Grunge, jam rock, pop, alternative with a slight Celtic influence.

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Jam-band, ROCK: Hard Rock



Details:
L.A. BASED SINGER/SONGWRITER GRIFFIN STEWARTâS GROUP EVOLVES FROM ITS JAM BAND ROOTS TO START AN EXHILIRATING AND SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS CROSS-GENRE âMOVEMENTâ

Stewartâs Edgy Mix Of Grunge, Pop, Rock And Subtle Irish Influences Comes Alive With The Powerful Rhythm Section Of MI Students Squirrel (Bass) and Bill Remy (Drums) And The Production Expertise Of Veteran TV Composer And Engineer Aaron Kaplan (Rod Stewart, Britney Spears, Hanson)

In Addition To Gigging at L.A. Hotspots The Joint, Molly Maloneâs, On The Rox, 14 Below, Room 5 and B.B. Kingâs, Wildphyr Has Toured The Pacific Northwest, Including Shows At The Famed âRainbowâ In Seattle

Magnificently echoing the title of Movement, Griffin Stewartâs debut CD as leader of the popular, cross genre indie band Wildphyr, the multi-talented singer, songwriter and guitarist has been on a wild journey of personal and creative self-discovery since heading to L.A. from the Philly bar scene in the late 90s.

Shortly after he landed West, Stewart hooked into the high life with the popular Sunset Strip band Galaxy Grand Prix. In addition to gigging at hotspots like The Viper Room and The Whisky, the group did tons of Hollywood after parties and was the darling of numerous celebrities. Stewart was digging his role as their guitarist âutility man,â but quickly noticed that his onstage charisma was wowing the crowds and taking attention away from Galaxy Grand Prixâs lead singer.

Eager to assert himself as a songwriter, he left Galaxy in 2000 and launched Illuminata, an alternative, Venice based jam rock outfit that rocked the Westside for years with a rotating group of backing musicians. Illuminata released two well-received demos, Down The Road and Step Into The Light, but Stewart didnât find true enlightenment till he ventured on a soul-searching journey to Ireland.

âI was completely inspired there,â he says âThatâs where my grandmotherâs family is from and those are my roots. I felt so connected to the culture. I came back home and life started changing.â

Returning re-energized and completely focused on the future, he started writing more heartfelt, socially conscious songs and Illuminata quickly evolved into Wildphyr with the addition of permanent members, the irrepressible bassist Squirrel and drummer Bill Remy, both 21-year-old Musiciansâ Institute students with a background in rock and metal.

After adding Squirrel last year, Wildphyr began gigging regularly throughout L.A., bringing Stewartâs powerful incisive mix of grunge, pop, rock and subtle Irish influences (on songs like âIf Believeâ and âNaked Freeâ) to performances at The Joint, Molly Maloneâs, On The Rox, 14 Below and Room 5. Last fall, the band toured throughout Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, hitting San Francisco, San Jose, Portland and The Rainbow in Seattleâwhere Soundgarden and Pearl Jam held court once upon a time.

After adding Remy, the band gigged at B.B. Kingâs and began recording Movement, which features the albumâs producer, Aaron Kaplan, on piano, organ, slide and lead guitars and backing vocals. A veteran session musician, engineer and TV composer, Kaplan does the music for Top Chef and has played and/or engineered on projects by Rod Stewart, Britney Spears and Hanson, among many others.
âThe project was originally going to be self-titled, but as we were working on it, all the pieces fell into place perfectly and I realized that from track to track, it was telling a story which had real Movement,â says Stewart. âWeâre really taking a journey, starting out with âE Machine,â and âAmericans On The Mend,â fitting perfectly into todayâs economic and political climates, which is not particularly against any government or political party, but more just stating what democracy is, we the people, by the people, and for the people. weâre not our government and we can change our government again and again so that it works best for the people that live within itâs protection.â

These two high impact anthems lay the groundwork for the rest of the fascinating collection. âChanceâ and âLeavingâ are about living life optimistically, taking a fresh look at things and stepping away from a bad situation, as captured in the lines of the first tune: âFeel the pain of a single day/Let it flow to your soul/Is it right if you donât see the light/Itâs just the way we unfoldâ Stewart then takes on the role of narrator for the story song âOne Being Free,â a star-crossed lovers love song about a couple named Shawn and Mary.

âIf albums were still released on cassette, that would be the end of side A, because a new Movement begins on âIf Believe,â which is about what you can find if you believe in something strong enough,â Stewart adds. âItâs about creating your own reality. From there, we have âNaked Free,â âSomething Foundâ and âWant,â which is about desire. Then thereâs the good and bad and the positive and negative repercussions that come with having total âFreedom.â When we finally get to âRiding On,â you realize that even as you are living free, believing what you believe and chasing what you want, you still have to accept the reality that the world is not always a wonderful place. But thereâs always hope. When I wrote these songs, I was singing from the heart about all the things that are happening in my life now.â

After years of hiring on random musicians to play gigs with Illuminata, Stewart finally has a cohesive vision for Wildphyr. Beyond the strong songwriting, Wildphyr is evolving artistically thanks to the exciting musical and personal chemistry the leader shares with Squirrel and Remy.
Squirrel, who co-wrote the music to âWant,â says, âGriffinâs really got the band on his mind full time, and heâs forward thinking with what he wants to do and where he wants to be with his band. Heâs going to push and not stop until everyoneâs hearing what Wildphyr is all about. Weâve had a great time touring and we basically want to be another band that lives on the road!â

Remy, who played with the metal band One Hit Kill in Phoenix before moving to L.A. to attend MI, was brought into the fold by Squirrel, his pal from school. âI came on board right after they did the Northwest tour and had done tons of gigs in L.A.,â he says, âand as much as I loved working on Movement, Iâm really excited about hitting the road with these guys to promote it. Things have just been going uphill and getting better, coming along really well and making the album was so much fun for a lot of reasons. It was a great learning experience and Griffâs a great dude and created a cool, relaxed atmosphere to play in. Iâve played with a lot of bands in L.A., but this is the first full length album project Iâve been involved in, and itâs really exciting to be recorded!â

Just as the story that became Movement evolved very naturally as the recording took shape, the moniker Wildphyr has some interesting and organic, even mystical origins. âThe beauty of the album is in how the pieces landed together,â says Stewart. âThe name of the band came to me when I had a dream one night. I was walking through the woods, and sitting in a camp with some people was a spiritual shaman. So I asked him, what should I call my band? He said, âWildfire.â I woke up and new that had to be the name. When it came to the spelling I thought of the word âZephyr,â which means wind. It just had a cool ring to it.â