Video: Morris Plains singer Bill Griese throws a Hail Mary to Tim Tebow

The last time we checked in with our musical pal Bill Griese, he was singing hosannas for the New York Giants. But the Morris Plains resident proves he can go both ways with this greeting to the newest New York Jet, quarterback Tim Tebow.

Already this song is gaining some digital yardage, with pickup by ESPN.com.

Shall we bow down and pray for a Giants/Jets Super Bowl?

MORE FROM BILL GRIESE

 

Video: Sing it again, Giants victory song from Bill Griese of Morris Plains

Bill Griese’s video Go Big Blue! has been viewed some 65,000 times since we linked to it a couple of weeks ago.

You can bet the Morris Plains singer-songwriter will be getting a lot more mileage from the tune now that the Giants are…

Super Bowl champs!

All we can say after Sunday’s 21-17 victory over New England is… WOW!

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Video: ‘Go Big Blue!’ from Morris Plains singer and Giants fan Bill Griese

 

Think you were sweating bullets during the Giants overtime playoff thriller on Sunday?

Pity poor Bill Griese of Morris Plains.

The singer-songwriter and his producer, Steve Babula, had many hours of studio effort riding on Lawrence Tynes’ magic foot.

Fortunately for all, Tynes’ field goal attempt was good, sending the Giants to the Super Bowl and justifying Bill’s musical tribute, Go Big Blue!, and the video he spent 24 hours slapping together for it.

“I had been hoping this would happen,” Bill said of the Super Sunday showdown with the New England Patriots on Feb. 5.

“I’m a Giants fan,” declared the singer, who released his second album, Too Long Coming, last year.  In 2010, his song Zoom  aired in national TV commercials for Fujifilm.

“What a win… I’m excited as a Giants fan, and to share all the work I’ve put in with everybody.”

Like the man says: Go, Big Blue!

MORE BILL GRIESE STORIES, VIDEOS

‘Too Long Coming’ CD here at last from Bill Griese; hear it live at Morristown’s Dark Horse on June 18

Back around 2007, a friend asked Bill Griese if he had anything in the pipeline to follow up his 2003 debut album, For This Day.

And it dawned on him that he had not written a note for at least two years.

He headed home to Morris Plains that night determined to write something–anything.

“I didn’t care how good or bad,” he said. “It opened the floodgates.”

You can hear the results at 8 pm on Saturday, June 18, in Morristown’s Dark Horse Lounge, where Bill and a six-piece band will perform tracks from Bill’s new CD, appropriately titled Too Long Coming.

We’re pretty sure you will like the vibe, starting with Zoom, a pop tune that became the theme for a FujiFilm TV ad campaign last year.

This music video of ‘Zoom’ was shot in Randolph. The TV spot is at the end of this entry.

Most of Too Long Coming shares Zoom’s sunny sensibility; the counterpoint comes from the occasional hint of regret (Too Long) and temptation (Tonight’s the Night). He admits fielding a few questions from his wife about those compositions.

“I have a good imagination!” he said, assuring fans that all is well on the home front.

The new album, available at the show for $10 and online, is produced by Morristown native John Ginty, who has played keyboards for Santana and Matthew Sweet.  John plays on Bill’s CD, along with guitarist Mark Dollar (Kool & The Gang, Lil Wayne) and drummer Louie Appel (Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes).

Too Long Coming was inspired by pop music of the late 1970s–songs like Baby Come Back by Player, Sharing the Night Together by Dr. Hook and Biggest Part of Me by Ambrosia, said Bill, who landed a full-time marketing job thanks partly to the Zoom campaign.

First-time listeners at Bill’s performances inevitably are struck by a silky vocal style reminiscent of another ’70s star, James Taylor. Bill said he would be thrilled if his new track Think I’ll Stay landed on J.T.’s setlist.

Recording with a band required some adjustments by Bill, who is accustomed to being “the guy in the corner of the coffee shop” at solo acoustic gigs.

He had to learn to hang back and let the other musicians carry the songs. During the year-long studio sessions for Too Long Coming he came to enjoy that back-and-forth; now he often brings Mike Buckman of Morristown on his solo gigs to accompany him on bass and electric guitar.

At our MG Songwriters Night last month, Bill stressed the importance of editing and re-editing lyrics. That attention to detail is one reason he is pumped about Too Long Coming. These 11 cuts do not meander; Bill knows how to make his musical point without belaboring it.

“I’m really proud of it, and I’m really excited about it,” Bill said of the CD. “It came out pretty much the way I wanted it to.”

Doors open at the Dark Horse on DeHart Street at 7:30 pm Saturday. Admission is free; you must be over 21.

READ MORE ABOUT BILL GRIESE

VIDEO: BILL GRIESE SINGS ‘ON THREE’ AT ECOCENTER

Video: Bill Griese sings ‘On Three’ at MG Songwriters Night in Morristown

Bill Griese has a voice that holds up to repeated listens. Which is why his upcoming CD, Too Long Coming, is sure to be a hit.

Here is Bill performing his tune On Three at MG Songwriters Night: The Magic Behind the Music at the Morristown EcoCenter this week.

Bill shared tips with fellow tunesmiths Anthony Vitale, Blaire Reinhard and Grover Kemble.

You can hear more from Bill at the Waterloo Village Music Festival on May 14-15, and at his CD launch party, June 18 at The Dark Horse Lounge.

And Anthony Vitale’s Original Music School will take part in the Red Cross “Rock’n Red Music Festival Battle of the Bands” fundraiser on June 11 at Vasa Park in Mount Olive.

MORE VIDEOS AND STORIES FROM MG SONGWRITERS NIGHT

And don’t forget these EcoCenter events from MorristownGreen.com and Sustainable Morristown:

MG Cartoonists Night, May 13: Want to start a comic strip? Three cartoonists tell you how. Art show, too! At 7:30 pm.

MG Wordplay: Fun With Words, May 17: Poetry, hip-hop, beat boxing, improv and more, starts at 7:30 pm.

MG Kids Art Show, May 25: Kids art, tips on green cooking for kids, a live art project, and more. (This event starts after school, at 2:30 pm.)

And don’t miss these…

Design Charrettes: Help plan the future of the EcoCenter. Sessions on May 5, 6 and 7.

Morristown musicians reveal the magic behind the music at MG Songwriters Night

By Sharon Sheridan

They arrive in the middle of the night or blossom after major rewrites. The good ones stick in people’s brains. The desire to create them is a passion, even a “disease.”

They’re songs, and four local artists discussed how they write them during MorristownGreen.com’s Songwriters Night: The Magic Behind the Music on Tuesday at the proposed EcoCenter on Bank Street.

Band leader Blaire Reinhard, jazz musician Grover Kemble of Za Zu Zaz fame, Bill Griese, whose “Zoom” became the soundtrack of a FujiFilm commercial, and Anthony Vitale, who teaches songwriting at The Original Music School in Cedar Knolls, mused about what makes a hit, compared songwriting techniques and described how they composed particular songs. The audience viewed videos of Reinhard and Griese’s work and heard Kemble, Griese and Reinhard each perform a song. Lifelong pals Jordy Black and Olivia Platt, both 15, also sang two songs Kemble composed for them. And Chef Melody of The Main Event provided refreshments.

“Sometimes you work really, really hard on a song and you either figure it out or you don’t … and sometimes you just get lucky,” said Griese.

Writing “Zoom” was among the lucky breaks – he woke up with the tune in his head at 5 a.m. “I just said, ‘Holy mackerel, that’s catchy!’”

He finished the song, writing lyrics about a couple separated by distance, wishing they each could “zoom in” to see what the other is doing. Then he showed it to the agency he was working for at the time, which in turn was doing marketing for FujiFilm. The end result: “Zoom” became a commercial soundtrack – even though Fuji initially hadn’t been planning music for its campaign.

Part of its appeal, Reinhard said, is that “It’s so clearly a song that stands alone as a pop song. Nobody wants jingles anymore … That’s old school.”

Even a “lucky” song takes hard work, Vitale noted. “It’s often said in Nashville: No one writes a great song. You edit a great song.”

That’s true, Griese said. “If you want to have some real success out there, it’s about the editing. If you want something to be really great, it takes a long time before it’s done.”

And you can’t be afraid to rewrite, he said, citing a song he co-wrote with a friend that they’re now pitching in Nashville. “On Three,” which he sang for the audience, was about two years old when he revised it, keeping most of the chorus but rewriting 90 percent of the other lyrics.

“Rewriting is just so key,” he said. “Every word needs to mean something.”

And you need to tell the story – or rather, show the story to listeners, Vitale said.

He advises songwriting students to write everything down, without trying to rhyme or limit ideas, then whittle the material. “Don’t worry about quality, get quantity. If you have quantity, the quality will come.”

Said Kemble, “There’s a lot of different approaches. Sometimes I’m just fooling around with chord progressions … and suddenly I have a lyric.”

Like Griese, he also has awakened with a tune in his head.

“This was kind of a song that came to me in the middle of the night,” Kemble said, introducing “I’ve Been Around a Long Time Singing Jazz and Blues” before playing it Tuesday. “I was extremely tired from a very difficult job. It’s called paying dues. That’s what we do. We go out and play, and we have a long career, hopefully, but we all pay dues, and that particular night was really tough.”

Kemble also likes challenges, such as when fellow jazz musician Bucky Pizzarelli gave him a title and asked him to write a song to go with it. Or when he started working with Black and Platt when they were 9, writing pop tunes for them to sing. The duo has performed together and with two boys as The Members.

Tuesday night, Kemble played along as Black and Platt performed two of his songs, “I’m Changing” and “A Day in the Sun.”

“We collaborated a lot” in the songwriting process, Platt said.

“He would listen to what we had to say and what we wanted to sing about as teenage girls,” Black said. “I think a lot of what he’s written has a lot about what we feel in it.”

It’s important to listen to everyone’s ideas when collaborating, said Reinhard, who writes songs with her husband and brother. “Sometimes people have really great ideas. You just have to listen to them.”

She described a particular collaboration, writing a tribute song quickly in advance of a memorial concert her band was playing at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown for a young friend who died last year. The signature line came from a Facebook message from the friend, Lauren Failla, after Reinhard commented on a photo of Failla and a mutual friend: “The only thing missing was you.”

In the end, what makes a song a hit or what appeals to particular people is very subjective, Reinhard said. She’s written songs she considered poor that turned out to be her bigger money-makers, she said.

“A good song is a good song,” Kemble said. “It doesn’t have to be the latest, hippest thing out there.”

Advised Vitale: “Keep it simple.”

As to where inspiration strikes, when it doesn’t wake the songwriter up at night? Well, the craft, it seems, occasionally is dangerous. Reinhard admitted writing the song she performed – “Got Me Down” – on her steering wheel while driving through the Lincoln Tunnel.

And it requires sacrifice.

“You have to give up a lot,” Kemble said. “You might have to give up getting married and having a family, like me. You’re an artist, and you lead an artistic life. And it’s a passion. It’s something you really can’t stop.”

Concluded Griese: “It’s a disease.”

Video: The Jersey Girls perform at MG Songwriters Night at Morristown EcoCenter

Video: Jersey Girls sing ‘I’m Changing’ at MG Songwriters Night in Morristown

Video: Grover Kemble sings his bio at MG Songwriters Night at Morristown EcoCenter

Video: Blaire Reinhard sings ‘Got Me Down’ at MG Songwriters Night in Morristown

Video: Bill Griese sings ‘On Three’ at MG Songwriters Night at Morristown EcoCenter

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF ‘MG AT THE ECOCENTER’

The Magic Behind the Music was the second in a series of cultural events sponsored by MorristownGreen.com and Sustainable Morristown at the center. Upcoming events are: Cartoonists Night featuring three local cartoonists, May 13, at 7:30 p.m.; Fun with Words, offering a mix of poetry, standup comedy, hip-hop, beat boxing and more, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.; and a children’s art show with a participatory art project and a demonstration on “green” cooking for children by Chef Melody, May 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Also, a series of “design charrettes” to chart the EcoCenter’s future begins tonight, May 4, at 5.

MG Kids Art Show submissions in any media are welcome. Each piece of art should include the artist’s name and age or school and grade. Labeled submissions can be dropped off at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 70 Maple Ave., Morristown, through May 20. Children can take their artwork home at the end of the show, or the submissions can be retrieved later at St. Peter’s. For more information, contact Sharon Sheridan at MGKids@sharonsheridan.com.

Songwriters share the secrets of their craft at Morristown EcoCenter

Several Morristown-area songwriters shared their techniques, mused on what makes a hit and applauded each other’s artistry at MorristownGreen.com’s Songwriters Night: The Magic Behind the Music on Tuesday night at the proposed EcoCenter on Bank Street.

Band leader Blaire Reinhard, jazz musician Grover Kemble of Za Zu Zaz fame, Bill Griese, whose “Zoom” became the soundtrack of a FujiFilm commercial, and Anthony Vitale, who teaches songwriting at The Original Music School, discussed their craft and how they composed particular songs. Kemble, Griese and Reinhard each performed a song for the audience. And 15-year-old lifelong pals Jordie Black and Olivia Platt sang two songs Kemble composed for them. Chef Melody of The Main Event kept everyone well fed.

The evening was the second in a series of cultural events sponsored by MorristownGreen.com and Sustainable Morristown at the center. Upcoming events are:  Cartoonists Night featuring three local cartoonists, May 13, at 7:30 p.m.; Fun with Words, offering a mix of poetry, standup comedy, hip-hop, beat boxing and more, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.; and a children’s art show with a participatory art project and a demonstration on “green” cooking for children by Chef Melody of The Main Event, May 25 at 2:30 p.m.

And a series of “design charrettes” to chart the EcoCenter’s future begins tonight, May 4, at 5 pm.

Why can’t I get that song out of my head? Find out May 3 at the Morristown EcoCenter

You know what it’s like. A song burrows into your brain, and won’t leave.

How does that happen?

Find out on Tuesday, May 3, at MG Songwriters Night: The Magic Behind the Music. Four great songwriters will reveal their secrets for taking over your nervous system.

There will be lively discussion, music and who knows… maybe you will be inspired to get even by writing your own hit song!

The fun starts at 7:30 at the proposed Morristown EcoCenter, at 55 Bank St. (The former Mini Cooper dealership.) Admission is free.

You will get to meet:

• Grover Kemble, of Za Zu Zaz fame.
• Blaire Reinhard, a Morristown High grad on her way to stardom with the Blaire Reinhard Band.
• Brandyn (Adeo) Heppard, another MHS alum doing great things with Universal Rebel.
• Bill Griese, a singer-songwriter who has been featured in national TV ads.

Morris Plains singer-songwriter Bill Griese scores a TV commercial

We’ve been following Bill Griese’s career with great interest ever since June Van Thoen, music director at the Morristown United Methodist Church, tipped us off to a Morris Plains guy whose s-m-o-o-t-h vocals remind everyone of a beloved singer-songwriter with the initials J.T.

Bill impressed listeners at our Festival Earth in May and contributed a great song to our MG Film Festival in August.

And now he has arrived on the national stage: Fujifilm used his song Zoom in a TV campaign this month:

We asked Bill how he did it.

MorristownGreen: Hi Bill, congrats on your new national TV spot. Is this your first?

Bill Griese: Thank you so much. Yes, having a song featured in a national TV commercial is a first for me. Very exciting.

MG: How did it come about? Have you been pitching songs for commercials, or did Fujifilm find you?

Bill Griese: I actually pitched the song to Fujifilm, and thankfully for me they loved it. Independent singers, bands, and songs represent a great musical option for companies running commercials on TV.

This is the first one I presented to a company for use, so it’s not something I had ever done before. But it’s something I would try again.

MG: Is TV ad work more lucrative then selling CDs and performing?

Bill Griese: Well, I guess it would be for me at this point. Because I haven’t been the most prolific performer, and I didn’t really push the heck out of my first CD For This Day (available on iTunes… see, I’m pushing it now).

But I am about to release my second CD of original material, about which I am extremely excited, and I plan on promoting it better. I also have a song that is bopping around Nashville which I hope might get signed, as well as some other writing projects in the works. So we’ll see where it all leads. I just want to get my music out there.

MG: What was it like the first time you heard Zoom on TV?

Bill Griese: The very first time, I actually knew it was coming on because Fujifilm gave me a scheduling heads-up. So my wife and kids and I sat down in the family room at about that time and waited for it to air.

It seemed like a long wait, but it finally showed up. We were captivated for 30 seconds, and it was really cool. Looked great, sounded great. Then it was over and it was like, “Okay, what do you want to do now?” And off we went. Kind of surreal.

MG: Can you pitch ideas for ad jingles, or do the ideas come from the ad agencies?

Bill Griese: Well, it’s kind of new territory for me. From what I understand, the advertising jingle business is very complicated and competitive. There are agencies and people who specialize in writing jingles with ad slogans and so on.

But I think a lot of companies see the value in featuring a real song by a real artist (one their audience can go out and listen to or download on iTunes). My guess is the average person doesn’t want to hear too many commercial jingles that are purely promotional.

MG: What kind of response have you gotten to the ad?

Bill Griese: The response has been tremendous. Many people I know (and several I haven’t) have gotten in touch with me to let me know how much they like the song.

People seem to think it’s really catchy, upbeat and positive–for which I’m extremely thankful. I’ve had more than a few tell me it reminds them of Jack Johnson. I’ll take that!!

MG: Are you combing your catalog for other songs that might have ad possibilities?

Bill Griese: Funny you should say that. I have two other songs on my upcoming CD that I believe could work wonderfully for specific types of situations. Once the CD is done I may approach some people directly about those. Will it be another Zoom scenario? You never know until you try. I want to continue to look for opportunities to reach more people with my music. That’s what it’s all about for me.

MG: As an artist, would you turn down any advertisers or products that wanted to use your work? If so, which ones?

Bill Griese: Absolutely. I can’t come up with any specific examples right now. But any company or product with which I had a legitimate problem, ethically or otherwise.

MG: Likewise, any products you would love to write songs for?

Bill Griese: Cigarettes. (He laughs)

MG: Some popular singers–Barry Manilow comes to mind–got their start doing commercials. Do you see this as a springboard?

Bill Griese: I see any situation where I can expose people to my songs as a great opportunity. Springboard? Let’s hope so! I would have no problem with any conversation that compared me, my songs, or my music career to Barry Manilow.

MG: Thanks, Bill–continued success!

Bill Griese: Thank you. I really appreciate your interest and your time.

Weekend gig: Bill Griese to give free concert Sunday in Morris Plains

Bill Griese, the man with the velvet voice, can help you wind down your weekend in style. The singer-songwriter, who impressed listeners at this spring’s Festival Earth show, is playing a free concert at Roberts Garden in Morris Plains at 6 p.m. Sunday.

And there’s still time to use Bill’s song, “Out in the Moonlight,” in your video for the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival. Hurry–the deadline to enter is Monday!

The song, and the details, are at:

http://morristowngreen.com/about/the-2010-morristowngreen-com-film-fest/

The Film Fest is on Aug. 20, on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

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