9.29.2010 - Griffin House
October 3, 2010
Creation Cafe
Indianapolis, IN
Griffin House made a stop in Indy as a part of the WTTS and Creation Cafe Emerging Artist Concert Series of small concerts sponsored by Upland Brewery. We first experienced Griffin's music a little over a year ago at Radio Radio and have been enjoying it on our iPhones ever since. His voice is raspy, yet clear, and his music is honest and refreshing. House's latest release is called "The Learner", and you can buy it via Amazon.com by clicking on the link over there on the right in the sidebar.
While most of the shows we have seen at the Emerging Artist Concert Series included full bands, Griffin House played with only the accompaniment of his guitar player. While we loved the sound of the full band, we also enjoyed this simplified arrangement of songs. It really strips them down to the core of their meaning and encourages you to focus on the story told by the lyrics.
House played songs such as "Always Be My Girl," "River City Lights" from the new album, "The Learner," a murder ballad called "Woman With The Beautiful Hair," and a solid version of the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison Blues."
Throughout the set, House told stories of how his songs developed in the songwriting process, a story about one of his encounters with John Mellencamp, and kept trying to find connections with Indiana. Griffin House is from just next door in Ohio, and told us about the story of his grandfather telling him how he personally found Hitler during his time in the military, shot him, and kept his mustache in his wallet. Griffin mentioned that he still believes it's true, and when his grandfather passes, he wouldn't be surprised to find that tiny mustache in his wallet. This story led to a great stripped down version of "The Way I Was Made," one of my favorites by House. He ended the short set with his most popular song (with the longest title), "The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out Of His Mind."
If you aren't familiar with Griffin House but you love artists such as Steven Kellogg, Matthew Perryman Jones, Will Hoge, or Donovan Frankenreiter, you should definitely check out House's music. He has an honest, down-home sound...a working class man who loves to tell stories about everyday life. He has become one of our favorite artists and certainly has a bright future ahead of him.
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