If’s hard to believe another year has come and gone, okay I guess its’ time for all of us to come up with our New Year’s resolution, mine is to eliminate any bad habits I may have had in the past and move forward into the New Year(2012) with fresh thoughts and new ideas and keep in a positive frame of mind. One of my goals is to continue to write new music. Oh yes it can be challenging at times but all it takes is to come up with that perfect riff or hook that ties it all together then bingo, your off to writing your next hit. I have found in the art of writing good music is, don’t put any time limits on how long it will take you to achieve your goal. Many good writers go through (writers block), basically you have a great idea in you head for your next song and all of a sudden you find yourself at a crossroad, your gas tank has run empty and your unable to get to the finish line. Should you find this happens to you, just chill out and take a break, it’s time to refuel and give your head a break, save your Ideas in word document, get a good night’s sleep, wake up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized, have your favorite beverage whether it be (coffee, tea) it’s your choice and set out to accomplish your mission and cross the finish line. I believe we are all winners, it’s all mind set, If we believe in who we are, there is nothing we can’t tackle and accomplish, everybody’s comes out a winner, just believe in yourself, you are the master of your destiny!

Good luck to all of you and your New Years Resolution ( 2012)

From the band wishing you a very Happy New Year !                  

Bill Barrett  rockingman30 GrinninBarrettBand

Hello everyone, hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!!!

Bill Barrett  rockingman30  GrinninBarrettBand

How did we get our name hmm, considering our last name is Barrett it was through the suggestion of Dave Harper/ Garrett Barrett our lead guitar player to call ourselves GrinninBarrett and my brother Michael Barrett ( who is our producer, and who also plays keyboards on many of our recordings) went one step further and said lets just call it GrinninBarrettBand ™ so here we are ten years later, and the brothers continue to rock on.

So how did we get in to our own original music, well it just so happen that myself and brother Tom had a few tunes of our own tucked away and in 2004 we decided to record and release our first EP of six songs.

Titled It’s About Time,

Please be sure check our music on  CD Baby    GrinninBarrettBand.net

The ‘GrinninBarrettBand’ is based out of Southern New Hampshire, USA. Our recently released Album: “IT’S ABOUT TIME” has been getting a lot of attention and great reviews along with our newer material now available for digital download. The current line up of musicians in the band is as follows: John Barrett on drums and percussion, Tom Barrett on guitar and keys, Garrett Barrett on guitar, Bill Barrett on bass, and Michael D Barrett of 3MiMusic.com, who is also our producer. Since the release of this CD, we continue to write and record new material.

Do we still do cover tunes, the answer is absolutely yes, why because there is so much great music out there to cover and it’s the reaction you get from the fans is very rewarding when you play their favorite cover tune. The philosophy here is to write songs your fans can relate to whether it’s about love, frustration , a recent break up with a love one or a job loss, the economy, what ever your feeling at this time, that is who we represent in our music, it’s all about feeling what your fans are feeling today. The point to remember here we are just all ordinary people.

Bill Barrett ( rockingman30) GrinninBarrettBand

Band Biography – GrinninBarrettBand ™

Hmm, where do I start and how did we all get together. I would say like most other bands, getting to together for an initial jam session. Having already played with brothers Tom and John and other projects and bands we knew we could pull it off pretty well together, the key was to find the perfect guitar who would fit in with 3 very opinionated brothers, you know the scenario each brother is always right and the others stand to be corrected, but at the same time, having a mutual respect for each other and his talents.

So who would be the perfect candidate to fill in the lead guitar slot?

Rather then putting in an add in the local newspaper, it was through the suggestion of my brother John to try out a coworker of his employer, name (Dave Harper) who he knew played guitar and was interested in getting together for a jam and possibly starting a band together, so we all to a vote and agreed to try him out.

So what was it like the first time we all jammed together, INTERESTING!!!!! Yet positive. And what I mean by that we now have the opportunity feel each others strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind at the time we were strictly a cover band at the time and tying to agree which kind of songs would be the best to play out as a band and what songs were good and what songs were weak.

Dave’s input was, sounds good, but we need to get more current with the cover songs we do, and we all agreed to step it up a notch and add a little more edge to our sound and now we find, we are now progressing as a band.

Stay tuned to for Part 11, how we got our name, and how we were able to make the transition from cover band to all original bands.

Thanks for attention

Bill Barrett ( rockingman 30 ) GrinninBarrettBand

Yeah I know its Sunday night and back to work for most of us on Monday, but should be a short week for most, so looking forward to this coming Thursday Thanksgiving November 24^th and spending time with family and friends, a much needed Holiday. And for those of you who have to work on this day, we support you 100% and wish you all our best, so turn up your favorite tunes and always tell you to “Keep it Rock’n”

Have a Safe and Great Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving

rockingman30 GrinninBarrettBand

Jerrie Thill (1917-2010). She’s iconic here in Los Angeles, where she performed every Sunday at a local club right into her 90s. I’m sad to report Jerrie just passed away in spring of 2010.

Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Jerrie began beating the skins at age 16. By 18, she made a living at it. Jerrie led her own all-girl  bands during the height of the swing era. As a member of Peggy Gilbert’s Dixie Bells (a group of women musicians over 60), she entered the television age, appearing on the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Golden Girls and more.

I could say more, but it would spoil the video “Hey Jerrie” (below), her astonishing life told in song and photo clips. Allee Willis (who wrote the Friends theme and my favorite Earth, Wind & Fire song) made it a year before Jerrie passed. It’ll have you grinning from ear to ear!

Without further ado, I present l’amie JERRIE THILL!

You gotta love this video, she so reminds me of my own grandmother, Evelyn Goodsell, piano player and singer, who passed on her talent on to her own daughter my mother, Evelyn Goodsell Barrett Shields who miracaciousily passed on the the talent to her own sons hence we are known today as the GrinninBarrettBand, (William Barrett, Michael Barrett, Thomas Barrett and John Barrett) Also to mention my niece, musician Kelly Barrett percussionist, UMass Marching Band. Nephews, Christian Barrett, keyboard and guitar player and Ryan Barrett drums. By the way it’s not over yet, watching out for my niece Taylor Barrett, singer and vocalist, who has talent and unlimited potential, to carry on the with the Barrett music, and pass it own to her own generation.

Music Lives on with the Barrett Family,

Bill Barrett   rockingman30 GrinninBarrettBand