Grant’s musical journey began in early childhood when he first discovered and heard a Beethoven record in his parents’ collection. Piano and other music lessons followed, and in turn he eventually tutored older kids in high school bands and toured the Canadian Maritimes at fifteen.
Fresh out of high school, and inspired by folk-rock icons like Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Grant went on to form bands and studied commercial music at Capilano College in North Vancouver, receiving instruction from such musical luminaries as Al Harlow and Jim Vallance.
Throughout the 90s he busked and played in various bands, and gained exposure as a soloist opening for Ani DiFranco at the Roberts Creek Hall, near where he grew up. At the same time Grant joined an original funk-ska-rock band Butler In The Hey! as a newly inspired trombonist and keyboardist (and a little harmonica and vocals). In 1998 he moved to Vancouver, where he put music on a back-burner to pursue a “real job”. But while working as a courier he found himself irresistibly gravitating towards musical projects, and in 2009 he followed his heart and once again took up music full time.
In 2009 he moved back to the Sunshine Coast, where as well as solo gigging, he was soon promoting – and usually performing in – a variety of club and pub shows featuring a kaleidoscope of musicians and genres around the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, Squamish, Texada Island and Vancouver Island. During these years he was also managing regular live music shows at the Roberts Creek Legion and the Lighthouse Pub in Sechelt. When he wasn’t performing or chasing down musicians for yet another show, he was writing songs.
Grant’s songs typically incorporate the simple story-telling style of John Prine, sometimes mixed with the poetic feel of Neil Young and the hardpan realism of Townes Van Zandt. Some of the lyrics are true, others not so much, but either way his intention is to draw the listener into a compelling and believable human experience. In the characters he sings about he tries not to discriminate between winners and losers; the characters in his songs come complete with flaws but they all have some redeeming qualities.
