ESCONDIDO — Singer and drummer Larry Grano’s 55-year love affair with music began at age 5 with an impromptu session at his father’s Elks Lodge. When his father needed a bathroom break, he turned to young Larry, whom he’d seen rocking out to the previous song.
“Why don’t you sit there and play the drums: When the piano player starts, you start; and when he stops, you stop.’ So I did it. And when the song ended, I got applause. The hook was set.”
His father bought him a snare drum after that, and — aside from a few years devoted to chasing his baseball dreams in Little League — drumming and music have been his life. It’s taken the longtime Escondido resident on a journey backing everyone from Encinitas’ Jack Tempchin, whose “Peaceful Easy Feeling” was a hit for the Eagles, to blues star Coco Montoya, former Wings member Denny Laine and jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke, along with a longtime collaboration with fellow San Diegan Eve Selis.
Like Selis, Grano grew up in San Diego’s Allied Gardens neighborhood, tucked between Mission Gorge Road and College Avenue on the north side of Interstate 8.
He’ll be behind the drum set next month for country-rock legend Richie Furay’s final two concerts before the co-founder of Poco and Buffalo Springfield heads into retirement: Nov. 6 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, and Nov. 7 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.
But Grano’s own journey reached a personal milestone last Friday with his induction into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame.
What was his reaction when he was told he’d been nominated?
“When I think about (previous inductees) Charles McPherson, Jim Plank, Mike Wofford, Fred Benedetti, the first thing out of my mouth was, ‘Is this because I’m leaving town?’ Once again, Allied Gardens has never left me – I’ve always been that smart-ass.”
On a more serious note, Grano said his selection brought to mind all those who encouraged his musical journey over the years.
“I’m reminded of everybody who has helped me, who reached out and saw that I wanted it and said, ‘Okay.’”
Other inductees in the class of 2026 were San Diego punk pioneers the Penetrators, the late roots-rock icon and MTV personality Mojo Nixon, local reggae outfit Big Mountain, former Duke Ellington trombonist and longtime educator Oliver Luck, R&B combo Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, and jazz radio DJ Claudia Russell.
Previous North County honorees include Tempchin, Cindy Lee Berryhill and Peter Sprague, all from Encinitas; San Marcos’ Lisa Sanders; and the late blues singer Candye Kane and Jason Mraz, both from Oceanside.
The San Diego native ended up in Escondido after meeting Christine Trifoso. The couple decided to make her home in Hidden Meadows their base of operations. Now, they are in the process of moving to North Carolina, “Chasing a grandchild!”
“She is retired, and my skills will travel. I plan on continuing to teach,” he said.
Grano said his initial drum lessons as a youth involved listening to songs on the radio or records in the family home and learning to play along. His sister was 15 years older than he was, with tastes running to the Beatles and the soundtrack to “West Side Story,” while his mother had more contemporary albums by artists such as Marvin Gaye and Carly Simon.
He also cited KCBQ radio as another source of “lessons” as he played along with popular songs of the day.
When he was 13, his father bought him a full drum kit from a co-worker, and he took his first formal lessons from Tom Boyd.
“And then I locked myself in the garage. And I wore everything out that I could play – every permutation of what he taught me. Then I took some lessons from a gentleman named James Morton, who now teaches at Grossmont College. Then I locked myself back in the garage.”
“Some of my favorite players were, of course, Russ Kunkel with Carole King, and Jim Keltner. … My dad brought me home the red and blue double albums of the Beatles’ hits. Then he brought home ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ (by Elton John). So I started falling in love with Ringo and Nigel Olsson.
“What basically I was doing is I was becoming a song drummer. I wasn’t a virtuoso, because I started with pop music. I was playing for the song. You serve the song and stay out of the way and it plays itself.”
Grano recalled routinely declining social invitations in junior high and high school to sit in the garage and practice. After a neighbor filed a noise complaint with the city, he said his mother went door to door and explained the situation. She found most neighbors were supportive, with comments like “We know where he’s at” or “He’s not getting into trouble.”
“So I had a whole neighborhood behind me!” he said.
His first paid gig was at a backyard party at his next-door neighbor’s house. Grano said he doesn’t remember what it paid, but it was enough to treat himself to lunch at Foster’s Freeze.
“That band’s name was Wizard. It was the very first band I played in. We had everything from original music to new wave to old wave, Yardbirds, Beatles, some punk, The Ramones. I was with them ‘til I was about 18.
“When I first ventured out, my very first band was with Craig Goldy. He became the guitar player for Ronnie James Dio – and he was already good! The bass player was Greg McKinney. And I was way out of my league. These guys were really good.
“I wanted to be the lousiest guy in the band. … and if I wanted to get better I had to practice and that’s what I did.”
After leaving Wizard at the end of the 1970s, Grano found his next gig the old-fashioned way: through a newspaper’s help-wanted section.
“I found an ad in the Reader for a band named Artisan. We started playing at The Turquoise Lounge in La Mesa five nights a week.”
From there, he joined a band named 3-D, then Pranx — his last local band before a move to Los Angeles.
“After about 7 months of that, I felt like I was back in high school: it was a clique. I went to the union, and was told I’d have to wait for someone to die to get gigs. Also, my son was about 3 years old, so I needed to be closer to home.”
Grano moved back to San Diego and was hired by Private Domain, one of the top draws on the local music scene in the 1980s. About five years after joining Private Domain, Grano found his services sought by another popular local band.
“Rockola comes in and asks ,‘How’d you like to make two times as much money’? I have responsibilities; I had to make money. On top of that, Mark DeCerbo from Four Eyes was in Rockola. I wanted to work with Mark on his original stuff.”
Beginning in the early 1990s, he was also the singing drummer for the Soul Persuaders.
While in Rockola, Grano said, he learned more about the business side of music, including the lucrative world of corporate gigs.
But in 2005, he was replaced in Rockola by Bob Sale, who had been Selis’ drummer. Grano said Selis called him, and he and Sale essentially swapped gigs.
In 2019, Selis’ husband was offered a job in Nashville, and the family moved. Rather than look for new gigs, Grano said, the members of Selis’ band decided to stick together, taking the name Back to the Garden.
With his move to North Carolina, Grano has only a few more local gigs on his calendar, closing a chapter of his life in the area where he grew up. While he’s excited about the next chapter, he appreciates life in Southern California.
Of the house they’re selling in Hidden Meadows, Grano said, “It’s like living the life of Bruce Wayne. You’ve got Wayne Manor out in the middle of nowhere, and then you go out back and ‘Oh, there’s a hawk having breakfast.’ ”
