Today we’d like to introduce you to Griffin Holtby.
Griffin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story doesn’t start in the United States. I was adopted from Russia at eight months and I feel fortunate to have a family who accepts and supports me because I was born to make music. Nobody in my family is wired like me. I was the kid drumming on pots and pans as a baby and standing in front of the bands at every party or festival. I got instruments for XMas at a young age and started playing.
I went to The Paul Green School of Rock at 8 and learned that I love to be on stage and that I can sing, too. My family moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for two years when I was middle school age, and that was an important part of my childhood. San Miguel is like sensory overload. It’s a town of artists, and I was very happy there. Life was simple. We hung at the park every day after school and rode bikes like life was in the U.S. 50 years ago. I saw a lot and I realize that my experience spending time in San Miguel over summers and the two years I lived there still comes out in my writing. I had a voice teacher who wore glasses like Janis Joplin and she used to punch my stomach to get me to sing with my diaphram. She would say, “Sing it like Mick!” I sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in her annual show and I remember asking my mother, “Why were so women crying when I was done?” It was then that I realized the power of music and I knew I wanted to keep going.
When I came back to the U.S., I attended Septien Entertainment Group and then Zound Sounds, where I was in a band. I started writing songs then. I was that weird guy at school who wore skinny jeans to the football games and loved rock music. I had a hard time in my teen years and struggled with depression, anxiety and abandonment issues. Now, at 19, I realize that alot of it had to do with the identity crisis that comes along with being adopted. I was angry and fought alot with my parents. I didn’t understand why but now I do. I was angry about not knowing more about my background. I wrote my EP Infinite when I was 14 and was really struggling. At the time, I was feeling rejected. One of my songs on the EP, “Walk Alone” is a song I recently sang on an anti-bullying/pro-mental health tour called AllStarNation. Many teens 14, 15 and 16 years old were in contact with me afterward, telling me they could relate to the lyrics of “Walk Alone” because they felt the same way. Kids that age really liked that EP because it’s about relationship and personal struggles they go through. My teen years were very hard but I did a lot of writing during that period. I have written almost 200 songs. Many are pieces of paper that ended up in the trash, but when I have alot of emotions, I write.
I went through a period where I didn’t want to perform anymore. My high school started a new rock ensemble and in my senior year, I dived into that, running the sound, stringing guitars, playing back-up drums and guitar for other singers. I had gone to Berklee College of Music 5 Week Performance Camp in Boston the summer before senior year and had planned to go to Berklee after high school. With all I had been through, I knew I was not ready for the demands of college, so I decided to take a Gap Year. So here I am at 19, finishing up my GapYear and happier than I could ever imagine. I went on “Boys of Summer Tour” last summer to 17 cities in the U.S. and built up a fan base. I released a single, “Black and Blue,” which is about fighting for what you want. AllStarNation tour was in November and that was a healing experience in a way for me. I started to talk more about my adoption. I realized how much I can help other teenagers by being honest about my struggles and I have spoken a few other times about that, including on a program called, “Living with Purpose” which was broadcast on IHeart Radio. My message to teens is “if you feel like I did when I was 14, the most courageous thing you can do is to get help.”
I have started to perform a lot around the Dallas area again and my new band, Fifth Phoenix, just won the Battle of The Bands. I”m working on making some of my own songs better and getting them recorded. If you want material that is REALLY GOOD that does not happen overnight. There are so many parts to running a business as an independent performing artist and I could not do it all by myself. I have a good team supporting me. People still ask when I’m going to college and my answer is, “For now, I am putting everything into building a career as a performing musician.” I have no plans to go to college right now. Who knows what the future holds for me but I know where I want to be in 10 years, touring the world in a band, and I don’t need a college degree to do that. My family and I would rather spend the money helping me to get my career going.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road at all, but at 19 years old, I can say that I am very happy that I decided not to go to college yet to pursue my dream. I was a student at St. Marks School of Texas and I met Rhett Miller and heard his story of dropping out of college after one semester because he found himself more interested in doing gigs than sitting in class. I knew that would be me. But the pressure when you are in high school, and you are the ONLY kid in the grade not going to college, is immense. Senior year was hard, especially the second semester.
When I was 14 and at Zound Sounds Rock School I was in a very good band called “Seven-45” Parents got too involved, trying to get me to write the music they wanted. In addition, I was singing the wrong way, trying to sing like a cool rocker with grit in my voice. A voice teacher at Septien Entertainment Group told me if I didn’t get out of that band and learn to sing the right way, I would wreck my voice. So I left and then I got so down! I hadn’t realized how that band had become my family outside of school. I have been trying to recreate a band like that with really good musicians and that has been a struggle. Musicians are a tough group. Musicians who are the true artists can be flaky, inconsistent, emotional, and too determined to use substances all the time to help them create art. Finding bandmates who are committed, around my age and at my level of musicianship has not been easy. I have a small studio/practice space over by Love Field and I have had a lot of musicians come by to jam with me! I finally have my band of four committed guys and after two and a half months of practice, we won Battle of the Bands at Wildflower Arts and Music Festival. Next step is to work on songs and get in the studio to record a few this summer.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Griffin Holtby Music story. Tell us more about the business.
My business is Griffin Holtby Music. I am an independent performing artist, a Texas Rocker. My music has been described as Blues Influenced Power Rock, and sometimes Outlaw Blues. I connect with people through my storylines, inspired by art and real life. My goal is to make people feel hope. I want them to know that they are not alone.
Some of my songs, however, are simply stories that need to be told. For example, I have a song called “Diamonds and Gold”, which was inspired by some things I saw in Mexico and the movie, Sicario. After watching that movie, I wrote the song to let people know about drug trafficking. I want them to know that there are people out there who will sell out their own niece to support their drug habit. People in my neighboorhood in Dallas live such pristine lives and I want them to realize that life is messy and we have problems in our own backyard. If they hear me sing about it, it may get them thinking.
I play guitar, drums, bass and write and sing songs. I love to be on stage and perform. One of my strengths is that I give a very good show! People rarely leave and say my show was boring.
I have also learned to run sound and record, though I have a lot to learn about recording. I am currently earning money from acoustic shows I do in restaurants, playing bass in another band and writing and singing on tracks for another company. I am just getting started at this and I have a long way to go, but someday I have to earn money from my songs, my band and touring.
I have played in several bands and projects, and have many original songs in my back pocket. In 2018, I embarked on a three week Boys of Summer United States Tour and ended the year in Houston on an Anti-Bullying tour called All-Star Nation. I have performed in many venues including Whiskey A GoGo in Los Angeles, Underground Arts in Philadelphia, Lincoln Hall in Chicago and House of Blues, Hard Rock Cafe and Trees in Dallas.
I was inspired by the legends: Johnny Cash, Elvis, Guns n Roses, and Jack White, all guys who also communicated the stories of their lives through their music and onstage.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I know that I got lucky being adopted into the family I have. A lot of parents think their kids should “get a real job” and that making a living as a musician is not that. It is a hard road but they are supporting me in giving it a try.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.griffinholtby.com
- Phone: 214-980-3795
- Email: gholtbymusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griffinholtby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griffinholtbymusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/griffinholtby
Image Credit:
Joanne Sadlowski, Brynne Zaniboni
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