker Paul Reed Smith at the various NAMM
tradeshows that take place every year. He is a part of
the PRS band. That relationship has led to the creation
of two things: (1) a PRS band CD which is currently in the
works, and (2) a signature 5 string PRS Gary Grainger series
bass. “It started off just doing the trade shows. Then,
it kind of escalated from playing together on the trade shows,
to having the bass made. Then, some tunes started appearing. Then, ‘let’s
go into the studio and make a CD. That would be nice.’ It’s
kind of a nice, fun, rock and roll project. That’s
how it happened.”
When not making or producing music, Gary likes to spend time
with his family. “[I like] just hanging with my
family; with my girls. We like to take long walks, climb
the rocks, and go to the park. We like going outdoors. [We
go] to the beach a lot. We get a chance to hang a lot.” Even
while on the road, he’s able to have his family join
him some of the time, which makes it easy.
Gary would someday like to play with legendary saxophone player
David Sanborn. “We did lots of dates with him on
the Ken Navarro tour. I like the music. It would
be fun.” But, for now, Gary keeps a very full schedule
with Ken Navarro, Grainger, WPG, The Meritxell Project, and
the PRS band. You can catch Gary with The Meritxell Project
at Café 611 in Frederick, MD in November or at the Rams
Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD in December. In addition,
look for Gary with The WPG Trio in MD/DC /VA area clubs. Internationally,
Gary will be in Yokohama, Japan with the PRS band at the NAMM
trade show in November.
www.gary-grainger.com
- Mary Bentley
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