We recently connected with Scott Grieve and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Hey, not a problem. Thanks for taking the time to hear what i have to say… I knew from a young age, maybe 6 or 7, that i wanted to pursue a creative path in life. I was always singing and making up little songs and I loved to draw. I built my first guitar with some rubber bands, a stick and an old tissue box. Must have been in Kindergarten. Brought it in for show n’ tell. Didn’t sound too good… but all the girls on the playground took notice…Ever since that day… I knew I wanted to be on stage. So yeah, i think being a “so called creative” person was just something I was, not something I really had to pursue.

I was also inspired by my Uncle’s Guitar. He had an old black acoustic guitar like Johnny Cash. Probably a low cost Sears/KAY guitar but that didn’t matter. As soon as he let 10 year old me hold it… I was hooked. Gripping that guitar made me feel 10-foot-tall and sent a shiver down my spine. But actually getting her to sing… actually playing…Well, that took some time.

Scott, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure, My name is Scott Grieve and I’ve been playing live and recording music under the name Grabbag since 1996. I’ve recorded over 150 songs, 6 albums, 4 EPs and played over 300 shows all over the Southeast and beyond. Some of them not half-bad. I make music because I love music. I play guitar, bass, keys, ,midi pad, drums, sing, write all the songs and design all the artwork. There are no preconceived ideas or expectations for Grabbag so i have the luxury of pursuing any genre and style of music i please. I lean strongly towards rock n’ roll and punk rock music but have been writing a lot of more laid back reggae jams lately. I’m where I’am today because quite frankly I’m too dumb to quit and i don’t know any other way.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being creative for me, is that it allows me to be involved in the DIY music scene. You really get to interact with other music fans and meet a lot of really interesting people. If you’re in a band, that usually means you’re a huge music fan. So hanging with other music lovers is really rewarding. There is no backstage. So you really get to mix it up. I love playing shows with newer bands and watching them evolve and rock out. It’s so awesome to see a rag tag group of kids morph into an ass kicking band in literal weeks. I hear a lot of people complain that there’s no good music anymore or that new bands suck… These no-fun haters couldn’t sound more ignorant… The problem now is that there are TOO many GOOD bands. It’s hard to keep up. It’s like drinking water from a firehose.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When i was younger I bought into the competition aspect of the music scene more than i should have. Yeah… healthy competition fuels creativity and innovation but there’s a fine line between inspired competition and just being a jerk for jerks-sake. Practicing your guitar so you can out shred the other band is cool but being stand-offish or a dick to other bands at the show; is not. You’re going to miss out on a lot of cool friendships if you don’t have the right attitude. I held myself back in a lot of ways by being insecure and worrying too much about what other bands were doing. what the show order was, who’s opening for the cool touring band, etc…At the end of the day most people in bands are all fans of the same stuff. We got more in common than not. Cool guitars, writing songs and having a good time with friends. So don’t let your insecurities get in the way of making some new buds and enjoying life.

Not that i was some massive dick to other bands or anything like that but learning to be happy for other people’s successes has really brought a lot more sunshine into my life and i highly recommend you cheer on other people. Because in the end; what you give out to the world, is what you get.

Contact Info:

• Website: grabbag.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/grabbagmusic/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/grabbagFL/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCHgAZoeH01GELC19aY_J7GA

Image Credits
TricolorKITTIE, Skip Cameron