By William McKeever
When thinking of the term tribute band or tribute artist, some can easily dismiss it and those who are in this genre as mere trinkets. Still other musicians tend to look down on this term as though it is a career ender. That is certainly not the case with Bill Griese. Griese is a James Taylor tribute artist who goes by the moniker of Sweet Baby James while perfoming on stage. Cleverly, this title is taken from the James Taylor song of the same name. Griese, a stoic and gentle man, is always quick with a joke and immediately puts his audience at ease with his laid-back mannerisms and light hearted smile. However, the most impressive aspect for anyone meeting Bill, is how he will offer up his history with a transparency that is a rare treat in the music industry.
Born in New Jersey Griese taught himself the guitar saying “I always wanted to write music even before I could piece three chords together. When I was in high school, I was into a lot of Folk Rock and some other things. But my wheelhouse was James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, of course Paul Simon, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Jackson Brown. Those were all kind if my favorites.”
His road to tribute artist is filled with funny anecdotes and twists that he gladly shares while on stage, bringing his audience along on the journey at every show.
“It just so happened that his [James Taylor] tambor and mine matched perfectly. Now I’m sure singing along, I picked up some things. And then with guitar style it was the same thing. I just always gravitated towards the finger picking, and I sort of just learned that way.” Bill said.
So, it was no surprise that at concerts Bill would inevitably be approached by someone after the show asking, “Did you know that you sound just like James Taylor?” While not exactly an annoyance these instances settled in the back of his mind and would ultimately spill out.
Initially he began playing these occurrences down since, at the time, his interest was in creating his own space and having people hear his original work. Eventually he began to embrace it the concept of being a tribute artist. And, after seeing a friend in Nashville perform in an Elton John tribute band, he noted the amount of fun the audience was having, causing him to redirect his singing path.
Bill has the unique gift of delivering these songs to James Taylor fans in a way that they love.“I used to know these songs, but after playing them I thought…Oh, I need to play these better. It’s been an education.” Bill said.
It’s this level of dedication that stands out when he’s on stage. When watching, the audience can see that Bill isn’t a random artist trying desperately to cover a song he likes, he a true fan himself and he puts his soul into each note.
“I like being in the room with other people just listening to a song. I just happen to be the one playing it.” Bill said.
Pre-covid Griese plays with a full band and the entire tribute is a large production, which includes multiple large-scale venues in larger cities.
“But then Covid hit, and everything got completely cancelled and wiped clean. And all these great trips I had to New York and Massachusetts, and Michigan and Minnesota and Florida and everywhere else got completey wiped. And now I’ve just started to get back out again.” Griese said.
When looking for open venues, he found that Texas was one of the few states that has open availability while still using limited occupancy, so he was able to book the Cultural Arts Center.
It wasn’t a difficult decision since his wife is from Dallas and his sister-in-law still lives in the area. Though most venues are at limited capacity, (This has changed since Governor Abbot rescinded the mask mandate) he was happy to be able to play somewhere and share James Taylor’s wonderful songs with an audience. Although it will be a solo Bill Griese on stage, he expounded on the benefits of a one man show.
“What you lose out on in sound and power you gain in getting to hear these songs.” Bill said.
John Denver was famously quoted as saying “Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same.”
This no truer than with Bill Giese and Sweet Baby James.
Sweet Baby James will be playing The Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, March 27th at 7:30 p.m. Whether or not Folk Rock is your “style” of music, this is a rare opportunity to see an extraordinary musician recreate music that can feed the soul.
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