New York City based singer-songwriter, Joey DeGraw, combines powerful songs with a rootsy rock feel, creating an unmistakable sound. His lyrics provide honest, witty, and sharp observations on life, and he sings them with a voice that is raw and filled with emotion. The older brother of recording artist Gavin DeGraw, Joey is a prolific writer and has written with some of the industry's top selling artists.
Originally from Monticello, New York, Joey started playing guitar at the age of five. Inspired by the sounds of Chris Whitley, Queen, Tom Petty, and the Beatles, he continued his passion for music throughout his school years and had written over 50 songs by the time he finished high school. When local musicians began to cover Joey's songs, people started to take notice of his natural raw talent. Chris Whitley noted, "What makes Joey such a deep writer and overwhelming talent, besides his god given gifts, is that ... it is all about music as an art form. He is a purist and the only young blood in music today that gives me hope."
Staying true to his belief in the purity of art, Joey decided to take a "strict artistic stand" against the big business of music and hopes to build a loyal, adult, intellectual audience of practicing artists and songwriters to further his vision. As he says, "I never felt the need to prove myself as a writer, singer, songwriter, guitar player, whatever... I only wanted to create what never existed. I had something to say, and it was important for me to say it." And say it he did.
Joey's self-produced debut album, Midnight Audio, which arrived in 2005, has sold over 40,000 copies without any label support. His upcoming album, Say Something Strong, will be released June 9, 2009 and includes original hits "Another Mistake" and "Miracle of Mind."
Well-known in the underground New York City music scene, Joey has packed the house at some of the city's most famous clubs, including the Bitter End and the Knitting Factory. He has also taken the stage at The House of Blues (Los Angeles), Boston Garden, Harvard's YardFest and South By Southwest. Joey has toured internationally both with his own band, and as the guitarist and singer in his younger brother Gavin's band. "Gavin is like a rocket. Joey is like a time bomb," says NYC's Bitter End owner Ken Gorka.
Joey has recorded with noted producers, Steve Greenwell (Joss Stones' The Soul Sessions and Mind, Body & Soul) and Jim Caruana (Beyonce's Crazy In Love). He has also collaborated with top recording artists including Joss Stone, Mountain front man Leslie West, Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors, and of course, Gavin DeGraw. In his spare time, Joey owns The National Underground, an East Village bar that he shares with his brother in Manhattan. The artist-friendly bar serves as a mecca for both well-known and undiscovered musicians.
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