Although the guitar and piano have long been staples of music composition, more exotic instrumentation has gained popularity in recent years. The swing revival of the ’90s brought a resurgence of horns, while the release of the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” set off the upward trending use of banjo and mandolin, and even on hip-hop records. One instrument that hasn’t yet hit the mainstream but continues to see a steady rise in popularity is the stick: a wooden, handmade, 16-stringed instrument.
San Diego is home to one of the stick’s best-known proponents, virtuoso player Tom Greisgraber, who will perform alongside drummer and percussionist Jerry Marotta at Brick By Brick on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Legendary musician Tony Levin, a former member of King Crimson and session man for an incredible list of artists “” including Pink Floyd, David Bowie and John Lennon “” will also perform.
“I actually went through Berklee College of Music in Boston as a guitar major,” Greisgraber recalled. “Writing has always been my main interest in music, but when I started trying to put things together based around the guitar, I just felt like most of what I was doing was too similar to things I’d heard before.”
Greisgraber’s quest for a new sound was satiated after attending a musical instrument trade show, where Levin performed on the stick.
“I heard [Levin] and Jerry Marotta play at an after-hours concert during the NAMM tradeshow. I knew then and there I had to get a stick. What Tony was doing was simple enough, musically, that I could get my head around it, but it didn’t sound like guitar, it didn’t sound like bass and it didn’t even sound like keys. It was different and I was sold,” he said.
In the ensuing years, Greisgraber has played the instrument solo and with a variety of different-sized ensembles.
“Both scenarios have different challenges,” he remarked. “One instrument by itself is fine for awhile, but ultimately, things can just be so much more interesting when there is interplay among different people and instruments. The process of having somebody interject something you don’t expect into things really changes not only the piece but also what you then continue to contribute to it.”
He does admit, however, to enjoying the occasional solo show.
“Playing solo is fun because I’m totally in control of the music,” he said. “Even if you want to, say, re-arrange a piece on the spot, you can do it. No rehearsals needed. I have only myself to worry about. Of course, the flip side is any mistakes and everyone knows whose fault it was.”
Greisgraber is currently on the road promoting a new album, “Waking The Day,” recorded as a duo with Marotta and featuring Levin. He cites the likes of King Crimson, Robert Fripp and Pat Metheny as influences, and it shows on this instrumental disc, particularly on tracks like the haunting “Bad Day At Coney Island.”
Though there are vocalizations, there are no lyrics. Greisgraber prefers to let the music do the talking.

“I don’t think the idea of adding lead vocals to things ever even really came up, and Jerry is actually a very good singer,” he quipped. “To me there is something fascinating about instrumental music when it manages to have a strong emotional pull. If a piece does manage to capture an emotion, then everyone that hears it will end up putting their own experiences into that emotion. I think it’s much harder to achieve that emotional pull without lyrics, but when you can pull it off, the music is more powerful because they’re not there.”
While Greisgraber has been playing shows locally since 1999 and garnering worldwide acclaim for almost as long, the general public still knows very little about the stick-his chosen instrument.
“From my perspective, I’m amazed at how many people, even in San Diego, still don’t know what it is,” he laughed.
For more information on the show at Brick by Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave., visit www.brickbybrick.com.