Happy New Year
I am on the road in California with Eric Bibb in February. Please check out the schedule page for the where and whens.We just finished a smoking recording session at Dirk Powell's place in Louisiana. Eric, Dirk and I were joined by Cedric Watson, Danny Devallier, and Christine Balfa. The engineering was done by multiple grammy winner Michael Bishop. The CD will be called Dig a Little Deeper in the Well, and will be out soon.
My good friends and musical travelers, Orville Johnson, John Miller and I have a new CD out. It's called We Heard the Voice of a Porkchop. We recorded it live at David Lange's studio and had a blast in the process. We'll be doing a CD release in Seattle on February 25th at a site to be named.
I'll be doing some shows in March with mandolin maestro Rich Del Grosso, and New Jersey guitar virtuoso Frank Fotusky. Details will follow soon on the schedule page.
I am very excited about an upcoming show with Forrest Gibson on guitar and vocals, Mary Maass on fiddle and vocals and Greg Maass on dobro. We have a unique, very cool sound, sort of bluegrass, meets blues and folk.
See you down the road
Grant
Listen to an excerpt of: "Lay Down My Burden"
What folks are saying about Grant:
"Accompanied only by Grant Dermody on harmonica, Eric played his guitar with such passion and intensity, and his sound was so full, that I never thought about the lack of bass, drums, keyboards or horns. I was more impressed with Eric and Grant than all the other great musicians who played the festival. Maybe it was because they chose to present their music in the same manner as the earliest blues players, so that even in a large crowd I felt the intimacy I might have at a juke joint. Eric and Grant received a standing ovation at 1:30 in the afternoon! If you’ve ever been to an outdoor, daytime festival, you know that it takes a special act to get people on their feet under a blazing sun."- 2009 Monterey Blues Festival Review
"My good friend Grant Dermody is a tall man with a big tone and a huge heart. His playing is the rare combination of technical mastery and deep soulfulness. He has mastered styles ranging from old time fiddle tunes to deep blues and gospel. Grant is well aware of the healing power of music and he gives it out in double doses."– Phil Wiggins
“Grant Dermody is one of the greatest blues and roots harmonica players around. His playing reaches deep into the well of tradition and at the same time takes the music to exciting new places with a very personal sound. Working with him in the studio and on the stage is always a pleasure.” – Eric Bibb
"Grant is on the five-finger list of best harmonica players in the country today in acoustic blues and old-time music. His technique and tone are literally breathtaking. He’s a player’s player who elevates the sound and mood of everyone around him. He’s also an audience favorite who wins over crowds the hard way—not by showboating, but by playing tough tunes with taste and subtlety and making them consistently interesting. He’s simply one of the greatest harp players ever to come out of the Pacific Northwest." – Mark Hoffman (Co-author of Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf)
"Grant has it all. Time, phrasing, great ideas, and above all a stunning tone. Totally in the tradition but with a real voice of his own. " – Wayne Horvitz
"This is a first-rate solo album from a mature musician who really loves what he is doing, and in a world where there is a great deal of competition, this guy can certainly hold his own . " – Bob Tilling, Blues In Britain Magazine
"Grant's harmonica playing, though virtuosic, is not the bombastic pseudo-virtuosity of the psychedelic fantasy freak-out or cold mathematical noodlerama, but an articulate poetic statement with a big evocative vocal tone the tells the song's story with a moving lyricism. " – Mark Graham
"Lots of soul and plenty of taste."– Jelly Roll Johnson-Nashville session harmonicist
"Music needs more players like Grant Dermody."
"The harmonica is not the only instrument whose fundamental timbre—the unique sonic quality that gave it is original appeal—has been overshadowed by modern manipulations. Amplification enabled brilliant pioneers like Charlie Christian, Jimi Hendrix, and Little Walter to give their instruments exciting new dimensions, but after 75 years of electricity it seems time to have the pendulum swing a little toward the pure resonance of acoustic instruments. Rock and roll’s arrival on the scene in the 1950s brought an irresistible, much-needed vitality to an American pop music that had become all too predictable and boring, but in the hands of too many performers that sassy sparkle has devolved into relentless edginess and manic, machine-gunned riffing.
So these days it’s critical that we have active on the scene those rare musicians who can create gorgeous sounds out of nothing but an unplugged instrument, their lungs, and their hands. These are the players whose artistry provides balance in era when any effect is technologically possible. It’s not a question of retro versus modern, or of the old becoming so dated that it becomes fresh again. It’s about championing some of the most beautiful sounds ever created by humans, and of shortening the distance between the instrument and the player.
Don’t get me wrong. Grant Dermody happens to be a great amplified harmonica player. He can also play some mean jazz on the chromatic mouth organ. In short, he’s a musician whose talent knows few natural boundaries. The great payoff for us, the music lovers, is that Grant has made a conscious decision to focus on the unadorned sound of the acoustic Marine Band, and, in a career spanning more than two decades, he has become a true, modern master in his chosen field.I met Grant when he was first learning his way around the harmonica, and from the first he understood a core concept that has eluded too many mouth organists—that the harmonica could do everything he would ever want to do in music, which was a lot. This gave Grant the serenity to allow the harmonica to speak in its true voice, to focus on bringing forth the irresistible, reedy quality that made this pocket-sized device the world’s most popular instrument and the one closest to the human voice. It also gave him the determination to master all the considerable technique required to show off all the harmonica’s many dialects, which he has done.
With Grant Dermody, you get it all. Brilliant technique, certainly, but always in the service of the song, for one of Grant’s strength is his taste for great material. Complete command of a myriad of blues harmonica styles, from the one-man-orchestra approach of DeFord Bailey to the effortless swing and soulfulness of Rice Miller. Emotional, honest singing. And the support of world-class supporting musicians, for great players gravitate toward each other. You also get a man of enormous integrity, compassion, and courage—all of which has made him not only a world-class performer but one great human being." – Kim Field
site: Deepwood Studio
