Bernie Griffen and The Thin Men

By sonicden

October 30, 2014

Alternative, Americana, Country, Folk

About Bernie Griffen and The Thin Men:

Founding member of The Grifters, Bernie Griffen has been front and centre of New Zealand’s music scene for nearly two decades, as long-time and well-loved host of 95bFM’s Border Radio show as well as performer and champion of independent Kiwi music.

A singer-songwriter with a powerful voice full of soul, humour and sadness, Griffen is a story-teller to the core, penning songs about characters real and imagined existing in a world of criminals and saints; dusty feet and wounded hearts. He draws influence from blues, from the country-rock of Gram Parsons and The Grateful Dead, the sharp-tongued lyrical wit of Bob Dylan, the mournful wails of Neil Young and outlaw country singers like Johnny Cash.

2014 sees Griffen step out into new territory with the record Salvation, recorded at Auckland’s The Lab studio with a star-studded back-up band The Thin Men, comprised of the formidable Chris O’Connore [The Phoenix Foundation, Trinity Roots, SJD and more], Mike Hall and Mathias Jordan [Pluto], and Jolyon Mulholland [Gasoline Cowboy, Mulholland] with Steve Roach [Bernie Griffen and the Grifters] and long-time partner/collaborator Kirsten Warner.

Albums

The new record ‘Salvation’ sings out like a scream in a quiet night — Bernie’s characters are hard-living and hard-loving, outlaw and saviour, the lover and the man in trouble — Bernie Griffen tells tales of adventure, loss and a life hard lived.

It’s a timely follow-up from 2011’s Everything So Far (Bernie Griffen and the Grifters) — which featured the song “29 Diamonds”, championed by Radio New Zealand’s Trevor Reekie in 2011: “If there’s any justice in this industry, “29 Diamonds” would win a Silver Scroll, it is achingly poignant and it will travel forever.”