Local music fans probably recognize TJ Greever as the human pinball who has been bouncing around Chattanooga stages for nearly 30 years.
As the frontman for bands like Up With The Joneses, The Communicators, and current funk metal band Red Pawn, TJ is known for his charismatic presence and high energy performances.
And while the big stages and loud amps will always have their appeal, these days he also enjoys singing quiet, reflective songs about the everyday realities of being a middle-aged husband and father.
He’s been working on a new song called Where You Go. It’s about friends who grow apart over the years. “As you get older, it happens with friends or family for no apparent reason other than the places we are in life,” he explained. “The older you get, the tighter your circles become. We need to appreciate the time we have together now.”
So what does TJ Greevrer appreciate these days? Basketball games with his son. Helping his wife raise their new puppy. He was happy to recount a recent lunch with his 91-year-old grandmother. “These things may seem simple or trivial,” he said, “but down the road they’re the moments we’ll remember.”
TJ’s also been teaching his son to play the drums. He’s near the same age TJ was when he first picked up the guitar. As a kid he tried to book lessons with Clyde Blaylock, the local bluegrass jedi master, only to be rejected. “He told me to come back when I had bigger hands,” TJ laughed, “so that’s what I did!”
Eventually he was accepted and began guitar lessons. While hair metal was popular at the time, a young TJ was forced to begin with bluegrass standards like Tennessee Waltz. “I wanted to learn Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, and Living Colour,” TJ laughs, “but I still found those songs interesting because they were rooted in our area and our history.”
In the 90’s he began writing songs of his own and playing in bands. Grunge was popular, but he couldn’t quite shake his bluegrass education. “When I started writing songs, I was using all these bluegrass licks and flatpicking techniques but mixing them with chugging bar chords. I guess you’d call it Grungegrass.”
His lyrics were fast-paced and rhythmically syncopated. There are times when his singing started to resemble rap. “Hip hop has always been a big influence on my lyrics – from LL Cool J to the Beasties to KRS1 and Biggie.”
Lately his music has been influenced by technology, both in terms of musical aesthetics but also the songwriting process “Sometimes a song comes in a flash of inspiration. The music, lyrics, everything comes at once and I jot it down as quickly as possible,” he explained, “but other times a song can develop slowly.”
He’s been using his phone to catalog ideas whenever inspiration strikes, even if he doesn’t have the time to sit down and write a full song. “If something hits me at 9:30 at night, I can open my phone up, record it, arrange it with some instruments, and come back to it later. I can spitball lots of ideas, and keep developing the ones I like.”
Regardless of the genre or songwriting process, TJ feels all his songs are united by their personal connection to his life. That’s definitely the case with his newest song, Where You Go. He will debut the song this Thursday at The Woodshop Listening Room in St. Elmo. TJ will be joined by Anna Baldree and Alex the Band. The free night of music starts at 8.