Griffin House + Charlie Mars February 25, 2011

Griffin House was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio. His father worked in a tire shop and his mother helped place children with foster families. In high school, the athletically-gifted House landed a role in a musical and was surprised to learn that he had a natural talent for singing. House bought his first guitar for $100 from a friend, turned down a golf scholarship to Ohio University and instead went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and started to teach himself how to play the guitar and write songs.

House began writing and recording and issued his first independent release, Upland, in 2003. His music attracted attention from Nettwerk, a Vancouver-based management company and record label, and House partnered with the label's American branch to issue Lost & Found in 2004. In August 2004, on CBS Sunday Morning, music journalist Bill Flanagan (MTV/VH1) raved about Lost and Found, putting the newcomer on his short list of the best emerging songwriters in the U.S. “I bought House’s CD after a show in New York City,” said Flanagan, “and this never happens: I took it home and must have listened to it 20 times that weekend. I was knocked out.”

Several self-released albums followed, and in 2008 House released Flying Upside Down, produced by Jeff Trott and featuring Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. House has released the majority of his records on his imprint label, Evening Records. House has toured extensively, opening for artists such as Ron Sexsmith, Patti Scialfa, Josh Ritter, John Mellencamp, and Mat Kearney. Since 2007 House has been a national headliner.

http://www.griffinhousemusic.com/
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With his latest album, Like A Bird, Like A Plane, Charlie Mars has sewn together tightly crafted songs with moods and melodies that pulse with sex, wonderment and personal destruction - all themes that may clash on paper but in music, suggest mysteries that are organic to us all. He recorded the album in Austin, TX with drummer J.J. Johnson (John Mayer), keyboardist John Ginty (Citizen Cope), bass players George Reiff (Jakob Dylan) and Dave Monzie (Fiona Apple). The video for lead single “Listen to the Darkside” (a nod to Pink Floyd) featured “Weeds” star Mary Louise Parker and premiered as a Music Mix exclusive on Entertainment Weekly’s website, www.ew.com.

“With gentle yet genuine hints of Paul Simon in both his singing and his guitar work, Charlie Mars takes listeners on a journey through some of the peaks and valleys of his life,” said The Washington Post. “Even those who haven’t experienced the personal turmoil of addiction, loss and heartbreak may feel a kinship to the singer-songwriter, who tells his story through lush musical vignettes.”

Mars is known for his compelling live performances. “When he’s onstage, songs with deep grooves get some breathing room, and his lush choruses inevitably lead to raucous audience sing-alongs,” said Esquire.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Mississippi, Mars released three independent albums before signing with V2. His self-titled, 2004 major label debut was hailed by Rolling Stone as “Big emotional rock from Mississippi…with a knack for hooks, and the hooks here have real barbs: They tug at you and just might draw some blood.” High profile tours with artists such as R.E.M., KT Tunstall, Citizen Cope and Bob Schneider followed. When V2 folded, Mars returned to his independent roots, financing Like A Bird, Like A Plane himself, and releasing it on Rockingham Records in conjunction

http://www.myspace.com/charliemars
http://www.charliemars.com
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Official Website: http://www.jamminjava.com/