Friday, December 3, 2004 Bee Speed bassist buzzes back to Mobile by Lawrence Specker How long does a homecoming take at Bee Speed? Eight months to a year, depending on how you figure it. At any rate, bassist Christian Grizzard returns to Mobile in the week ahead, about a year after leaving for Nashville. He'll be playing two shows with Bee Speed, the drum-bass-banjo trio that has become his main musical vehicle. The name, Grizzard said, comes courtesy of an anecdote from the beekeeper brother of banjo player Charles Butler: When you begin handling bees, you find you'll tend to get stung less often once you learn to move at "bee speed." Is this a band that goes with the flow? Within its own music, very much so. But it's also one that's doing its own thing. On his own Web site, Grizzard describes the Bee Speed sound as containing "elements of bluegrass, jazz, afro-Cuban, latin, rock, fusion and free improvisation." It sounds suitably eclectic for a player whom many local listeners will identify first and foremost as an alumnus of "interstellar trailer-park jazz" band Kung Fu Mama. But that's only part of Grizzard's story. An Atlanta native, he came to Mobile by way of Birmingham, where he was a member of Gravy, aka the Rob Thorworth Trio, from 1997 to 2000. Thanks to the group's frequent Gulf Coast stops, Grizzard began making connections in the Mobile area -- so when Thorworth moved to Baltimore, he came here. His first gig here was with Molly Thomas; soon came work with Hank Becker and the Boogie Chillin, Kung Fu Mama and a KFM spinoff group, the Cozmos. Since his arrival in Nashville he's found a variety of things to do, including an international tour backing up singer Carrie Folks, a former Miss Tennessee. He's also had a song recorded by Wet Willie backup singer Donna Hall, who's at work on a long-awaited solo album. But Bee Speed has been his focus from the minute he met drummer Justin Amaral and (through him) banjo-slinger Butler. If Grizzard seems to have found his way quickly in Nashville's thicket of opportunities and pitfalls, maybe it's because he went in with reasonable expectations. "I just came up here and wanted to meet some guys to make some good music. And I've done that," he said. "I don't feel like I'm in competition with anybody." Certainly, the music on Bee Speed's brand-new self-titled debut recording doesn't sound like a competition. This is no power trio, with three musicians frantically working to fill up every nook and cranny of the sonic range. Instead, they leave a lot of space. The Bee Speed sound has Grizzard and Amaral emphasizing flexibility over fireworks. Butler's electric banjo playing, meanwhile, is light on twang and heavy on tones and articulation more usual in the guitar world. It's his own sound, one distinct from that of Bela Fleck or the Codetalkers' Bobby Lee Rodgers. The easy-flowing tunes on the album fit well within the loose jam-band genre, but there's another side to Bee Speed as well, one that finds the group incorporating an appreciation for latin and classical composition. Bee Speed has a show all to itself Thursday night at Satori Coffee, 5460 Old Shell Road, 344-4575. On Dec. 10, the group will follow up with a set at Monsoons in downtown Mobile, sharing the stage with the Albert Simpson Band featuring Corky Hughes and John Milham. For more information on Bee Speed, visit www.beespeed.net or www.christiangrizzard.com. Lawrence F. Specker is the Mobile Register's entertainment reporter. He can be reached by phone at (251) 219-5606; by e-mail as lspecker@mobileregister.com; by fax at (251) 219-5799. Mail notices of upcoming events to him at the Register, P.O. Box 2488, Mobile, AL 36652. << back to press page all material © 2006 bee speed