The veteran singer-songwriter duo of Steve Grimes and Steve Stusser return to the Palindrome as “2Ality” on Saturday, Aug. 24.
Although Grimes and Stusser have collaborated musically …
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The veteran singer-songwriter duo of Steve Grimes and Steve Stusser return to the Palindrome as “2Ality” on Saturday, Aug. 24.
Although Grimes and Stusser have collaborated musically off and on for about 50 years, it’s only during the past half dozen years that they’ve been performing together under the name “2Ality.”
“We’re not into astrology, but we joke about both being Geminis,” Grimes said, explaining the duo’s performing name. “We’re both named Steve, and we met when we were each playing in different bands in Seattle.”
Grimes was part of a country-western band, CW Thrills, that required him to play the fiddle and mandolin, but he admitted that he wished he could have been playing in the rock-themed “Imaginary Band” (its actual stage name) that Stusser was part of.
Grimes and Stusser’s musical tastes since then have ranged from folk to funk, as Grimes has described himself as a “multi-stylist” songwriter.
“All my albums cover a wide swath of genres,” Grimes said. “The songs are a concoction of the many musical influences and ingredients that make up the gumbo of my life, both real and imagined.”
Grimes and Stusser also share in common an affinity for acoustic guitar-playing and working with their hands.
Stusser started a high-end custom furniture company, Stusser Woodworks, in Seattle in 1987, while Grimes has distinguished himself as a luthier, building guitars for famous musicians ranging from Paul Simon to Willie Nelson.
Indeed, even Stusser ordered a guitar from Grimes, which Grimes noted with some pride has become Stusser’s “main” guitar.
While Stusser is still based in Seattle, Grimes has gone from Seattle to Port Townsend to Maui, and his dealings with Rainshadow Recording — which presents the concerts at the Palindrome and at the Eaglemount Winery and Cidery in Port Townsend — have extended from Neville Pearsall to Everett Moran.
Although Grimes and Stusser have maintained their friendship and musical collaborations over the decades through semi-regular annual meet-ups which inevitably lead to spontaneous jam sessions, it wasn’t until relatively recently, while staying with a friend who lives near Manresa Castle in Port Townsend, that they finally realized their profound musical compatibility.
“We were playing together, like always, but we were suddenly struck by how much chemistry we had as musicians,” Grimes said. “We don’t need to have everything planned out in advance before we play together. Each of us will contribute different things, and the other instinctively knows when to add things of their own, and when to get out of the way.”
Grimes described this state of being musically in sync as unlike what he’s had with “anyone else on the planet,” and it even inspired one of their songs, “Easy,” because playing together is so easy for them.
Indeed, Grimes advised Palindrome audiences to expect some free form improvisation from the duo during their 7:30 p.m. concert on Aug. 24.
“Because Stusser lives in Seattle and I live in Maui, we don’t have a lot of opportunities to rehearse together,” Grimes said. “So if we make a mistake, we just roll with it, and have fun with it. We don’t take it too seriously.”
Tickets are available in advance online at ticketstorm.com, or for cash or check at the doors, which open at 7 p.m.