MySpace a place for friends

It wasn’t long before the opportunity to play shows presented itself; the first was a short solo set at “See Through Souls,” an annual window art showcase put on by my friend Jenn Nelson. I played early in the day to a handful of friends, but one of them was John McNicholas. I had recently started playing with John in the Mary O. Harrison band (a great pop band for whom I played drums), so I knew he was an amazing player. So when he, perhaps jokingly, said that his own set was to serve as his audition for my band, I snatched him up quicker than you could say “twee.” With John on lead guitar, our style began to take shape, resulting in an atmospheric blend of shoegaze and folk.

The two of us quickly became regulars at local coffehouses such as Kavarna and Java Monkey. We set off to record some songs with the hopes of releasing an EP, but once I was in the studio I found that the ideas flowed even more freely, and the EP grew into a full-length. The result was “Sunset Over Saxapahaw,” a 10-song collection that I released on my own eskimo kiss records label in October 2008.

During the recording process I began to appreciate the addition of keyboards and percussion in my music, so I set out in search of more musicians to help round out the sound for our live shows. A post on myspace generated a response from Jim Combs, an Atlanta keyboardist who was very active in the electronic music scene. Jim learned all the songs after a single practice and was the perfect addition.

Since finding Jim and releasing my debut record, The Good Graces have had the pleasure to perform at venues such as The EARL (Atlanta), Evening Muse (Charlotte), The Cave (Chapel Hill), and as part of the revered Athens Pop Fest. My record has also yielded a greater response than I ever would have dreamed of, with accolades from Stomp and Stammer, Independent Weekly (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill), and Cable and Tweed, to name just a few. I even got a mention in Canada’s largest daily paper, The Star, listed in a top ten list of sorts along with folks like Kanye West and The Bee Gees (wild!). The kind words are very flattering, but also so much more than I ever would have expected. I’ve never really had any “goals” when it comes to The Good Graces (which is rather ironic, considering that I’m a very goal-oriented person). From the beginning, I only wanted to write songs and have fun. I never even intended to make a record; I would have been happy just singing my songs to my dogs on my front porch. But the fact that people been able to connect with and appreciate my songs is a real honor and something that inspires me every day.

Having produced such a melancholy record, one might assume that I’m a dreary, depressed person. Actually that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m happy, goofy, and a lot of fun, or at least I like to think so. Maybe that’s why once I got my sappy tales of heartache out of me I was able to move on and find other, more lighthearted, muses. “Sunset Over Saxapahaw” features a song called “Over It,” where I sing about the ending of the relationship, but instead of mourning its end I recognize that “some things really just aren’t meant to last” and “sometimes to get a win it takes a loss.” I think I had to write that song to really get over it. If “Sunset…” is a post-divorce record as it’s been called, then I guess my next record will be post-post-divorce, as now I’m focusing on things like bad drivers and Kurt Cobain. I even attempt to sing in Spanish for one tune (”Yo No Puedo Hablar Espanol”). But regardless of the topic, my music will always remain honest and real. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Contact: For booking, publicity, and most anything concerning tGG, you can contact me directly via email, at thegoodgraces(at)gmail(dot)com

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