Dave Gutter, a longtime Maine musician and frontman for Rustic Overtones, won a Grammy on Sunday for a song he wrote for legendary New Orleans singer Aaron Neville.
Gutter won the Grammy for Best American Roots Performance for the song “Stompin’ Ground,” which he wrote with Eric Krasno of the bands Soulive and Lettuce. The song was performed by Neville and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, off the soundtrack to the documentary “Take Me To The River: New Orleans.”
One other Mainer also won a Grammy this year. Bob Ludwig, founder of longtime Portland mastering studio Gateway Mastering, won his 13th Grammy for remastering the 20th anniversary reissue of Wilco’s album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”
Gutter, 48, has been a fixture in the Maine music scene for more than 30 years. Rustic Overtones, his first band, was formed in 1993, and after its successful 1998 album “Rooms by the Hour” signed to Arista Records. The subsequent album, “Viva Nueva!”, was produced by Tony Visconti and featured David Bowie and Imogen Heap on backing vocals, with album art designed by Shepard Fairey. The album was later released by Tommy Boy, before the band broke up in 2002. Rustic Overtones reformed in 2007 and have put out five more albums and tour regularly.
Gutter formed the band Paranoid Social Club in 2002, which has released four albums. In 2021, he released his first solo album, “I’ve Been Here Awhile.”
In an Instagram post, Gutter thanked his supporters over the years, who he said he considers more family than fans. He took his daughter, Kani, to the Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles. He’ll perform at Bayside Bowl in Portland on Feb. 10, and G-Force in Bangor on Feb. 11.
“I’ve been doing this for decades and have made some deep connections with people that I’ve met through music,” he said. “You’re not my fans or my customers, you’re my family.”
Two other Mainers were also nominated. Windham native Amy Allen was nominated for Songwriter of the Year, though she lost to Tobias Jesso Jr. Adam Ayan, also of Gateway Mastering, was nominated for mastering Father John Misty’s album “Chloe and the Next 20th Century.”
