Gryphon Labs

Fresh off two years of solid road work with the über-demanding Zappa Plays Zappa touring band, bassist Pete Griffin gives his formidable chops a rest and puts forth his own groove-and-texture-driven musical vision in commanding fashion. The tunes float between fusion, electronica, and acid jazz/rock, employing killer vintage keyboard tones (which he mostly played) and modern drum-loop grooves in inventive and unexpected ways. The hypnotic pulse of "Felt Like Love (Another)" and the Indian-flavored "Manjula" actually approach a meditative quality. Meanwhile, Griffin's versatility and mastery on the bass shines through without outshining the music, as he switches from fingerstyle to pick-playing, deep-dub lows to aggressive slapping highs, fretted and fretless and even upright, all in dedicated service of whatever new creation his sonic laboratory is cooking up.

-Bryan Beller, BP Magazine
July 2008 - Bass Player Magazine

Pete Griffin, bassist for the Zappa Plays Zappa touring band (led by Frank’s son Dweezil Zappa), just scored some shiny new hardware. The ZPZ crew won this year’s Grammy™ for Best Rock Instrumental Performance of the maestro’s legendary “Peaches En Regalia,” a 1969 tune originally graced with a killer Jamerson-fueled bassline by Shuggie Otis. “Approaching that song to learn it,” says Griffin, “I tried doing it ‘my way’ but quickly realized that Shuggie’s bass part was, while fairly busy, pretty integral to the song as it was recorded. So once I got the isolated tracks of just bass and drums, I decided to just learn exactly what was played, but after three years of playing that song I’ve realized that I’m now injecting a bit of ‘me’ into that part.” Looks like it worked; the Grammy-winning version [Zappa Plays Zappa, 208 Razor & Tie Entertainment] has Griffin’s “injected” line on it. Congrats! - Bass Player Magazine

"Once Pete Griffin started playing bass at the age of 13, he states that there was “nothing else in the universe”. Griffin grew up in New York and spent all of his time playing the bass, whether it be on his own or with his high school's jazz band.

There are many musicians that have influenced him over the years, such as Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis and Paul Chambers. Griffin believes that any serious jazz musician should study traditional jazz music. For instance, Victor Wooten was a huge influence on him in the early years, and at around age 17 he took music lessons with him. One thing that he learned from Wooten was that the music was more important than being flashy.

While attending Northwestern University’s School of Music outside of Chicago, he studied jazz and classical music. At the time, he also took lessons from Steve Rodby of The Pat Matheny Group. He took five or six lessons from Rodby and says that he owes his career to those lessons. He learned many things during those lessons and stated that he always went home with his “tail between his legs every time”. Along with his natural talent, he has had the honor of being taught by some great musicians, who have helped shape him as the great musician he is today.

In 2006, Griffin joined Zappa Plays Zappa. This gave him the chance to work with many amazing musicians such as Dweezil Zappa, Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai. Griifin says that it is a “dream come true” to be a member of Zappa Plays Zappa, as he has always been a huge Frank Zappa fan. True Frank Zappa fans know that jazz influenced his music deeply. Griffin has been able to take all of his teachings and his passion for music to have one of the best opportunities available to a musician.

Things got even brighter for Griffin in early 2009 when he won a Grammy for his work with Zappa Plays Zappa. The award was for Best Rock Instrumental, playing Frank Zappa's "Peaches En Regalia".

Griffin also has his own band called Gryphon Labs, and their EP is available now for purchase on their website. According to their MySpace page, their music results in "in an exciting new fusion of rock, electronica, world music, and the improvisatory elements of jazz." The songs are fresh and exciting, just what the world of music needs right now. Take the time to check out this band and you won't be disappointed.

You can see Griffin play with Zappa Plays Zappa right here in Denver on Tuesday, August 25th at The Buell Theater. This is one show that you don't want to miss!

For ticket information: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1E0042ACF992774A?artistid=744581&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=200

Pete Griffin's website: http://www.petegriffin.info/

To purchase the new Gryphon Labs EP, or for more information on this band: www.gryphonlabs.org/home.htm." - The Denver Examiner