While growing up, Grilliot was an honor student and learned the fundamentals of choral singing and arranging, trumpet, bass, guitar, piano, and jazz studies; he received his high school diploma in Celina, Ohio.

[2] Grilliot began his professional musical career in Nashville, Tennessee, appearing as bass player with the BMG band "Lightheaded.

[5] Grilliot relocated to Los Angeles in 2008 and began producing music for Kat Graham on her YouTube covers of artists such as Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul.

[6] He also handled vocal production and engineering when Graham contributed a cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" to The Vampire Diaries soundtrack.

Grilliot also has television and film placements on programming including American Horror Story, Botched, and The Real Housewives.