Bob Gramann - Folksinger and Guitarmaker
Now on CDBaby
"song writing filled with wit and rare
intelligence... poignant imagery with local themes" --Chris
LaSonde, Potomac News
Bob Gramann likes songs that say something new or look at something old
in a new way – songs that make the listener focus, reflect,
and
react. His songs aim for that spark of insight, that
“Aha!” of listener satisfaction. Current
events and
human priorities give him ample material for reflection, humor, and
satire. Sing Out Magazine called him “witty and
insightful.” The Washington Post’s Eve
Ziebart saw
him as “a where’s-my-Whole-Earth-catalogue sort of
New Guy
who’d rather be kayaking than fighting the good lawn
fight.”
During the past two decades, Gramann has earned respect as a
songwriter, presenter, and guitar maker in central
Virginia. He was voted
Fredericksburg’s Best
Acoustic Act for 1995 in the town newspaper’s poll. Gramann
maintains his notoriety by performing songs with local historic
settings and political barbs in Fredericksburg and throughout the
mid-Atlantic states. He’s played at the
Central Ohio
Folk Festival as well as the prestigious Washington Folk Festival in
Washington, DC. Among his honors are a surprise
WAMMIE
nomination and play on NPR’s Car Talk. His song
“Sara
Sing” is included on the FOCUS compilation Capitol Acoustics
III
CD. He produces the monthly acoustic concert series
Fredericksburg Songwriters’ Showcase, begun in 1993 with
Peter
Mealy.
Gramann makes the instruments he plays, and boasts a list of
celebrity compliments for his steel string and classical
guitars.
He sells his handmade guitars through Picker’s Supply in
downtown
Fredericksburg, at the House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD,
at musician’s gatherings, and on his website. He
branched
out into banjos when he wrote a song that required banjo accompaniment.
Five CDs of Gramann’s original songs (Mostly True Songs, That Squirrel
Song, See Farther in the Darkness, Granddad Planted Trees,
and ...Mostly Live)
are available in select record stores and from his website.
The most recent, ...Mostly
Live,
was recorded at some of his concerts in 2008 and includes many of the
stories and introductions that accompany his songs.
An avid canoeist and conservationist, Gramann is especially proud that
his musical urgings raise public awareness of river and environmental
issues. Sometimes it is a long process. His
song
“Rappahannock Running Free” first called for the
removal of
an aging dam in 1993. It voiced the dreams of fishermen and
paddlers since the dam was built. In February, 2004, Gramann
had
the honor of singing this song to a crowd of thousands just minutes
before two major explosions breeched the dam’s
foundation. “I performed for the
world,” says
Gramann of the CNN and network coverage of the
event.
The removal of the dam exposed 4 rapids, allowed the upstream migration
of anadromous fish for the first time in 150 years, and demonstrated
the power of folk music when coupled with plastic explosives.
You can see Bob perform at the Friends of the Rappahannock
Concerts in Fredericksburg, infrequent restaurant gigs, the
Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase , and at folk coffee
houses
in the Washington, D.C. area.
Bob runs the Fredericksburg
Songwriters' Showcase , a monthly concert series featuring
original acoustic music by Fredericksburg area, regional songwriters
and "name acts", both resident and traveling through. The
Showcase provides a forum for this exciting and creative art form. It
offers a varied program on the last Friday of each month. For more
information, contact Bob by e-mail. If you want to perform there,
click
here.
Contact information:
E-mail : bob@bobgramann.com
Phone
: (540)898-0611
US mail : AAGMNNR Recordings, 122 Laurel Avenue,
Fredericksburg,VA 22408
(AAGMNNR is pronounced "Gramann"
- rhymes with "Brahmin"-"AAGMNNR" is "Gramann"
spelled aphabetically.)
visits since 9/30/06
updated 12/16/12
