Griffin Tucker – born to rock the world!

Griffin profile pic“I love making music. It’s my contribution. My legacy. I want rock n roll to live on through me to my fans.”

Charismatic, creative and kind-hearted: Griffin Tucker was born to rock the world! I have had the privilege of meeting Griffin and his family in person and have had the unforgettable experience of hearing him perform live. A true rock star at heart, Griffin exudes an incredible energy when he sings and plays and appears completely at home on the stage. 

Born to Rock!

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Griffin has had an exciting and varied career since he was first featured on this site at 11-years-old. You can read that first article here.

Those of our readers who follow Griffin will know that his supporters are affectionately known as GriFANs and that the buck stops with his mother / manager (known to most as Momma G!) They say behind every great man (or boy) is an even greater woman and this is certainly true of Griffin who has a competent and powerful team in his family, and particularly Momma G. She was kind enough to provide us with an update giving some highlights from the last year:

“As many of you GrifFANs know, Griffin is a drummer at heart and has been since the age of 5.  But did you also know that Griffin is accomplished at many instruments? Piano, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, ukulele, bass & guitar. In fact, he’s not just any kid who plays guitar. Last summer, he won the coveted TEXAS TOP TEN UNDER TWENTY GUITAR competition at the Dallas International Guitar Show.

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In addition to being a multi-instrumentalist, he’s been gigging since the age of 8.  First, in a Beatles tribute band then he toured with Disney artist Zendaya. Next came Westfield Presents in London England then a KISS tribute band – and, now, he plays as a solo artist whenever he’s not in school.

And, those who are lucky enough to see him perform live are blown away! Not only because of his musicianship but because of his stage presence! He is a ROCKSTAR!!!”

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A Children’s Crusade

For me personally, Griffin was formative in my growing belief that young creatives are the hope for the future. Like so many amazing children, he is largely unaware of the positive effect he has on so many. When I first discovered Griffin he was 10-years-old and I was helping him grow his Twitter following. What struck me then and still does now was his genuine kindness and concern for his fans. This combined with a natural talent and work ethic that is only matched by his modesty makes Griffin one hec of an inspirational kid and – dare I say it – a role model for boys in their early teens. He knows what it is, as Led Zeppelin would have it, ‘to be a a rock and not to roll’.Griffin Twitter

It all sounds rather over-sensational doesn’t it? But what made it strangely fascinating for me is that it coincided with some detailed research that I was doing on the 1212 Children’s Crusade for a musical project.

Brief history intermission! 800 years ago – a time of great political strife - a 12-year-old, French shepherd boy, called Stephen arose as a great preacher. He gathered a huge and enthusiastic following of children and, likely, adults too from all walks of life (some scholars put it as high as 30,000) which sparked a series of critical events across Europe and beyond. Stephen carried a scroll which he claimed had been given to him by an Angel, with the seal unbroken, to be read only by the king of France. The pilgrimage ended in disaster. Intimidated by his powerful following, Stephen was refused access to the king and told, in no uncertain terms, to go home. Stephen did as he was commanded and the scroll was never seen again. There is a record of Stephen meeting the Pope in person who was intrigued by his fervour but told him to come back when he was older and it is likely that Stephen later became a crusader knight protecting the pilgrimage routes to the Holy Land. But I digress…

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I became fascinated with the image of a Children’s Crusade and what that might look like today. The world of social media is riddled with risks and more than its fair share of darkness. I saw in Griffin a whole new world of possibilities. As well as sharing his talents and amazing music, Griffin has created a community where he supports his GriFANs as much as they support him, sharing in their successes and even asking everyone to pray for them when they are going through hard times.

As in 1212, thousands of people are rallying round Griffin, drawn by his music, his talent and his caring personality. My hope is that the adult world – in our wisdom – are not too quick to reject something which on first glance may appear threatening and out of control. I, for one, am excited to see what the future holds for Griffin and his army of GriFANs!

Looking ahead and an exclusive announcement!

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Griffin has an incredible work ethic and manages to stay well on top of his school work as well as using every spare moment to develop his musical skills. He has plenty of natural talent and is blessed with perfect pitch and a wide vocal range, but much of Griffin’s success is down to his passion, dedication and hard graft. I remember hearing an interview where Griffin shared some golden advice from Momma G:

“Try to be a little better each day”

As simple as it sounds, this is some of the best advice I have ever heard – especially to young musicians in our culture of instant fame and recognition. If you can be dedicated enough to be a little better each day as a musician – and as a person – the only other things you need to reach your goals are some time and patience.

I asked Momma G about Griffin’s plans for the near future:

“Although Griffin doesn’t play much during the school year because he focuses on maintaining his A Honor Roll status, he does love to play for his fans. And, he is set to kick off this summer early this year by playing 2 shows on March 26th – one show is at a party with some surprise guest artists accompanying him on drums & bass; the 2nd is at the Prophet Bar in Dallas with a band named STEEL that he drums for.  But he is most excited about going back to the Dallas International Guitar Show to play on May 1st.

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As Griffin says, “There is nothing better than playing and seeing people sing & rock out.” So if you’re in Texas or can get there, better check Griffin out!”

We are honoured to be able to announce here the title of Griffin’s next release! It is called ‘Who to Be’ and – in the manner we have come to know and love – Griffin will be playing every instrument and singing each vocal the track! He describes it as “a very Paul McCartney/ELO sounding tune.” Release is set for late May and a video will follow in the summer.

Griffin being Griffin 1Meanwhile, do check out Griffin and, if you have not done so already, join the GriFAN army!

Griffin on YouTube

Griffin on Facebook

Griffin on Twitter 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaitway Brothers – an inspiring true story

Gaitway-Brothers-before-and-afterLife is full of tragic and touching stories. Peter and Steven Gait – the Scottish twin singers better known as the Gaitway Brothers – have just turned 15-years-old. At this time of year, we often find ourselves looking back with amazement at how much we have achieved and with nostalgia at how much has changed.

It has been my privilege to work with the boys since they were 10-years-old and to share, not only in their musical journey, but also in that dangerous adventure that every adolescent boy must take: their journey to manhood.  

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Though every boy must rise to this challenge, it cannot be overstated how difficult if can be. The Gaitway Brothers are no stranger to tragedy and perhaps this gives some of their music it’s unique pathos which fans often describe. I asked Steven and Peter to share personally a little about themselves:

Steven

Gaitway-Brothers-StevenI was born in Scotland and I live Helensburgh. A lot of our songs are old traditional music and it’s written by Matthew or people we work with. 

A big struggle for me was my Dad passed away when I was 9. My Papa and Nana give me the strength to persevere because they are really supportive of me. 


My advice to other young people trying to succeed in music is try hard, don’t give up don’t listen to all the people that make fun of you or say you can’t do it. 

Please keep supporting us b sharing our videos and tell people to ‘like’ us, follow us etc. Thank you so much for all you do. I want to give special thanks to Matthew Todd, Phil Todd, Nathan my Papa, Mum and Nana”

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Peter

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I was born in the Vale of Leven in Alexandria which is in in Scotland and I live in Helensburgh. My biggest musical inspiration is Matthew Todd, our manager and our friend.

We sing lots of traditional Scottish music and have other songs about God. Some of the songs we have sung are written by Matthew Todd and we do covers of other songs like ‘Human’ by the Killers.

Our Dad passed away when we were 9. It was hard and was a dark time for me. My Nana and Papa help me carry on because they encourage me and are very supportive, and my Mum as well.

My ambition is to learn Japanese and to achieve higher in all the subjects I choose at school and advance higher in some too.  I want to go to university and go to Japan and go to the Pokémon store and theme park.

My advice to other young people would be to try as hard as possible, believe in yourself and stick to it and practice.

Please keep on watching our music videos on youtube and subscribe to us and go to our website www.gaitwaybrothers.com

A special thank you to Matthew Todd, Phillip Todd, Nathan Todd, Mum, Nana, Papa and all our fans and the people who have helped in our music videos.

Keep following us :)”

 

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