Donna Grantis Electric Band
DONNA GRANTIS http://donnagrantis.com/ Rock N Roller, Composer, Musical Di… Read Full Bio ↴DONNA GRANTIS http://donnagrantis.com/ Rock N Roller, Composer, Musical Director. Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL and New Power Generation Guitarist. Session Player: Studio + Stage. Electric Lady.
In November 2012, Donna received an email from producer Joshua Welton asking if she would be interested in jamming with Prince, drummer Hannah Welton and bassist Ida Nielsen at Prince’s recording complex, Paisley Park. With a one way ticket to Minneapolis and a shortlist of requested songs under her fingers, this marked the beginning of a whirlwind of events that would unfold over the following three years. An intense rehearsal schedule led to Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL’s debut performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The Live Out Loud tour soon followed and featured the band performing two sets a night of fiery rock and roll in intimate clubs along the US west coast. In early 2014, the band played a series of Hit & Run inpromptu shows in London announced at the eleventh hour via Twitter at historic venues including Ronnie Scotts, Electric Ballroom, Koko and Shepherds Bush Empire. Later that year, the band returned to the UK and Europe for the Hit & Run 2 tour, blowing up arenas across the UK and Europe with further surprise club shows in the mix, including a marathon five-hour set of three shows in one night in Brussels, Belgium. In September 2014, Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL released their debut album, PLECTRUMELECTRUM, which soared to #1 on the Billboard Rock Chart. The album’s title track, an instrumental song that highlights the band’s improvisational prowess and undeniable chemistry, was written by Donna and arranged by Prince. The HitNRun USA tour followed in 2015, with performances in select cities, including the band members’ home towns. Additional television appearances with Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL include the Billboard Music Awards, The Arsenio Hall Show and a history-making eight minute set on Saturday Night Live (the longest in the forty year history of the show). Other notable concerts include the Montreux Jazz Festival with the New Power Generation, the Baltimore Rally 4 Peace concert, the Essence Festival at the New Orleans Superdome and The White House with special guests Stevie Wonder, Liv Warfield, Judith Hill and the NPG Hornz. As part of 3RDEYEGIRL, Donna has also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Janelle Monae, Kendrick Lamar and Lianne La Havas.
Prior to working with Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL, Donna was a performing artist, session musician and musical director based out of Toronto, Canada. She attributes her diversity as a player to the experience she gained while performing in Toronto’s eclectic music scene. During her time there, she supported award winning artists such as blues vocalist Shakura S’Aida, rocker SATE formerly known as Saidah Baba Talibah, hip hop ambassador Kardinal Offishall, indie renaissance woman Hill & The Sky Heroes and celebrated pop singer Amanda Marshall. As a leader and composer, Donna fronted an instrumental jazz-fusion trio called the Donna Grantis Electric Band. The group released their debut album, Suites, to a capacity crowd in Toronto before touring *Europe in support of the record. *Concert review in The Netherlands
http://www.bluesmagazine.nl/verslag-donna-grantis-bluescafe-apeldoorn-11-oktober-2012/
The Donna Grantis Electric Band is a psychedelic fusion trio fronted by Canadian guitarist Donna Grantis. Featuring drummer Roger Travassos and bassist Steve Zsirai, the group's debut album, titled Suites, was released on iTunes on June 26th, 2012. Inspired by artists ranging from Bill Frisell to Billy Cobham and Jeff Beck to Jimi Hendrix, the album is a concept record featuring two suites of original instrumental music named after Donna’s beloved guitars: Elektra and Starla. Listen the FULL album On CBC here http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Donna-Grantis-Electric-Band
“I love jazz, but I’m a rocker at heart,” says the young Canadian guitarist. “Suites is a combination of both worlds. The songs have a jazz sensibility with a rock n’ roll edge. My roots are in Electric Blues and you can definitely hear that influence on the record as well.”
As a teenager, Donna launched into learning Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses songs on her brother’s acoustic. With an innate love for the searing electric guitar tones of artists like Jimmy Page, Slash and Eric Clapton, it wasn't long before Donna bought her first electric guitar and began emulating solos and riffs played by her guitar heroes. At 17, she was selected as a semi-finalist in the North American Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition. Donna performed the blues classic “Red House” to a capacity crowd that included Al Hendrix (Jimi’s father) at a rock bar in Cleveland, Ohio. This was her first public performance.
After studying Jazz at McGill University in Montreal, Donna moved to Toronto and immersed herself in the music scene as a session musician and live performer. In these roles, she has worked with a diverse roster of talented Canadian acts, including Juno award-winning artists Amanda Marshall, Kardinal Offishall, Divine Brown, Haydain Neal and Kellylee Evans. Donna has toured globally with performances in Singapore, Australia, the UK, and throughout Europe, Canada and the Unites States. She continues to perform regularly with Shakura S’Aida (2011 Maple Blues Vocalist of the Year), soul-rock songstress Saidah Baba Talibah (described as Living Color meets Erykah Badu), and Hill & The Sky Heros (an alien surf rock group). Donna is also the guitarist and musical director of the annual Women’s Blues Revue at Massey Hall.
Now, as leader of her own group, Donna aims to push the boundaries of her live performance; in the spirit of experimental jam bands, each show is musically unique.
She describes the group’s approach to improvisation as “creating music in the moment, reacting to each other on stage, exploring musical themes for extended lengths of time, and utilizing effects pedals to broaden the tonal pallet of the music. The creative intention is to be free and continuously challenge each other on stage. Hopefully in doing so, we can create an experience for listeners and take the audience on a musically engaging journey.”
Be a part of the journey and experience the Donna Grantis Electric Band live and on record.
In November 2012, Donna received an email from producer Joshua Welton asking if she would be interested in jamming with Prince, drummer Hannah Welton and bassist Ida Nielsen at Prince’s recording complex, Paisley Park. With a one way ticket to Minneapolis and a shortlist of requested songs under her fingers, this marked the beginning of a whirlwind of events that would unfold over the following three years. An intense rehearsal schedule led to Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL’s debut performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The Live Out Loud tour soon followed and featured the band performing two sets a night of fiery rock and roll in intimate clubs along the US west coast. In early 2014, the band played a series of Hit & Run inpromptu shows in London announced at the eleventh hour via Twitter at historic venues including Ronnie Scotts, Electric Ballroom, Koko and Shepherds Bush Empire. Later that year, the band returned to the UK and Europe for the Hit & Run 2 tour, blowing up arenas across the UK and Europe with further surprise club shows in the mix, including a marathon five-hour set of three shows in one night in Brussels, Belgium. In September 2014, Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL released their debut album, PLECTRUMELECTRUM, which soared to #1 on the Billboard Rock Chart. The album’s title track, an instrumental song that highlights the band’s improvisational prowess and undeniable chemistry, was written by Donna and arranged by Prince. The HitNRun USA tour followed in 2015, with performances in select cities, including the band members’ home towns. Additional television appearances with Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL include the Billboard Music Awards, The Arsenio Hall Show and a history-making eight minute set on Saturday Night Live (the longest in the forty year history of the show). Other notable concerts include the Montreux Jazz Festival with the New Power Generation, the Baltimore Rally 4 Peace concert, the Essence Festival at the New Orleans Superdome and The White House with special guests Stevie Wonder, Liv Warfield, Judith Hill and the NPG Hornz. As part of 3RDEYEGIRL, Donna has also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Janelle Monae, Kendrick Lamar and Lianne La Havas.
Prior to working with Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL, Donna was a performing artist, session musician and musical director based out of Toronto, Canada. She attributes her diversity as a player to the experience she gained while performing in Toronto’s eclectic music scene. During her time there, she supported award winning artists such as blues vocalist Shakura S’Aida, rocker SATE formerly known as Saidah Baba Talibah, hip hop ambassador Kardinal Offishall, indie renaissance woman Hill & The Sky Heroes and celebrated pop singer Amanda Marshall. As a leader and composer, Donna fronted an instrumental jazz-fusion trio called the Donna Grantis Electric Band. The group released their debut album, Suites, to a capacity crowd in Toronto before touring *Europe in support of the record. *Concert review in The Netherlands
http://www.bluesmagazine.nl/verslag-donna-grantis-bluescafe-apeldoorn-11-oktober-2012/
The Donna Grantis Electric Band is a psychedelic fusion trio fronted by Canadian guitarist Donna Grantis. Featuring drummer Roger Travassos and bassist Steve Zsirai, the group's debut album, titled Suites, was released on iTunes on June 26th, 2012. Inspired by artists ranging from Bill Frisell to Billy Cobham and Jeff Beck to Jimi Hendrix, the album is a concept record featuring two suites of original instrumental music named after Donna’s beloved guitars: Elektra and Starla. Listen the FULL album On CBC here http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Donna-Grantis-Electric-Band
“I love jazz, but I’m a rocker at heart,” says the young Canadian guitarist. “Suites is a combination of both worlds. The songs have a jazz sensibility with a rock n’ roll edge. My roots are in Electric Blues and you can definitely hear that influence on the record as well.”
As a teenager, Donna launched into learning Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses songs on her brother’s acoustic. With an innate love for the searing electric guitar tones of artists like Jimmy Page, Slash and Eric Clapton, it wasn't long before Donna bought her first electric guitar and began emulating solos and riffs played by her guitar heroes. At 17, she was selected as a semi-finalist in the North American Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition. Donna performed the blues classic “Red House” to a capacity crowd that included Al Hendrix (Jimi’s father) at a rock bar in Cleveland, Ohio. This was her first public performance.
After studying Jazz at McGill University in Montreal, Donna moved to Toronto and immersed herself in the music scene as a session musician and live performer. In these roles, she has worked with a diverse roster of talented Canadian acts, including Juno award-winning artists Amanda Marshall, Kardinal Offishall, Divine Brown, Haydain Neal and Kellylee Evans. Donna has toured globally with performances in Singapore, Australia, the UK, and throughout Europe, Canada and the Unites States. She continues to perform regularly with Shakura S’Aida (2011 Maple Blues Vocalist of the Year), soul-rock songstress Saidah Baba Talibah (described as Living Color meets Erykah Badu), and Hill & The Sky Heros (an alien surf rock group). Donna is also the guitarist and musical director of the annual Women’s Blues Revue at Massey Hall.
Now, as leader of her own group, Donna aims to push the boundaries of her live performance; in the spirit of experimental jam bands, each show is musically unique.
She describes the group’s approach to improvisation as “creating music in the moment, reacting to each other on stage, exploring musical themes for extended lengths of time, and utilizing effects pedals to broaden the tonal pallet of the music. The creative intention is to be free and continuously challenge each other on stage. Hopefully in doing so, we can create an experience for listeners and take the audience on a musically engaging journey.”
Be a part of the journey and experience the Donna Grantis Electric Band live and on record.
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