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Nature has always been spiritually grounding for singer-songwriter and guitarist Griff Peters. A few years ago, when the San Diego, California-based roots rock artist was mired in a heart-wrenching personal struggle, he went out to the beach and sat down on a rock formation. There, Griff asked himself this question: if he was told he had a year to live, what would he do?
The answer was simple—make his solo debut, Canyons and Waves (Impropriety Records), a deep and sincere body of work crafted by a skilled and experienced artist with a worthy message of hope within darkness. That very rock formation graces the cover of the album, and from that fateful day on, Griff’s life has been powerfully transformed. Griff says “This is the long-awaited showing-up for my own life as an artist. The music paints a picture of an inner-knowing and the rekindling of hope when we feel lost”
Griff’s signature musical voice is best described as “artistic roots-rock,” an amalgamation of rural Americana, blues, folk, elements of avant-garde, prog, and album-side rock. Besides being a sage and sensitive songwriter, and soulful vocalist, Griff is a subtly virtuosic guitarist and a tone poet. He can coax a bevy of soundscapes with just his hands, from dirty Delta-blues, to stinging and firey rock, to pastoral folk, to sensual and lyrical slide playing, to sweet country filigree, and beyond.
Griff is a musician’s musician who as a sideman guitarist has performed, recorded and toured internationally with artists such as John Mayer, Billie Myers, Bryan Beller (Joe Satriani, The Aristocrats, Dethklok), Nina Storey, and the Mike Keneally Band (Frank Zappa, Andy Partridge, Steve Vai). Griff is the founder of Hilltop Frog Recording Studios, and the indie label Impropriety Records.
Born into a musical family in Southern California, Griff started playing piano when he was very young. He quickly infuriated his piano teacher by neglecting beginner’s classical studies in favor of learning intricate ragtime and boogie-woogie songs by ear.
After discovering his grandfather’s old electric guitar at age 14, Griff discovered his passion and innate abilities to play Chicago electric blues and more modern blues rock. By his senior year in high school, he was sneaking out early to study music at the local college. Soon, Griff was a teen professional musician with a full schedule. He attended college classes in the morning; gave guitar lessons in the evening; and gigged in smoky bars late at night. Eventually, he graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music.
Outside of music Griff enjoys exploring the deep spiritual aspects of nature, art, photography, and the Zen practice of rock balancing. Griff’s photography is intrinsically linked to the Canyons and Waves experience, with his 24-page liner notes of breathtaking images featured as a visual compendium to the music on the deluxe 45-RPM 180-gram double-vinyl available at griffpeters.com. “I wanted to compliment the auditory experience of the songs with striking visuals of peace, hope, and joy from different stages of my life,” Griff shares.
Griff will be promoting Canyons and Waves with shows and videos of the songs being performed live in the studio, onstage, and in breathtaking natural expanses. He will also be performing and releasing more new songs in the months ahead. Reflecting back on his epiphanic journey, Griff says: “Music says things that cannot be said otherwise. It reaches people’s hearts in places that cannot be reached by any other way. I’m using music this time around to transcend barriers and gently say ‘Hey – I’ve been there, too, but now I’ve found a better way.’”
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