The Gracious Few articles Options

[livefan1999]

The Gracious Few singer Kevin Martin discusses songwriting and band's debut album

Monday, September 27, 2010
By Tiffany Bentley
The Express-Times

The Gracious Few, the new supergroup made up of Live members Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer and Candlebox members Sean Hennessy and Kevin Martin, are just that, gracious. The band was not formed out of spite for their original projects, but for a need to produce the music they had been yearning to craft.

Able to expand on the issues they felt were important, beyond any former musical constraints, the group released their self-titled debut album Sept. 14. The first single, "Honest Man," was inspired by frontman Kevin Martin's experiences with migrating from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania to work with the guys from Live. "I've been so influenced by the blue-collar work ethic of York and Lancaster. (It had) an influence on my ideals as a human being," he says. "People start a job at 18 and finish at the same company. You just don't get that in California or on the West Coast. It was a change of direction."

The band plays Oct. 1 at Philadelphia's Theatre of the Living Arts and Oct. 30 at Lancaster's Chameleon Club.

Fans shouldn't expect the band performing a Live or Candlebox song at the shows. The sound is harder on "The Gracious Few" than the members' other works, with threads of classic rock woven with twinges of punk and blues influences. "It's a record of politics and opinions," Martin says of the album. "It's an album full of all sorts of emotional ties."

Working with producer and former Talking Heads keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison brought a unique flavor to their sound and to the recording, Martin says. "That humility, patience, respect, musicianship, Jerry brought it," Martin says.

The music follows suit with Martin's brutal honesty, Martin's lyrics complemented by complex guitar riffs. But Martin isn't the only one writing the lyrics. "I didn't want to be responsible for all the lyrics, and the credit of it," he says of the band's joint writing efforts.

Martin says while Candlebox is still intact, the creative process with The Gracious Few was more seamless. "It's easy to joke, easy to get serious," he says. "It's music I respect. That was something I had been looking for a long time."

While there has been a public, careful handling of copyright issues between the Live members and their former lead singer, Ed Kowalczyk, Martin says The Gracious Few's songs emote a "sense of betrayal, of love and loss." He says members of Live worked through a rough time when "they had lost their identity to Ed's solo career."

But now, all may have found solace in The Gracious Few. "The guys were looking to do something they wanted, something they were missing," Martin says.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainm...3760.xml&coll=3

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Oct 4 2010, 12:25 pm

[NiTRO]

Here's another new one - 9/10 from Type3media.

Wow. That’s all I could manage to utter as the first track from The Gracious Few’s self-titled album started blaring though my speakers. The supergroup, comprised of members of Candlebox and Live, has amassed an impressive collection of heavy brooding groove-laden tunes. This is not Live 2.0, or another flavor of Candlebox; the project has taken on a life and personality of its own. The Gracious Few is easily one of my top three favorite albums of 2010.

The opening track, “Appetite,” has a killer riff with Zeppelin-esque grandeur. Again, wow. The band’s chemistry is blazing hot, and it’s a great track for Kevin Martin to stretch-out his vocal prowess. Unrelenting, the band continues unleashing its aural arsenal on the second track “Honest Man,” another heavy track with a powerful chorus. “Nothing But Love” is every cover/tribute band’s worst nightmare because Martin doesn’t even sound like he’s breaking a sweat while hitting that upper register. With such power, his vocals blow through the stratosphere.

While this project is not meant to be an extension of the members’ previous work, there are a few moments of undeniable similarity. It would be unfair to expect the band to wipe away twenty years of experience while writing songs for this album. “Crying Time” reminds me of some of the melancholy mid-90′s music that Candlebox produced, while the following track “Silly Thing” has a lively rhythmic groove very much like something from Mental Jewelry.

One of the coolest things about this album is the journey the listener is invited to take. It sounds like the entire band had a blast exploring sounds and styles they may not have been able to lay down in a studio previously. “Guilty Fever” is reminiscent of sex-infused 1970′s hard rock, while “What’s Wrong” is a slower song that probably has more in common with The Black Crows than anything from Candlebox or Live. The biggest surprise comes at the end of the album. When “Sing” started playing I thought to myself “holy shit, the changes never stop.” The song is played in a reggae rock style combined with a strong pop-rock chorus and blazing guitars. It’s unlike anything else on the album. Then they close the album with “All I Hear” which infuses some punk into the reggae-rock theme.

There is so much chemistry between these guys that is would be a huge disappointment if this is a one-off effort. I watched an interview with Chad Taylor in which he described a moment just prior to recording when he thought “Why the fuck did I start another rock n’ roll band?” After hearing this album, you’ll be thinking “why the fuck didn’t he do it sooner?” This is one supergroup that I sincerely hope is not short-lived.

http://type3media.com/2010/09/26/album-rev.../#ixzz10kFEuaNk

[Badman]

“Silly Thing” has a lively rhythmic groove very much like something from Mental Jewelry.

I love all the kind words... but this is just laughable lol

[Aitkens]

I love all the kind words... but this is just laughable lol

Not so laughable. Listen to the Fat Daddy's bootleg!

"Pain Lies On The Riverside! This is a Live song! Pain Lies On The Riverside!"