Reprinted with permission. Click image at left to see larger image.
From Whatzup, December 9, 2004
By John DeGroff
"The Grift is a con," said Clint Bierman when asked about his band's name. "our con is getting to play music all the time instead of getting real jobs. The name comes from a Simpson's episode; that's where we got it. We actually have several references to the Simpsons in our music."
The members of The Grift are obviously guys with a deep appreciation for off-the-wall, acerbic humor. What's not apparent right away, though, is the absolute professionalism and dedication they bring to their craft.
Besides Bierman, who plays guitar and is the main vocalist for the band, The Grift consist of Jeff Vallone, turntables, keyboards and vocals; Neil Matthews, drums and vocals; and Peter Day, bass, trumpet and vocals.
The band was formed in the summer of 1999 in Boulder, Colorado, originally as a backing ensemble for a solo project Bierman was working on. However, the vibe was good and friends were recruited, which helped the project evolve in the the band Sunday Slide. this, in turn, became the Grift.
The original band was a five-piece made up of Bierman, Vallone, Ben Livel (violin), Rian Alfiero (keyboards) and Chris Misner (drums). They spent two years playing in and around Boulder. The project Bierman initially started was released as $6 Sunglasses in 1999. Subsequent albums were Hotel Gillaspie (2000) and Sleeping Policeman (2001). It was after the third record that Alfiero left to pursue a career in producing.
By 2002, after Sleeping Policeman was released, Bierman went back to Middlebury, Vermont and hooked up with an old college friend, Neil Matthews. Vallone, who was also a Middlebury College alum, soon followed. Working as a trio, they released Free Disc in 2002. They were able to tour extensively throughout the Northeast, the Midwest, and made the occasional trip back to Boulder.
In October of 2003, another Middlebury College alumnus, Peter Day, joined up on bass, trumpet and guitar. This freed up Vallone to indulge his experimental side with sundry electronic devices, including computers. He was summarily dubbed The Grift's E-boardist.
Throughout all this change both in lineup and location, The Grift continued to grow and constantly perform. "We've been through a few different lineups," said Bierman, "but there are some songs from the other albums that we play all the time. The instrumentation has changed, but the feeling hasn't. We go for a good time. It's changed a little in terms of covers since we had the violin player, but with the originals it's pretty much the same and the same philosophy.
"Now we have a DJ, and that sets us apart from a lot of other bands. The bass player also plays trumpet, and that gives us a funk edge. It's this constant changing of instrumentation that sets us apart from the rest of the scene. You can be a one-hit wonder, but we want to make a career of this, and you have to separate yourself from everyone else. You at least need the possibility that this could go on for several years. We touch on a lot of different styles, and a lot of people can relate to us. We still have a consistent sound, and we work toward being radio-friendly."
Towards these goals, The Grift have released their newest project, Life Beyond Aluminum. What's interesting is the credentialed help they had working with them on the project. The new album was produced by Gary Mallabar, whose credits include The Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen. The engineer on the project was Greg Tobler, who has worked with Norah Jones and David Bowie.
"This record is a sweet story," said Bierman. "it was recorded in Buffalo, New York in June. We spent the entire month there; we rented a house next to the studio. We got to meet Greg Tobler through a friend of a friend. With Gary Mallabar, once again, it was through contacts. Hr really changed everything in my mind about how a band works in the studio. Like, we could hear what we wanted but didn't know how it was done in the studio. He knew what to do and how to get the sound.
"At first, I was nervous about working with a producer, since I've had some bad experiences. Now, I have a new appreciation of producers. Gary wasn't about changing things but just knew little aspects of the process that made certain things stand out."
Along with an album just released this year, The Grift have hit the road again. They do over 150 dates a year. While most of their touring has been in the Northeast and Midwest, according to Bierman, the band will be heading to southern states for the first time soon.
"We're following a business model that's based on concentric circles, and we try to expand on it." he said. "A year and a half, two years ago, we were only playing in Massachusetts and Vermont. Actually, in July, we're going cross-country. We go into so many new markets, you don't make any money the first time out. We do a lot of high schools—assemblies and even dances. We do some colleges, but it's tougher to play in the college scene. It's gotten to the point where you can trace the progression of the band through the clubs we're playing."
Even though The Grift do play a variety of venues and gigs, their desire to continually progress seems to be working. They played for ESPN at the 2002 Great Outdoor Games in Lake Placid, New York, and again for the X Games in Philadelphia that same year. Bierman has also lent his song writing talents outside The Grift. Along with co-writer Rich Prior, he penned the tune, "I'm On My Way," which is part of the Shrek 2 soundtrack.
Bierman's no stranger to Fort Wayne, either. He was born and raised here and went to Canterbury School. "We've played here before, several times," he said. "We're psyched to be back."
Webmaster's notes:
We assume these to be typos or something on the part of the paper. Here are proper spellings so our peeps get their due.
• (Ben Livel) Ben Lively
• (Gary Mallabar) Gary Mallaber
• (Rich Prior) Rich Price