|
Grandon Gray grew up in Orrington, Maine, a small suburb of Bangor. He began playing guitar in eighth grade, and immediately starting writing songs. Early influences included Roxy Music, Paul Simon, David Bowie, John Melloncamp, U2, and The Eagles. Later Grandon gravitated toward Collective Soul, Counting Crows, Bush, and most recently Switchfoot.
After the typical high school (Brewer High School) garage/dance band experiences, he had a long inactive musical stretch where he started a family, went to college at George Mason University, and pursued business career interests in northern Virginia, Sacramento, and Charlotte.
After becoming an active church member in the late 90s, Grandon joined his parish folk ensemble, mostly so that he could share an activity with his eldest son, a violinist. Within months he began to write again, and was a founding member of Azuar, a cover band kicked off by one of his fellow church choir members. After a year, Grandon left the band to focus his energy on creating his own music and his own sound.
In April 2004, Grandon entered the studio for the first time to record a song he had written for a corporate event. In May 2004 he shared Take A Step with National Multiple Sclerosis Society Challenge Walk participants and volunteers. At the encouragement of NMSS Chapter President Anne Marie McDermott, Grandon re-entered the studio to record the song, which he and his wife have donated to the fight against MS. The strong reception to the single lit the desire to record an album.
In September 2004, Grandon met with Jim Brock in Charlotte, and shared some of his songs. Brock agreed to help him make a great record, and they began the process of song selection, recruiting the right artists, etc.
Today, Grandon Gray resides in the greater Boston area with his wife and his three younger sons. |             |