12 Days of GRiZMAS

Southfield native, and multitalented DJ and producer, GRiZ has returned to Detroit for the 12 Days of GRiZMAS. The fifth annual event kicked off December 4th and continues through December 15th, with a host of events taking place throughout Detroit. You can check out the schedule of events here.  

We sat down with GRiZ in the GRiZMAS Workshop on 1301 Broadway in downtown Detroit to talk about this year’s events, his music, and plans for the future. Below is a transcript of our exclusive interview, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What goes into to putting on the 12 Days of GRiZMAS?

It starts as soon as the last one ends. It’s a year-round project. It’s a project that’s constantly developing for us. As soon as one project ends we immediately begin critiquing it and looking for ways to make it better. I spent the greater part of this year trying to figure out where we were going to reallocate funds for this year’s GRiZMAS. We’re trying to make this a more impactful program for the community. We’re trying to see who is benefitting from this, and where are the tangible results?

So starting in March we have endless amounts of phone calls trying to put together all the GRiZMAS days. We also talk about all the new stuff we might want to add, if we even want to add any new stuff. The big thing for us this year is the space GRiZMAS is in that came about from a larger partnership with Bedrock. The partnership with Bedrock started last year when they donated a space for us. That was so amazing because we finally had headquarters for all these events. Prior to last year, we were mainly functioning out of people’s houses or the internet. So to have a central location for all the GRiZMAS craziness was amazing.

Having a central location, this year we’re at 1301 Broadway,  allows us to have a jump off that’s located in downtown Detroit. One of the central missions of the charitable aspect of what we do is to show people and our fans new faces and new things to do in Detroit. We try to familiarize them with things that they might not have known about Detroit.

So this year Bedrock came to us and said we crushed it last year, so they gave us a better location and a bigger store size. All of this was just the result of us reaching out to Bedrock at the same time that they’re developing deeper roots in the city.

Why did you decide that GRiZMAS would support music education?

That was always the thing, supporting music education. GRiZMAS started there and it will end there. The vision behind it all will change a little bit depending on our funding. Right now we’re piggybacking off of charitable organizations, and so we necessarily support the good works our partners do. This year we’ve partnered with this organization called Seven Mile. They operate an after-school program providing music, art, and coding education to over 100 Detroit students annually. They’ve been around just about a decade. They’re located in Brightmoor.

My inspiration to do things, to help people, stems from frustration a lot of the time. I’m frustrated that things are a certain way or should be a certain way. In 2009 over 50% percent of music programs in public schools in Detroit were cut. That’s a lot! When I was in middle school and high school playing an instrument in school was mandatory and that was when I picked up the saxophone. So it hurts to think that a bunch of kids are not to going to get that opportunity.

You’re playing two shows on December 14th and December 15th as the finale for the 12 Days of GRiZMAS. What has it been like putting together a 15-person live band for the shows?  

The funniest thing about this 15-person band that we’ve put together to interpret GRiZ songs created on a laptop into live instrumentation is that this is the first band I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve never been in a band, except the marching band in school.

How has it been navigating band life for 12 Days of GRiZMAS shows?

It’s such an interesting new dynamic. Everybody is talented enough to be the frontman of the group. So the GRiZ live band really functions as a multi-appendage octopus thing that can grab at any musical talent and morph around it. We have five lead singers! And everybody is so cool because everybody gets their moment to shine. Everybody is just trying their fucking hardest to make the entire composition the best it can possibly be.

Did you learn anything new about your music while translating it from your laptop to the 12 Days of GRiZMAS live band?

There’s definitely some songs where I didn’t think we could ever achieve that sound. And then we were able to! The biggest lesson here is that the band isn’t supposed to sound exactly like the song. The band is the band. The band is going to be the band. We find these weird workarounds to play the songs. It’s shit like that where we find new ways to make a song still rock and kick ass but in a new sonic territory. It feels so satisfying to play because every single note and sound is created by a person in the moment instead of being pre-produced and then used as a backing-track and played as a live sound.

Do you prefer playing and composing live versus using your laptop?

Shit, man, they both offer their own challenges and beautiful moments. With the GRiZ thing, the electronic side of things, I love how big and compressed and badass the sound can be, and how rocking it is. With the band it’s rootsy and there’s so many people on stage with such a different energy. With the band there’s so much trust involved, it’s amazing. There’s a lot more risks, too. It’s all up to the moment.

Do you think the 12 Days of GRiZMAS is a unique event in the EDM world?

I don’t know if it’s similar in the sense that people are physically spending two weeks in the city they’re in doing charity activations. But I think we are doing the most. We are really investing so much of ourselves in this project. But charitable movements are something the EDM community highly supports. I’ve seen that. I wouldn’t say that I’m the only one doing something like this. That fact makes me feel good.

You’re based in Denver now. How does Detroit still shape your work and your art?

I think it’s hard to get away from being a midwest kid. It’ll always be Detroit-first for me; it’ll always be home. I try to visit as much as I can. There’s a Detroit attitude, too. I don’t know if it’s because of the winters or the economic climate, but Detroit people are hard people. They have soft hearts but they work hard. And they’re very creative in figuring out how to get things done in spite of any obstacles, always creating workarounds. That’s what I’ve taken with me and applied to my work. That’s what defines me and my relationship to the city.

What’s changed the most about GRiZMAS over the last five years?

Our input has changed the most. Output has stayed the same through our hard work but the resources have changed. It’s allowed us to be more creative and it allows me to focus on more important things. I’m able to give more of my time and energy back to the community.

What’s stayed the same about GRiZMAS over the last five years?   

My love for my friends and who they are. The core group of us who continue to just be here for each other and everything we do.

Have you started to think about next year’s GRiZMAS?

This year our merchandise program got a lot better. We’re going to continue making our merch super dope. Being able to make an even more inviting space for anybody, even if they don’t know about GRiZ. Make it more of a Detroit space; make it more of a community space. All the money and effort goes back to the city anyway. So we want to make it less about GRiZ and more about the city.

IG: @griz ; @12daysofgrizmas