The Spectacular Risk of Braden Griffith

Images courtesy of Braden GriffithBraden Griffith wakes up most mornings with no clue where he is. “I wake up on the bus and have to ask someone, 'What state are we in today?'” Braden says, his voice oozing with exuberance.“I’ve always been around music,” he says, speaking by phone from Orlando. “My dad played bass in Second Time Around, and I grew up going to shows.” Braden recalls playing his uncle’s old Ludwig drum set at his grandmother’s house when he was four years old. “The first thing I did when I got there was start banging on drums.”At five, Braden was begging his parents for a drum set. A week before his seventh birthday, he picked the lock to his parents’ closet. Hidden inside was a Remo beginner’s drum set. “I wanted to set it up so bad,” he says. “I had to keep my mouth shut so it was still a surprise. I played that drum set every single day.”During a 2006 Rascal Flatts concert at Oak Mountain Amphitheater, Braden became mesmerized by drummer Jim Riley. “I went home and researched all about him,” he says. “I printed every article and picture and hung it on the wall. I told my parents, ‘I wanna meet this guy one day.’”A few years later while visiting the Grand Ole Opry, his friend Tyler Bryan introduced Braden to Jim. “He was the most humble person I’ve ever met,” Braden says. “He stayed and talked to me about what I wanted to do with my life. A few days later, my dad said he had set up private lessons. Jim is now a great friend and a mentor.”At sixteen Braden was playing drums in Donnie Glenn’s band Piper Road. “I miss playing with them,” Braden says. “They’re a real band. There were no [backing}tracks or anything. We just went and played and jammed out.”During his Piper Road days, Braden was offered a touring gig with the Eli Young Band. He could play the safe card and decline, but the fire in his belly would not be quenched. After discussing it with his parents, Braden packed his gear and moved to Nashville. He later completed high school online, and plans to go to college online next year.Braden has toured with artists like the Eli Young Band and Brett Young, in forty-eight states and overseas. In January, he will hit the road again with Michael Tyler.No one is more shocked by this young man’s meteoric rise than Braden himself. “I never thought my dream would come true this fast,” he says. “The people of Jasper have been so supportive. I would not be where I am today without them. This is exactly what I want to do with my life.”Perhaps tomorrow Braden will wake up on the bus rolling down another lonely stretch of highway and wonder where he is. Wherever that may be, he is living his dream. 78