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"From Shangri-La to Sub Pop the Grifters Roar On"
Elvis may be dead but the Grifters rock on in that rebellious tradition of Memphis musicians, a place rich in music heritage. The Grifters make no concession to what is currently popular in the region: Blues revivalism, Southern rock jokers and Grateful Dead want-to-be bands. The Grifters operate in isolation and opposition, reflecting the band's sense of style which has developed free from any attempts to impress local audiences. They are incomparable in their innate ability to combine melody with a dense fog of noise and jarring rhythms to create memorable songs.
What is a Grifter? "A grifter is a conman," admits the group's singer/guitarist, Scott Taylor. "We see stuff after the fact, and we can correlate that we grift all this music and actually have people believe it's good. We get slagged for having records sound like compilations, whereas most groups now, they have their shtick and beat you over the head with it for ten or 12 songs. All the combinations haven't been exhausted; we're just trying to find them. It's not unlike being in a jazz band where someone comes in and says, 'Here's five cords, let's run with it.' They have the technique; we flip a coin and see what happens."
Story and Photos from the Aug.
15th show at Cicero's
Their latest release on Sub Pop, "Ain't My Lookout," is a must have. Sporting its white trash cover, the songs inside are just as colorful. The CD even has a paragraph about "selling out" regarding the recent move from Tennessee label/record store, Shangri-La, to the "Mainstream" label, Sub Pop. Of course, that's just another line from a Grifter because this thing isn't even slightly commercial. "Ain't My Lookout" looks great around "Last Man Alive," (track seven) with some of the wittiest and strangest lyrics in indieland.
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Story by Justin Makler Graphics by: Ann Martin
Other Grifters Links
The Grifters Shangri - La page
