Graeme in Slowing Down to Speed Up album

HOW IT ALL BEGAN


Growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s has left a permanent stamp on my musical style. I turned ten years old the day Jimi Hendrix was buried, and I got my first bass guitar for Christmas that year. Coming of age in the 1970’s and listening to The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, The Who, and of course the Beatles, sent me on the path that I faithfully follow to this day. The music of the 1980’s and 90’s were like logs burning more fire inside of me; pushing me to learn and play more and more.


 

2003:

I started to study online at the Berklee School of music, in Boston. By 2006, I finished studying there and got my certificate in Lyric Writing. I focused on Lyric Writing largely because all of my favorite artists – Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen – were great Lyricists.

2006:

I released my first album “When Time Was On Our Side” on iTunes, with the help of Kris Shultz, who had taught me guitar for years, and producer Jeff Pauze who helped me realize my dream of becoming a recording artist.

2007:

Recorded “Snapshots” with Doug Fury producing, playing guitar, and backup vocals, with Scotty McCargar playing drums. I wrote all of these songs on vacation in Los Angeles, which gave me a lot of musical influence. All subsequent albums have been produced by Doug Fury on guitar and backup vocals, with Scotty McCargar on drums. I would sing, play guitar, bass, the mandolin, and the occasional harmonica.

2008:

I recorded “Grace Notes, Still Lifes and Action Shots.” I travelled to New York City and wrote the bulk of the songs walking through art galleries, strolling through Central Park, Times Square, and jamming with people in Washington Square.

2009:

This year I recorded “Play On,” travelling again to New York City to write and hang out. This album was more of a reflection of relationships and where my life was heading.

2010:

Recorded “Slowing Down to Speed Up,” which was a metaphor of what was going on in my mind at the time. This time I travelled to Europe, visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, with a trip to New York as well. My father died during the making of this album. He said to me shortly before he died, “Call the next album Galleria,” so I did and then added Sensorium after it.

2011:

I recorded “Galleria Sensorium,” while moving back into my childhood home with all of my memories attached to it. I thought of the metaphor that life is just an art gallery with all of our experiences just paintings on the wall.

2012:

This nostalgic year, I recorded “Posters and Pin-Ups,” reflecting on my teenage years with all my rock posters and pin-ups in my bedroom. This would be the theme of this album.

2013:

I went on a musical pilgrimage down to Nashville, Memphis and Mississippi. Writing what was to become “Sound and Word,” listening to Elvis, Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson and all of the pioneers of Blues and Rock. I was so infatuated with the South that I went and did the same trip again to write more.

Graeme Emmott's Trip to the SouthGraeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South Graeme Emmott's Trip to the South


FAST FORWARD TO 2015…

I am now just finishing my latest album “The Outer Reaches of Inner Space.”  Much of these songs I wrote on a recent trip back to New York again, roaming around the city going to art galleries, and listening to inspirational music that I love on my iPod. The writer Joseph Campbell inspired me with his studies on Mythology.