Album Notes

There is no doubt after hearing just one song performed by The Griff Hamlin Band - be it one of their juicy renditions, or one of Griff's mouth dropping originals - that this band is traveling the road to legendary.

In 2001, after an exhausting year in the studio, The Griff Hamlin Band's self-titled CD was released. While keeping up his chops in the local circuit, Griff used all of his spare time to put together this musical masterpiece, of which he maintains is his "...greatest accomplishment so far." Members of the local press agree, and The Griff Hamlin Band has been nominated at the 2004 Orange County Music Awards.

Griff's love for music, guitar specifically, began at the age of 9 when he started his first guitar lessons. By the age of 12, Griff was enthralled with the guitar, practicing sometimes as much as eight hours a day. Entering adulthood the Blues were sinuous in his blood, and the sounds of Blues legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, Scott Henderson, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, and BB King, were sounding out from his guitar.

For a time, Griff Hamlin attended USC where he majored in music. While he admits that the experience was bittersweet, Griff also admits to being a more learned musician now because of it. In December of 1999, Griff left USC to record a Classical CD with well-known and respected Classical Guitarist, Eric Henderson. The project was completed in mid-2000, and the CD release concert was an enormous hit. Eric humbly introduced Griff as "the greatest electric guitarist in the world."

The Griff Hamlin Band made its debut in 1993 with Bassist Mark Smith, Joe Wente on drums, and Griff handling the guitar and singing. The band played steadily in Orange County for three years, but in 1996, the band went on hiatus to pursue other musical opportunities. While separated, each member found success with various projects, and occasionally played shows for enthusiastic audiences all over Southern California. In 2000, the Blues/Rock band, second-to-none, reunited full-time, this time with veteran drummer Bernie Rubio.

With the 2001 release of their self-titled CD, the group turned on the heat and began touring and performing at a whirlwind pace, which they still maintain. They play at least 100 shows per year in the southern California area, and they've recently taken the show to Hawaii, and are scheduled to perform in Aspen, Colorado. On a summer 2004 European tour the band will be headlining the International Galicja Blues Festival in Poland.


-- blues & rock coming together with a great mix of power & sensitivity - Rocksector Reviews

-- Ran across your CD on CD Baby, listened to the clips, and immediately ordered a copy. The great feel and sharp playing really has me looking forward to hearing the whole thing - D.
Lemire