Grif at the Rum Boogie • Beale Street, Memphis
Leonard Griffie
Guitarist, Songwriter, Singer
Grif began his music career as a southern California teen. The son of a life long professional guitarist, he took to the instrument as if born to play. While still in high school, he belonged to a professionally managed, hard working, regularly gigging rock band and was playing in nightclubs long before he was actually old enough to be on the premises. In fact, while playing in the house band of a Pasadena nightclub at age 19, a special stage was constructed to allow the underaged guitarist to perform. A glass wall faced the audience but the stage itself was technically outside the liquor serving area. The arrangement was a bit odd, but allowed the club to keep it's popular house band.

Though the Los Angeles area nightclubs mostly required him to play the popular rock music of the day, Grif's guitar was always pure blues with a little jazz mixed in. An early interest in blues-rockers like Eric Clapton, Jim Hendrix, and Johnny Winter led him to seek out their influences. After years of studying and absorbing the music of favorites like Freddie, Albert, and BB King; as well as Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Albert Collins and literally dozens more, Grif has developed two unique voices: one comes from his mouth, and the other from his guitar. Both an extension of his soul.

With the exception of a short stint with a progressive jazz band, Grif continued to work in cover bands throughout the 70s. Beginning in the 80s, he began to perform more of the many original compositions he'd been writing for two decades. Grif has now performed his original compositions everywhere from tiny nightclubs to concert stages; and usually by the third verse, the audience is singing along.

Grif has now joined forces with Johnny O. Nelson to form "BluesDusters", and together they've created one of the new millennium's great new blues and roots CDs.