BIG MIKE GRIFFIN
"ALL MY RUNNIN'"
2007
45:06
1/Iron City/3:32
2/I'm Gonna Take My Troubles/4:45
3/Broken Strings/5:32
4/Buried Alive In The Blues/4:03
5/Use Me/5:41
6/Shade Tree Mechanic/4:16
7/Somebody's Got To Go/3:06
8/You Wouldn't Understand/5:10
9/Shoal Creek/4:11
10/All My Runnin'/4:56
Big Mike Griffin / Guitars, Vocals
Johnny Bird / Drums, Percussion
James “Fish” Michie / Keyboards, Hammond B3
Steve Vines / Bass
Mike Johnson / Steel Guitar On “All my Runnin’”
Emilie Shantz / Vocals
Miranda Louise / Vocals
REVIEW
bY Mickey Jones (musician/actor)
Hey Folks,
When I was asked to write some liner notes for Big Mike Griffin’s new album, “All My Runnin’”, I was tickled to death. I’ve been friends with Big Mike for years and here was my chance to talk about the man I call the best Biker Blues guitar player in the world. Believe me, I know the blues. As a young musician, I played drums for the great, Jimmy Reed.
You know, there’s a reason we call Big Mike, “Big” Mike. Now, I am not a little guy but Mike Griffin dwarfs me. At nearly 7 feet tall, he makes his Fender Telecaster look like a ukulele.
Now pay attention to what I am about to tell you. As a fan of Big Mike, I knew I would love his new album but it surpassed all my expectations. Right off the bat you are treated to Iron City, a song that Mike wrote for a documentary film called Iron City Blues. This song is the true story of Iron City, TN. You don’t want to go there alone.
I’m Gonna Take My Troubles, Buried Alive In The Blues and You Wouldn’tUnderstand are exactly what I expect from Big Mike Griffin, BIKER BLUES. While truckin’ down the highway, these songs make my head bob forward and backward to that drivin’ beat. I don’t even realize I’m speeding.
I loved Use Me. Because of my being a drummer, I like that percussive funky feel. Too dang cool. Shade Tree Mechanic gave me that classic blues shuffle. Somebody’s GotTo Go transported me to the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta and back to a time that would have been the birth of the blues. I am a sucker for a good slide guitar and that makes me a sucker for Big Mike Griffin.
Shoal Creek sounds dangerous to me. It took me back to Iron City, a dangerous place and All My Runnin’ showed me a side of Big Mike that I had never seen before. There is a strong Bob Dylan influence from the 60’s. I should know because I was the original drummer with Bob on his very first electric world tour in 1966. We were known as The Band.
All I can say is, “I know what I like and I like Big Mike Griffin”. I think I’ll just hit “PLAY” on this CD player, ONE MORE TIME!
BIOGRAPHY
by Richard Skelly
Nashville's aptly named Big Mike Griffin (6'10", 350 lbs.) is a no-holds-barred blues guitarist new to the 1990s blues scene. Griffin grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma, and regularly traveled 125 miles as a teen to hear blues in Dallas and Fort Worth clubs. Griffin was influenced by the second generation of blues artists, like Albert King, Mike Bloomfield, Albert Collins and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the local economy turned sour, he left for Nashville. Initially, he did session guitar work for country artists and played anywhere he could, eventually building his own Unknown Blues Band. After releasing a self-produced album that sold well in Nashville, the band signed with Malaco/Waldoxy Records in 1992. They had already earned a reputation beyond Nashville's city limits, playing at such prestigious festivals as the W.C. Handy Blues Festival in Memphis and the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Arkansas. The band toured incessantly and developed East and West Coast followings before recording Gimme What I Got Comin' in 1993, which was a hit among blues fans and DJs. Griffin played a month-long tour of Europe that year with labelmates Denise LaSalle, Little Milton, and Artie "Blues Boy" White. Griffin's unique, economical guitar style can also be heard on White's Different Shades of Blue album and James Peterson's Don't Let the Devil Ride. His three albums for Malaco include Back on the Streets Again (1992), Gimme What I Got Comin' (1993), and Sittin' Here With Nothing (1995). All are outstanding efforts that incorporate Griffin's gift for humorous storytelling and blend elements of jazz, funk, and swamp rock into his arrangements.
"ALL MY RUNNIN'"
2007
45:06
1/Iron City/3:32
2/I'm Gonna Take My Troubles/4:45
3/Broken Strings/5:32
4/Buried Alive In The Blues/4:03
5/Use Me/5:41
6/Shade Tree Mechanic/4:16
7/Somebody's Got To Go/3:06
8/You Wouldn't Understand/5:10
9/Shoal Creek/4:11
10/All My Runnin'/4:56
Big Mike Griffin / Guitars, Vocals
Johnny Bird / Drums, Percussion
James “Fish” Michie / Keyboards, Hammond B3
Steve Vines / Bass
Mike Johnson / Steel Guitar On “All my Runnin’”
Emilie Shantz / Vocals
Miranda Louise / Vocals
REVIEW
bY Mickey Jones (musician/actor)
Hey Folks,
When I was asked to write some liner notes for Big Mike Griffin’s new album, “All My Runnin’”, I was tickled to death. I’ve been friends with Big Mike for years and here was my chance to talk about the man I call the best Biker Blues guitar player in the world. Believe me, I know the blues. As a young musician, I played drums for the great, Jimmy Reed.
You know, there’s a reason we call Big Mike, “Big” Mike. Now, I am not a little guy but Mike Griffin dwarfs me. At nearly 7 feet tall, he makes his Fender Telecaster look like a ukulele.
Now pay attention to what I am about to tell you. As a fan of Big Mike, I knew I would love his new album but it surpassed all my expectations. Right off the bat you are treated to Iron City, a song that Mike wrote for a documentary film called Iron City Blues. This song is the true story of Iron City, TN. You don’t want to go there alone.
I’m Gonna Take My Troubles, Buried Alive In The Blues and You Wouldn’tUnderstand are exactly what I expect from Big Mike Griffin, BIKER BLUES. While truckin’ down the highway, these songs make my head bob forward and backward to that drivin’ beat. I don’t even realize I’m speeding.
I loved Use Me. Because of my being a drummer, I like that percussive funky feel. Too dang cool. Shade Tree Mechanic gave me that classic blues shuffle. Somebody’s GotTo Go transported me to the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta and back to a time that would have been the birth of the blues. I am a sucker for a good slide guitar and that makes me a sucker for Big Mike Griffin.
Shoal Creek sounds dangerous to me. It took me back to Iron City, a dangerous place and All My Runnin’ showed me a side of Big Mike that I had never seen before. There is a strong Bob Dylan influence from the 60’s. I should know because I was the original drummer with Bob on his very first electric world tour in 1966. We were known as The Band.
All I can say is, “I know what I like and I like Big Mike Griffin”. I think I’ll just hit “PLAY” on this CD player, ONE MORE TIME!
BIOGRAPHY
by Richard Skelly
Nashville's aptly named Big Mike Griffin (6'10", 350 lbs.) is a no-holds-barred blues guitarist new to the 1990s blues scene. Griffin grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma, and regularly traveled 125 miles as a teen to hear blues in Dallas and Fort Worth clubs. Griffin was influenced by the second generation of blues artists, like Albert King, Mike Bloomfield, Albert Collins and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the local economy turned sour, he left for Nashville. Initially, he did session guitar work for country artists and played anywhere he could, eventually building his own Unknown Blues Band. After releasing a self-produced album that sold well in Nashville, the band signed with Malaco/Waldoxy Records in 1992. They had already earned a reputation beyond Nashville's city limits, playing at such prestigious festivals as the W.C. Handy Blues Festival in Memphis and the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Arkansas. The band toured incessantly and developed East and West Coast followings before recording Gimme What I Got Comin' in 1993, which was a hit among blues fans and DJs. Griffin played a month-long tour of Europe that year with labelmates Denise LaSalle, Little Milton, and Artie "Blues Boy" White. Griffin's unique, economical guitar style can also be heard on White's Different Shades of Blue album and James Peterson's Don't Let the Devil Ride. His three albums for Malaco include Back on the Streets Again (1992), Gimme What I Got Comin' (1993), and Sittin' Here With Nothing (1995). All are outstanding efforts that incorporate Griffin's gift for humorous storytelling and blend elements of jazz, funk, and swamp rock into his arrangements.
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