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Stephen Grayce News.....

Stephen at Black Cat Cafe, Orlando, July 9, 2010
(photo by Tom Cook)
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NEWS DATE 7/10/10: Stephen Grayce, Un-Standing

        The monthly edition of Orlando's Black Cat Cafe saw our Mr. Grayce in a seated position; a pinched nerve in his neck made his left shoulder a no-strap zone, but the performance was intense nonetheless. After opening with Songs From Dark Rooms' "Yes And No", Stephen did an impassioned take on "Looking For Light", followed by an emotional performance of a new short song (Stephen called it a "snapshot") called "Turning Away", which may show up on the new CD in November.

     Stephen is spending most of his time at Boohaven, his home studio, working on demos to finish the next album, which according to him has nine completed songs so far. A new instrument or two may be used to color the proceedings: Stephen has been experimenting with his new Egyptian oud (think exotic round-backed fretless mandolin) and with the bowed psaltery he used on Lovers And Liars' "Imperfect Heart". He heads back to Full Sail University Studios in Winter Park, FL on August 4 to finish up the next tune.
 

     Stephen played a couple of mini-sets at Bikes, Beans & Bordeau last night as part of the Jeff Kurzon & Friends evening, taking advantage of the intimate coffeehouse to debut two more new songs being considered for the upcoming CD. "Fall For That" is a Tom Petty-style midtempo rocker. On the other end of the spectrum was "Imaginary Towns", very much a folk song. "It's about dreaming of the perfect place to be," says Stephen. "Part nostalgia for the good old days, part a wish for the future." Lyrics like "hate's a word we saved for war / but we don't have those anymore" are pretty direct as the song's protagonist dreams his own special home.

    Another special part of the night for Stephen was Kurzon's surprise performance of "Watch The Seasons", a song Stephen originally wrote for Kurzon's former band Dennis, Jeff & Bari.  Jeff introduced it as "an original, but I didn't write it" and then had Stephen join him on harmonies. (Stephen recently recorded his own take on the song which may show up on the next disc as well.)

     Stephen heads back into the studio on June 2 (two days before his birthday) to record another track for the album, still on schedule for November of this year and definitely looking so far to be a more folk-pop disc than last year's harder-edged Songs From Dark Rooms album.
 
 

     Our Mr. Grayce took the stage at Orlando's Black Cat Cafe tonight (their 16th anniversary!) and pulled out two guitars; his usual 12-string and his old six-string Fender acoustic. The latter began the set with a rare rendition of Lovers And Liars' "Just Like You". How to follow that? With: the debut of a new country-rock midtempo tune called "Hang On", about, well, hanging on when life gets rough. The song has been confirmed for Stephen's next disc. His last song was the now-familiar ballad "Airspeed", also slated for the upcoming CD (Stephen swears seven songs are complete at this stage).

     And has Stephen chosen a final name for the disc? "Not sure," says he. "It's changed twice already so I don't want to lock anything in." We've now heard both Almost Gone and Together Alone as possible contenders. Also definitely-maybes as far as songs go are the folk track "Sugarland" (long a staple of his live set), the Tom Petty-ish "That Again", and his newest recording, the country-folk "Imaginary Towns", which Stephen might be breaking out live very soon.
 
 

     Stephen returned to the studio at Full Sail University last night for the first time this year, finally ending his "fate-imposed hiatus" as he puts it. Musically the new song, called "Hang On", channels Stephen's inner Roger McQuinn : lyrically it's more Deepak Chopra, about sticking it out through rough times. Autobiographical, given what Stephen went through the last six months? "I wasn't thinking it at the time, but my subconscious had to play a part," he says.

     Stephen is now six song deep into his next CD, which is aimed for release at the end of the year. Prospective titles come and go, but at the moment the frontrunner is Almost Gone.
 
 

     After another forced month off, this time due to a kidney infection, Stephen made it back to the Black Cat Cafe stage in Orlando. He opened with "Welcome To America", from the Lovers And Liars CD. He followed with Looking For Light's "Smoke And Mirrors", then plugged his upcoming gig opening for Dennis, Jeff & Bari by unzipping his hoodie to reveal... a homemade Dennis, Jeff & Bari T-shirt! He then finished the set with LFL's "High And Fine", dedicating it to one Leo DeLuca, saying Leo taught him his first chord on guitar.
    The aforementioned DJ&B gig with Stephen opening happens Saturday the 20th. .
 
 

     Mr. Grayce returned to Black Cat Cafe in Orlando tonight for the first time since his recovery from heart trouble, and seemed in full force.
After leading off with "Keeping Secrets", he played two rarer songs: "Elizabeth's Here", a ballad that's onlty been played a few times since its 2004 debut, and "Airspeed", a stark ballad that first appeared live early this year. Stephen said that both are tentatively slated for the acoustic disc he has resumed work on for a hopeful summer release.
 
 

     Not only is there new music from Stephen Grayce: it's free! Online now in the Audio/Video section of the website is a new EP from Stephen entitled "First Takes And Second Guesses". It's made up of 6 songs, five of which are re-workings of songs from previous albums. See the Audio/Video section for details. You can even download cover art!
 
 

     Stephen had to cancel a scheduled recording session this week for the worst reason - he suffered a minor heart attack early Wednesday morning. Preliminary tests show no permanent damage, and Stephen is recuperating at home. "I will be lying low and counting my blessings for a week or two," he said on Saturday. "A full recovery is expected, but I will give new meaning to the phrase 'taking it easy' for the next few days." As soon as he is up to it, Stephen plans to resume work on the next CD (with the working title of Almost Gone) , which he describes as "a calmer album" that will include "Sugarland", an acoustic piece that Stephen has performed live for years. "I finally got the right sound for that one," he explains. "I'd recorded it last year and it was good, but something told me to hold back on releasing it. I'm glad I did."

    In the meantime there are still new Grayce treats here. The Audio/Video page is now home to four free downloads: new remixes of "Keeping Secrets" and "Breaking Down" from Songs From Dark Rooms; a live-in-the-studio take on Looking For Light's "Gone" with just Stephen and hits 12-string; and an alternate, full-band version of Lovers And Liars' "Just Like You". Two more additions are planned in the coming weeks, making it a full downloadable EP (Stephen is even working on art so you can burn it to CD and print the cover for it as well).

     And he'll still have time to relax. He was planning to play at the DeLand Original Music Festival on November 7, but when the fest was moved to the 14th he had to bow out due to other commitments. "It's fate that it worked out that way," Stephen says now, "because regardless of recuperation, I don't think I'd have been up to two or three full sets in two weeks time." He does, however, plan to make his monthly mini-sets in Orlando at Rubicon Cafe on the 6th and Black Cat Cafe on the 13th (Friday the 13th, no less). See the Calendar page for details.
 
 

        The new version of "Breaking Down", called the "Outside Influence Mix", is now available for listening on the player on Stephen's MySpace page and will be on the Audio/Video page for free download starting October 15th. The original version of the song is on Songs From Dark Rooms; this re-recording was produced for a student project at Full Sail University last month as noted in the last update.

        The mix name comes from the amazing co-production work of the students on the project. Stephen was receptive to new angles for the track, and the students were responsible for the idea of doubletracking both lead vocals and rhythm guitar, with an extra guitar line by student engineer Ethan Howard adding another layer to the track. The new ending was a true collaboration, with Stephen proposing the multi-layered vocal collage to which the students added a white-noise washout for the final effect.  (If you listen closely, you'll hear Stephen wailing the Seventies' T. Rex  track "Children Of The Revolution" as the song stutters to a halt.)
 
 

        Today, Full Sail University hosted its monthly Producers Showcase. Here near-graduating music-biz students are broken into small groups. The groups find an artist, record and produce an original song from the artist, and combine the result with financial, marketing and legal plans to make a 10-minute presentation to a panel of industry judges, as if they were in the real working world presenting their newest artist to a record company for consideration. The judges give honest critique in everything from the song itself to the production to legal paperwork skills. This shows the students exactly what can happen once they leave Full Sail and helps prepare them for the careers they have chosen. At the end of all presentations the judges pick the group that have done the best work and "sign" the artist.

     Stephen was chosen as an artist by one of the groups, having worked with them on a demo for the next CD earlier in the month. Together over a four-day period, the students re-recorded the song "Breaking Down" from Songs From Dark Rooms in a new arrangement, having Stephen add more guitars, punch up the bass, and double vocal liness, as well as add a schizophrenic "nervous breakdown" ending. The students didn't just record, they produced the track with Stephen's  input as well. He was very impressed by the aformentioned ideas they had for the new version, and student Ethan Howard even added a hot grinding guitar underpinning of his own. They in turn were impressed that Stephen was so receptive to outside ideas!

     It all paid off. Today the group's presentation beat out 27 others to win the day. The winning track's new mix will be available to download free starting soon from this website in the Audio/Video section. The presentation was streamed live on the Web (that's where Stephen saw it as he was out of town working on a friend's album). The stream will be archived next week, stay tuned. Congrats to Stephen and his partners-in-art!

        After a well-received set on the 29th at Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux in Winter Park that featured songs from all four of his albums to date, Stephen spent a day relaxing before heading back into the studio at Full Sail to record the new song "That Again" for his next disc-in-progress. The song combines a Tom Petty/Roger McGuinn musical approach (or "Roger Petty and the Heartbyrds", as he puts it) with a vocal delivery that betrays his Psychedelic Furs influence (first heard on the title track of the Lovers And Liars CD). The result is a very mainstream folk-pop tune about refusing to make the same romantic mistake twice.

         Speaking of that, it looks like Stephen will be resurrecting the song "The Only Mistake (I Made Twice)", a country-rocker that he's performed live but not released yet. Basic tracking was done almost three years ago, but the tune didn't make the short list for Lovers And Liars. It's a harder country-rock track about someone who does make the same romantic mistake twice. With new guitars added to the mix, it should see the light of day at year's end as well, either on the next CD or as a bonus track for a single release or download.

       Besides playing, Stephen has been catching up on listening to other artists as well. Current favorites are the amazing new Imogen Heap album Ellipse, and the neo-folk CD Seven Hour Night Shifts by The Jet Rodriguez, a one-man Michigan band Stephen bumped into on MySpace.
 
 

        Other projects in various planning stages include Stephen's recording some cover songs for free download, and two more album projects: a traditional Grayce album and what he refers to as a  "concept album" with the working title Deep South. It could be a very busy time for Stephen artistically for at least the next year.
 
 

  As Stephen preps for his show with Jim Allen and Melanie Fisher next Friday , he returned to Orlando's Black Cat Cafe last night with a difference - two of his three songs were covers. The first was Emmylou Harris' "The Ballad Of Sally Rose", followed by his first-ever performance of Lou Reed's "Women". Stephen then moved to piano for the unrecorded Grayce track "Victory Meet Victim". This isn't totally unrecorded, mind you - the home demo of the first verse appears unnanounced at the end of the Songs From Dark Rooms CD as a bonus track.
 
 

       It seems that Murphy's Law may have kicked in for Stephen this week. First came pain in his left arm near the elbow, suspected to be tendinitis. Then a wisdom tooth being pulled splintered, requiring dental surgery which he is (painfully) recovering from. And now Stephen has a cold in the middle of June. "I'm afraid to see what's next," he jokes. "I ain't leavin' the house."

     That last sentence, alas, is true. Stephen is cancelling his monthly Black Cat Cafe appearance this month in favor of rest and recovery. The good news is that before all this took hold, he recorded a new track, "Walking Through Fire", at Full Sail University Studios near Orlando on June 2, two days before he turned 51. He also performed "Lovers And Liars" and "Quiet Please" at Rubicon Cafe in Orlando on the 5th.
 
 

      After lying low for a few months following the release of Songs From Dark Rooms, Stephen is putting his toe into the pool again, in preproduction and writing for the next project or two. On deck are an acoustic CD; a new section of the website featuring Stephen doing cover songs originally recorded by everyone from Lou Reed to The Ramones for free download; and another CD featuring more lush, produced songs a la Looking For Light .

      Also on the plate is a songwriters-round concert at The Music Shack's new concert room  in Casselberry, Florida on July 17. It will feature Stephen, Melanie Fisher, and Jim Allen, trading off their original songs and the stories between them. Details are on the Calendar page.
 
 

      Our man Mr. Grayce has been a busy guy. On top of finishing up Songs From Dark Rooms and releasing it on January 1, he's lately been involved in Full Sail University's "Session Records Producers Showcase" project. This is a monthly program at Full Sail where recording engineering and production students in small groups produce a song for an artist, then package everything from merchandising to legal documents in a "pitch" as if selling the artist at a meeting with a record company. Each group gets 10 minutes to show that their artist should be signed by the fictitious "Session Records", which included playing the song they produced and a video when available. Three judges on different aspects of the music business give critique; after all the groups have made their case, the judges pick a winning group for the month.

     The three months that Stephen has participated in are viewable on the SyncLive website (www.synclive.com). After signing up for a free account there, do a search for "Session Records", then choose the appropriate month. During the video you can choose to either go directly to Stephen's session by clicking on his name, or to watch all the presentations of the day.

    Stephen's contributions are:

DECEMBER 2008 - Stephen's song "Bethesda" is premiered. The recording done for this presentation was released on Songs From Dark Rooms a week later.

JANUARY 2009 - This is the first-ever airing of "Fall With You", a to-date unreleased track that may see the official light of day on another album.

FEBRUARY 2009 - This features a new, more ornate recording of Stephen's 2002 song "West Of Cassiopeia" (originally on his debut EP, Day One) , and also features a brief video interview with Stephen about influences and the meaning behind the song.
 
 

      Another set, another surprise. At Black Cat Cafe in Orlando tonight, Stephen opened on piano, doing a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Over And Over" (from the Tusk album). He then switched to guitar, taking on Looking For Light's "Billy Can Fly" before once again playing the new song "Airspeed" for the attentive crowd. Fellow artist Melanie Fisher had closed her set earlier with a cover of Lindsey Buckinhgam's famous acoustic version of the Mac's "Big Love"; before Stephen started the first song he said, "If Melanie is Lindsey Buckingham tonight, I must be Christine McVie".

     Stephen escaped Friday the 13th drama tonight as well. The last time he played there on a Friday the 13th, he broke his strap and a string halfway into the first song. Tonight he sat on a stool so if the strap came off (and it DID!) it wouldn't affect him. Of course, he tore his fingernail to the quick in the middle of "Airspeed" but managed to deftly pick around it.
 
 

      Just a month after releasing the new Songs From Dark Rooms CD, Stephen is at it again, posting a brand-new song online. The song, "Airspeed" has been performed live only a couple of times- once at Austin Coffee and Film in Winter Park, Florida in 2004, and recently at Rubicon Cafe in Orlando. The track is live in the studio, just Stephen's voice and 12-string recorded in one take. This may be the first salvo in a rumored folk disc from Stephen; he has alluded to recording either a full CD or EP of acoustic bare-bones material for a couple of years. Check out the song for yourself on the player on Stephen's MySpace page.
 
 

      One day after releasing Songs From Dark Rooms, Stephen hosted January's Rubicon Cafe in Orlando and gave the audience a full dose of the new disc, performing "Keeping Secrets", "Yes And No"  and "Anca" for the crowd. He also played "Here For Goodbye", one of the album's highlights, live for the first time ever to great response. Video of that particular song's live debut can be seen by clicking here, where the video is stored on Stephen's MySpace page.
 
 

     New year, new music! Songs From Dark Rooms is available as of January 1 from this website on the Discography Page (where you can hear samples of each tune as well), and can also be purchased at Stephen's shows. The final track listing is:

1. "Little Bit Of Heart" - A blast from the past. This song was recorded at Stephen's home in Columbus, Ohio, in 1987! It continues his Robert Palmer fixation (also evident in Looking For Light's "Hit The Road") and manages to sound like it was written yesterday. A 'low-fi' approach takes over, with only programmed beatbox percussion, funky bass guitar, and Stephen's multilayered, smoky vocals. Thus begins a different kind of Stephen Grayce album.

2. "Breaking Down" - Blues-rock with a stuttering guitar and slinky vocal tell the story of watching someone fall apart.

3. "Yes And No" - Stephen in total folk singer-songwriter mode. The bridge betrays a Cat Stevens influence.

4.  "Keeping Secrets" - A stomping blues-rocker with a scorching slide guitar solo! The story of a man who's getting the hell out of a bad relationship and won't be looking back anytime soon.

5. "Bethesda" - Lou Reed meets country music. A deceptively straight-forward melody belies lyrics that are darker than you'd expect. Features Stephen on a soaring synthesized string arrangement, and the first live drums on a Stephen Grayce album since his 2002 debut EP, courtesy of engineer Bryan McClure.

6. "Hotel Blue" - Robert Palmer channeling again, this time through a slinky T. Rex groove in a song Stephen wrote in the late Seventies about a hotel-slash-house-of-ill-repute.!

7. "Dead" - Art pop? Blues? Soul? They're all here in a song that brings the drama.

8. "Hello Savior" - Another curveball. A jaunty folk-country tune about losing your faith, at Christmas no less. A Bo Diddley acoustic rhythm starts it off, and then it gets deeper, and deeper, despite a Neil Young-type harmonica solo....

9. "Here For Goodbye" - The darkest song on a dark album, one of those pondering-existence shadowy waltzes.

10. "Anca" - Delicate guitars frame a search for a friend's self-esteem on this atmospheric ballad to close the album. This was done at Stephen's studio, Boohaven, as a demo but made the final cut despite a stray guitar note or two. A later take was fuller but didn't have the feel that Stephen got at 2 am on his demo version.
 
 

      Mr. Grayce's newest song, "Bethesda", was tracked tonight at Full Sail University Studios in what Stephen describes as one of his best sessions, ever. The track is a deceptively stark, straight-forward folk song with a few surprises lyrically. "I was going for the country version of a Lou Reed song- you know, sounds a little mainstream on the surface but the subject throws a curve here and there." Mission accomplished.

      Although he's keeping the final version of the song under wraps until the disc is out (a 30-second snippet can be heard on Stephen's page on American Songspace), the home demo that started it all can be heard on Stephen's MySpace page.
 
 

      This year's DeLand Original Music Festival saw two sets from Stephen. While both sets rocked, the first, in front of Dublin Station, was the hands-down winner. Stephen locked into full blues-rock mode, leaning heavily on the Lovers And Liars CD (with Looking For Light's "Hit The Road" thrown in), and added "Keeping Secrets", a swaggering stomp from the upcoming Songs From Dark Rooms disc. His second set, on the main acoustic stage just inside the festival's main gate, kept the same feel but swapped out a couple of songs.  "All These Walls" made an appearance, and Stephen ended the performance with the ballad "See Your Eyes", adding a very Neil Young-esque harmonica solo in the center. In fact, his harmonica skills got  a real workout, showing up in more than half of each set.
 
 

     There were surprises at Stephen's Black Cat Cafe mini-set tonight. He opened with a slamming cover of the Seventies Badfinger classic "No Matter What", complete with mouth-guitar solo with the audience. Then, after a reverent take on "Imperfect Heart" from the last CD, he debuted a new song, the ballad "Morning Star". Stephen said he didn't know if it was finished yet, but it sounded all sewn up to the listeners there. (Oh, and his guitar pick was blue. So there.)

      Stephen is now ensconced in Boohaven (his home studio), mixing Songs From Dark Rooms for a February release. One final song will be recorded November 26 at Full Sail Studios to round out the set.
 
 

      The latest trend for Stephen is to give new songs an audience test immediately after recorded. Thus was the case tonight at Orlando's Rubicon Cafe, with the new song "Hello Savior" making a live debut less than 24 hours after it was tracked at Full Sail Studios. The unreleased country-with-a-twist "Bethesda" followed.

     But before that, the crowd got to hear Bari Clark (of Dennis, Jeff & Bari) sing "Watch The Seasons", the song Stephen recently wrote for DJ&B. Bari shone on lead vocals and 6-string acoustic, and also onstage was none other than Mr. Grayce himself on 12-string and harmony vocal. "It was pretty wonderful," says Stephen. "Bari has such a great voice and guitar style that I really hoped she would like the song when I gave it to them. To be playing it with her live a few weeks later was an emotional moment for me."
 
 

      There's a new Stephen Grayce video. The first official Stephen Grayce studio-shot video actually: before we only had live clips and a slideshow-style clip for the unreleased "Sugarland". But this is the real thing. Curiously, it's for "Superman For Free", from the 2004 disc Looking For Light.

      Stephen tells the tale. "I was playing with a new computer program I had bought that takes video from cameras or VHS and digitizes it," he explains, "and I wanted to do a one-shot test. I decided on "Superman For Free" because it's so stark and basic. I pointed the camera to a window, zoomed a bit, and winged it. One shot, one take, and I had no idea what the zoom level was until I watched it back. Then I took out the color and darkened it, and realized it was done already."

     The "Superman For Free" video can be reached by clicking on the video still below. It's housed on  Stephen's MySpace Page.

      Also on the horizon is the first song ever written by Stephen expressly for someone else. His friends in the eclectic folk trio known as Dennis, Jeff & Bari inspired him to write a song for them, and it seemed to be fate from the start. "I had decided to ask them if they'd be interested in my trying to write something for them," says Stephen, "and that very night, Jeff Kurzon [one-third of the group] came up and asked how I'd feel if they covered one of my songs. Very spooky." The song Kurzon spoke of was the unreleased "Sugarland", which Stephen has played live over the years.

       While a "Sugarland" cover is definitely in the works, the new song will be showing up as well. It's a ballad called "Watch The Seasons", which Stephen describes as "a song about being confident enough to go for what you want, and recognising and pushing through the things in your way." DJ&B's Bari Clark has already performed the song live, and the group are working on an arrangement.
 
 

      Stephen made an appearance at the Rubicon Cafe's monthly open-mic last night. After opening with "Just Like You" from the last CD, he debuted a new cover- of Led Zeppelin's 1970 tune "That's The Way" to a rapturous reception. He explained that his grandmother had once taken him to a record store to get Led Zeppelin III as a birthday present...on 8-track tape! "Those of you born after 1975 may have to Google it to find out what I'm talking about," he joked. He also explained that the album was the best of both worlds for him, putting hard rock and beautiful folk music on the same disc.
 
 

      Tonight, on the 8th day of the 8th month of 2008, things were...different. It started at 1 in the morning, as Stephen noodled at the piano in his studio. A new song appeared out of nowhere, and he debuted it at tonight's Black Cat Cafe in Orlando, 20 hours later. He recorded the one-verse home demo onto a small mp3 player as he wrote it. The song, "Victory Meet Victim", is an epic, intense piano-and-vocal track about tying up loose ends and moving on. Two more verses appeared in the final version.

      Even the execution was unusual at Black Cat. Due to sound problems, the venue moved all the tables up against the stage and went 'unplugged' for the evening! "Every time they tried to turn on the sound system, the speakers sounded like a recording of a leaf blower," says Stephen. "We finally gave up and went for no-watt performance."
 
 

      Shock! Today, in a fit of optimism, Stephen shared with a local reporter that his next CD, Songs From Dark Rooms, is on schedule, with principal recording done on eight of the ten songs slated for the disc. "I'm not famous for being on time," he smirked, "but it's looking good." An eleventh song that is already complete may make the final lineup as well. It must be noted, however, that one year of sessions for Lovers And Liars became three years...

     Stephen goes into Full Sail Studios tomorrow night to record "Breaking Down", described as 'a jittery rock thing', leaving only "My Way (Or The Highway), a slinky blues based on a slide-guitar riff, to be tracked. "A couple of guitar solos after that, plus re-doing lead vocals on one song that was bugging me," says Stephen, "and that may be it." He also admitted that, per his usual bent, the cover design is done for the disc already. After recording, a sample of "Breaking Down" will be available on the Sound Samples Page.

     When asked about the CD as a whole, Stephen was more vague, except to say that we can expect much more of a bluesy feel compared to his previous sets. He also revealed that only two songs were from sessions for the last album, with the others written after it was released, and that all but a couple have already been played live. Songs From Dark Rooms has a tentative release date of November 4.
 
 

      Our Mr. Grayce turns the big Five-O on Wednesday (that's Fiddy to you hip-hoppers), and will celebrate in the air, in the studio, on the ground, and on the stage!

     Wednesday, weather permitting, he'll be taking a flight on a powered paraglider at Paratour . Thursday night is the latest Full Sail Studios session for the next CD. Firday night is the official birthday party, both for him and for a friend whose birthday is on the 6th.

     According to Stephen, he'll be sleeping in on Saturday. We have no doubt.
 
 

       The simmering rocker "Hotel Blue", written by Stephen in the Seventies and originally slated for the studio last month, before it got bumped by the new song "Dead", finally got laid down tonight at Full Sail Studios. It's a full-out tribute to Marc Bolan and T. Rex, one of Stephen's all-time favorites. And through the wonders of technology, you can hear a sample of it on the Sound Samples Page now. It looks like the song will finally see the light of day on the in-progress Songs From Dark Rooms CD.
 
 

       The monthly open-mic at Orlando's Rubicon Cafe got a good earful of Stephen tonight. He perfiormed two songs slated for the next CD. First came the folk ballad "Yes And No", followed by "Airspeed", an unrecorded track resurrected by Stephen (and only performed once before live, four years and three days ago!). There was actually another song with the same title written by Stephen a few years back, never performed live but included as a bonus track on the no-longer-available CD single for "Gone" in 2004.

     Stephen hits Full Sail Studios for another session Thursday night (May 8) for what he swears is the half-done disc.  He will not officially confirm a release date but is shooting for the end of this year or beginning of the next.
 
 

       Stephen grayced the stage (get it? OK, I'll stop) at Orlando's Studio Cafe this evening on another triple-bill with his buds, Jim Allen and Dennis, Jeff & Bari. Jim opened up with a sensual bluesy set of originals and covers of the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Then came Stephen, with a set mostly taken from the newest CD, with one song each from the other two and the new "Keeping Secrets" in the mix. Looking For Light's "Quiet Please" closed Stephen's set.

       DJ&B's set covered so much mileage with covers, of everyone from Natalie Merchant to Hank Williams, that they ran out of songs (but thankfully found one when an encore was demanded: their smooth-funky take on Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round In Circles"). Then Jim returned for a 2-song reprise (with Bulldog Ben on harp for the first). Finally, Stephen resurfaced for a requested tune ("Used To You") and a cover (the Joni Mitchell version of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' "Twisted", armed only with bass guitar). A good time was had by all!
 
 

       Tonight's performance at the Haven Lounge saw the debut of a new cover by Stephen. This time, wedged between "Thing You Say" and "Hit The Road" was his version of The Police's Eighties track "Invisible Sun", which he dedicated to the prisoners at Guantamo Bay. He added a verse of The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" into the middle to boot. Stephen spent the rest of the night jamming on bass and harmonies with various artists at the club. He played spectator as well and was blown away by local trio Lucky Livingstons, who pretty much stole the night with their hard and tight groove. Being a fan as much as an artist, Stephen didn't mind at all.

      Going even farther back, Stephen goes into the studio Thursday night at Full Sail Studios to cut "Hotel Blue". He wrote the song in the mid-Seventies with a definite T. Rex vibe. "Marc Bolan's slinky cool really hit me hard," says Stephen, "and I saw the name on a hotel near the college I was attending and it just blossomed in all its decadence". Indeed, the rhythm track evokes Bolan's "Mambo Sun", while the melody basically covers only three notes (more than once, of course) and the lyrics turn the long-gone hotel into a house of ill repute. Lines like "I can buy a drink/ I can make it two... you can strip your gear / at the Hotel Blue" leave it in the air as to whether the protagonist is a gigolo or a murderer. "There's no sequel," laughs Stephen, "so you can read it however you like."
 
 

       Stephen pulled out another fine performance tonight - more than one, actually. At the Haven Lounge in Winter Park, FL, site of the new Tuesday night open-mic run by Ken Epperson, former host of Baldwin's Pub's Tuesday soirees, the open-mic concept hit new highs. Stephen wowed the crowd with his solo set ("Hit The Road", the new "Keeping Secrets", and "Lovers And Liars"), and he also guested on not one but two hot sets on bass. First came a few tunes with Epperson and crew; then he played bass for a heavy blues set by hot guitarist Jim Allen, with Ken's son Jamie Epperson slamming the drums home. The three tore into Jim's "You Blues", then hit the classic "Call Me The Breeze", and wound it up with Jim's "Going Back To The Country". The crowd loved it almost as much as the three guys onstage did!
 
 

       Tonight saw a classic Grayce gig, opening for Dennis, Jeff & Bari at Orlando's Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar (see previous news item). He opened with his classic "Hit The Road", then played "Lovers And Liars" and "Good To Go" back-to-back. More of the latest disc came out- "See Your Eyes", "Welcome To America", and a blistering "Mama Got Married" all got great receptions. "Gone", from Looking For Light, also showed up, as did "Used To You" and Stephen's wild acoustic cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop"; he finished with LFL's "High And Fine".

      It was a great night for all. Stephen, blues singer/guitarist Jim Allen, and the headliners all scored big with the packed club. A highlight was Allen's covers of Zeppelin ("Ramble On") and The Allman Brothers Band ("Whipping Post", "Melissa") mixed with his own fine tunes. A good time was definitely had by all.....
 
 

       Tonight at Baldwin's Pub in Orlando, Stephen was almost all about the covers. He opened his solo set with just his bass and voice, covering "Twisted", a jazz tune written by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and previously covered by Joni Mitchell on her Court And Spark LP. He then picked up the venerable 12-string, covering  Emmylou Harris' "The Ballad Of Sally Rose" and Teddy Thompson's "Everybody Move It" before doing his own tunes "One Last Kiss" and "Used To You", both from his 2002 debut Day One.

       Covers were again the order of the night during the extended closing jam led by guitarist Ken Epperson.  Stephen appeared as vocalist for the first time ever without an instrument in his hand, singing B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone". He returned with guitar later in the set, singing The Beatles' "Get Back", T. Rex's "Bang A Gong (Get It On)", and Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".
 
 

       Tonight was Stephen's first Black Cat Cafe appearance this year and went off without a hitch. He opened with Lovers And Liars' "Welcome To America", then went into "Smoke And Mirrors" from the Looking For Light CD. He closed with an unreleased song, "Bethesda". A stark country ballad with an unexpected lyric twist, the song is slated for recording soon.

       Speaking of recording, Stephen was at Full Sail Studios again on the 9th, tracking the ballad "Yes And No". The song marks the first recorded use of the Ashbory bass guitar for Stephen. The Ashbory is a fretless small-scale bass with silicone strings. The result is an electric bass that can sound like a standup bass among other things. Both "Yes And No" and "Bethesda" are slated for Stephen's next CD, which he hopes to have ready at the end of this year. The working title is Songs From Dark Rooms.

      One more surprise - At the Black Cat Cafe tonight, Stephen distributed free CDs! He brought with him a new promo sampler CD featuring two tracks each from his three released CDs plus "Anca", a new track slated for the next album. It was his way of thinking the 'Cat for its support for the last year and was done just for them.
 
 

       New arrival on Stephen's resume: award winner! At the 2007 DeLand Original Music Festival on Saturday, Stephen took home the Songwriters Showcases of America's award for Best Solo Act 2007. And he showed how he got it twice that day, doing a short outdoor set in the afternoon and following it up with an hour of hard playin' in The Warf Lounge later in the evening. In fact, he didn't know he'd won for awhile since the awards ceremony was scheduled at the same time as his evening set.

      Both sets pulled tunes from his two latest CDs; the evening show tossed in extras like the non-CD blues of "Keeping Secrets" (available as a download in the Download Store) and his funk take on "Used To You", from his 2002 debut Day One. It all worked, but it was the uptempo slams that got 'em going, from his venerable Robert Palmeresque "Hit The Road" to the slamming country-rock of "Mama Got Married" from the latest CD. His evening set closed with what is showing up more and more- the dramatic ballad "Last Night On Earth", written during Hurricane Frances in 2004. "Yeah," Stephen said after the show, "I hadn't played that in awhile but it's been showing up again with a little more punch to it. I think it's about time to record it."

......
Stephen rocks the 2007 DeLand Original Music Festival (left)
and receives his Solo Act of the Year award from SSA's Dana Allen
(photos by John Hofker)

  Speaking of recording, one more note: an alternate version of Lovers And Liars' "Just Like You" is now available in the download store. This version is a full-band arrangement as opposed to the guitar-vocal take that made the album. Check it out.
 
 

      Stephen's Boohaven studio was host to the pop duo known as Luv Me Deux this week. Stephen engineered and co-produced a total of 13 tracks, all Beatles covers of course! Songs range from "Love Me Do" to an amazing medley of "Across The Universe" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Stephen calls it "Across The Fields"). Mixing was done on the 25th, and select songs from the session are on Luv Me Deux's MySpace page already (click on link at top of this story).
 
 

      Sometimes the planets align. Such was the case at Baldwins Pub in Orlando last night. An anticipated performance of his new tune "Keeping Secrets" was waylaid by a missing lyric  cheat sheet (Stephen wasn't quite confident enough to play it live without one since the song is just a few days old). So what's a man to do?
     He made up for it. Bringing up Nancy DuMond (also late of Blues Matters) on harmonica, the duo absolutely nailed three tracks. First came a request for the new CD's "Mama Got Married", which they put into overdrive. Then they slammed right into "Hit The Road" from Looking For Light.
    The finale was slower but equally impressive, as Stephen hit drop-D tuning on his 12-string, and Nancy wailed with him on the as-yet-unrecorded, majestic "Last Night On Earth" , about 2004's Hurricane Frances experience (Stephen wrote it in a shelter during the storm). The two locked in and wowed both the crowd and themselves. "I think we pushed each other to really go for it and take out the stops," Stephen said. "My only complaint is that there wasn't anyone recording it. I may have to rectify that soon." That's a threat we can live with.
 
 

      Since Stephen is a self-contained artist for the most part, including the making of his own CDs from artwork to disc, it was perhaps just a matter of time since there was a glitch in the system. Stephen's glitch came in the form of a computer crash which trapped some of the artwork from his first three releases- Day One, Looking For Light, and the live disc High Time Low Life. The result is that future copies of the discs will come with different back-cover pics. In the case of Looking For Light it also means the booklet will no longer have the extra strip of infrared pics of Stephen folding over onto the inside of the booklet. Luckily the front-cover shots and inside art were retrievable after much work (and a few kicks to the computer).
 
 

      The latest look at the "Living With WarToday: Songs Of The Times" section of Neil Young's website shows that Stephen's work is being noticed. His song "Red Blue and White", from the 2002 Day One disc, which entered the list at number 1658, is up to number 347 among the most-admired of the almost 2000 songs listed. The song at the time was Stephen's attempt to show the dangers of following blindly; ironically, it was written months before the war in Iraq was declared.
      In other War Songs news, the first song Stephen recorded as bassist with Blues Matters, "Razzle Dazzle Man", has entered the same page at number 1664. It was engineered and co-produced by Stephen at his Boohaven Studios in the summer of 2006, and was voted "Best Blues Song 2006" by Songwriters Showcases of America. The "Living With War Today: Songs Of The Times" page is viewable by clicking  here.
 
 

      Through the wonders of MySpace, Stephen recently heard from Jim Boylston, an Orlando songwriter that Stephen had worked with in the late 80s; he played bass on an album by Jim's group Two Far Gone in addition to recording and performing with Jim's folk combo, Blue Plate Special. If you head to Jim's MySpace Page, listen to the song "Blueprint For The Blues" and you'll hear nothing but Jim's voice, Stephen's jazzy bass work, and a finger snapping. (Stephen can't remember who did the snapping but bets it was Jim.)
 
 

    It's true, he exists! Stephen stepped onstage tonight at Oyster Bay's outdoor patio with his black Ovation 12-string in tow, playing his first live date this year (he's been ensconced in the studio working on either one or two CDs, depending on when you ask him).   He returned in fighting form with a setlist that featured funked-up versions of Day One's "Red Blue And White" and "Used To You", five songs from Looking For Light, and a full EIGHT heretofore unrecorded songs, some of which have never before been played live. The brand-new tracks ranged from the two rockers "Mama Got Married" and "The Only Mistake (I Made Twice)" to the song "Snuggle", which can only be described as a short be-bop ditty. Think big band without the band. Or better yet....hear it for yourself, with video! It's viewable starting now on the AUDIO / VIDEO SAMPLE page.
 
 

       Saturday night at Austin Coffee & Film turned out very interestingly indeed. Cousin B (a/k/a Brian Ascenzo) took the stage first with a covers set. Then Stephen flew solo, working songs from both Looking For Light and the upcoming Imperfect Heart CD, including a new song called "Haven".
     Then, following a set by local popster Jeff Ilgenfritz, a new force took over. With Ascenzo on guitar and lead vocals, Stephen on bass and harmonies,  and Jeff slamming on the drums and harmonies, the three became an instant power trio. They covered the likes of Eric Clapton's "Bell Bottom Blues" and The Beatles' "Back In The U.S.S.R." to ecstatic reception. A sweaty time was had by all. Stephen couldn't resist closing the night with his solo cover of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop".
 
 

       And the surprises just keep coming. In addition to working on the upcoming CD, Stephen is now pulling part-time duty as guitarist/bassist in a project with local artists Michael Barry and Jenn Wilsey. The group made its debut as a "dress rehearsal" at Austin Coffee & Film's regular Thursday night open-mic event, with Brian Ascenzo, also known as Cousin B, on guitar as well. Included in the set were Michael's original song "Crossroads", a  delicate take on Stephen's own "Superman For Free", and covers like Joan Baez's "Diamonds And Rust" and Seals and Crofts' Seventies smash "Summer Breeze".
      And that was just the beginning. For the next gig Stephen had to venture only 6 miles from his home, to the Bat Farm's annual pre-Halloween hoedown on Friday night. The theme was "Woodstock and More", with hippie dress and acoustic music standing toe-to-tapping-toe with metal acts and more modern attire. Billed as Michael Barry and the Fall, the group, now augmented by percussionist Mike Dale, did an extended set, adding more Barry originals like "Daughter of the Key" and "Medicine Man" (with rousing harmonies by Stephen and Jenn) with even more covers like the Indigo Girls' "Closer To Fine" and an unbelievably funked-up version of America's "Horse With No Name" to close it out. Another highlight was a take on the Procol Harum classic "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", which segued into Pink Floyd's "Wish you Were Here", with Stephen working the classic opening guitar figure in full treble mode.   And did Stephen have a good time? "It was amazing," he said after the set. "We had only had a couple of rehearsals, only one with Jenn really before the Austin preview, and I expected it to sound good, but not nearly as good as it ended up sounding. And in the true Woodstock spirit, Michael broke a guitar string and another musician there handed him his guitar to finish up."
    Other attractions included an amazing tribute to Janis Joplin by local singer Jody Hudson, which blew Stephen away. "She nailed it," he explains. "Had me in tears. I am a Joplin nut, and it doesn't get any closer." And his impression of the Woodstock vibe was glowing as well: "It was just one big, loving party," he raves. "I expected to feel like a bit of an interloper not knowing anyone there, but the feel was one big family. It was as supportive and comfortable as could be."
 
 

    And the rest, as they say, is history. Stephen's performance at Soldiers Memorial Theatre Arts Centre  in Beckley, WV (near his hometown of Shady Spring) on Saturday, opening for Ron Brunk, was an amazing success. From the opening bite of "Hit The Road" to the closing calm of "West Of Cassiopeia", Stephen's unique artistry wowed the crowd. The venue's intimate setting and expansive acoustics allowed him to work his voice from a whisper to a shout with ease. And another side of Stephen Grayce was well-worked: humor! From his onstage patter ("I named my first CD Day One....duh!") to his antics when called to the stage to help Ron in his set (Stephen took a picture of the two of them while playing!), it all made for a warm mix of art and heart.
    Stephen's set list onstage:

   And more musical wonderment occurred. The day before the show, Stephen checked out Tamarack, an artists-and-goods center in Beckley, and discovered an instrument called a bowed psaltery. It's a two-octaved, stringed, triangular  wood instrument that predates the violin a la 12th century; the ones at Tamarack are beautifully handmade by Greg & Tish Westman of Mabscott, WV (the one he purchased brought tears to his eyes when he first played it). With its pianolike layout (major scale on the right, sharps and flats on the left) and learning ease, Stephen not only bought it and played it nonstop for a day, he brought it out to accompany Ron  the next night at the concert, on Ron's song "I Just Want Her To Die".
   Ron wowed the crowd as well, with the aid of guitar whiz Paul Allen and cellist Jeff Gilkinson (and Stephen on two songs). An added bonus was the debut of Belgian singer Nancy Casteele on two songs during the set, and Jeff's amazing solo cello-and-voice rendition of songwriter Doug Haywood's "Ding Dong Howdy". Stephen and Ron also got to reconnect with lots of hometown friends, so needless to say it was a satisfying trip all the way around.
   Stephen sends his thanks to the staff of the theatre (the sound was perfect), all who attended and helped, and especially Ron and the other performers who helped make this a true dream gig.
 
 

     Well, it's official. Stephen is indeed onscreen in  the much-lauded film Monster, now playing across the country. He's an extra in the very beginning of the "restaurant scene" (after the "moving into the new apartment" scene) and is in the top center of the screen for about 4 seconds more or less. A bald head and a turquoise Eighties shirt. So this is immortality? "I nearly choked on my popcorn with pride," he says. A word to the wise, though; since it tells the story of a hooker turned serial killer, the film is VERY violent, and graphic both sexually and verbally, so don't take the toddlers or your local Baptist minister.

 
 
 

NEWS DATE 8/13/03: STEPHEN GRAYCE LIVE!

     Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Stephen has been captured live! He attended the Monday Writers' Night at Nashville's famous Bluebird Cafe on August 11 and performed two songs, the unreleased "Sugarland" and the song "Billy Can Fly" from the upcoming Looking For Light CD. The performance is available online via the Bluebird's website archive. (NOTE: You'll need a Real Audio player for this, if you don't have one you can download one for free by clicking here). Here's the link to the show:

   If the link doesn't work, go to www.eyecentric.com. You'll see the Bluebird Cafe logo. Click on VIEW ARCHIVES, then choose the August 11th show.  Stephen is the 13th performer on the webcast (lucky number, huh?), appearing just over an hour and a half into the evening's show, but don't try to fast-forward for two reasons. Reason One is, you'll miss fine performances by other songwriters. Reason Two is, the player might lock up and you'll have to start over. :) (Needless to say, the faster your connection the better the sound and video.) The live version of "Billy Can Fly" from this webcast will be a bonus track on the "Gone" CD single to be released August 24.