SongVault Artist Profile

Q & A With Jeff Grable

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED? Morgantown, WV

WHERE AND WHAT HAVE YOU PERFORMED? I�m a guitarist/singer/songwriter and I�ve performed in many places over the years. It all started in local college bars when I was too young to be in them.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO MUSIC? (WHERE WERE YOU? WHAT WERE YOU DOING? HOW OLD WERE YOU?) I�ve been into music as long as I can remember. My Mother has a picture of me when I was 18 months old, sitting on a couch, looking at the guitar page of a Sears catalog. My Dad is a musician too. He plays guitar, mandolin, accordion and piano. He started showing me a few things on guitar when I was bout 8. From there I kind of took off on my own.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY IN MUSIC? I have a lot of early musical memories. One is being with my parents at one of their friend�s house watching and listening to my dad and some other guys jam. I wanted to be a part of that. I was maybe 4 or 5.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS DISTINCT ABOUT YOUR STYLE? It came from many different influences. Growing up I was exposed to everything from country to jazz�even classical music.
Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins, Bill Doggett�s Combo, The Ventures�.I heard that stuff on a daily basis. Of course, rock n roll won out in the end.

WHAT ASPECTS OF MUSIC DO YOU LIKE THE MOST? THAT YOU DO BEST! I�m happy that I have the ability to play and sing equally well. Plus I like that music can take you anywhere you want or need to go, whether you�re a musician or a listener.

WHAT'S YOUR FAMILY LIKE? WHAT WAS YOUR UPBRINGING LIKE? ARE THERE OTHER MUSICIANS IN YOUR FAMILY? The whole family is musical. There are a lot of memories of my parents singing and playing songs around the house, or my dad sitting on the back porch on summer nights playing accordion or mandolin. They�ve always been supportive of me and never bitched about the loud music coming from the basement.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO DO BESIDES MUSIC? I like to create and to dream. I write, draw and paint. I�m a pretty good cook too.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS IN MUSIC? My goals haven�t really changed over the years. I�ve always wanted to be a musician; to write, perform, travel and make a living. As long as I love to do it and I�m physically capable of doing it �..why would I do anything else?

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS IN LIFE? To write, perform, travel and make a living.
To create and to dream and to be happy doing it. Being wealthy would be nice too.