Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Grandaddy

 
Artist: Grandaddy
Grandaddy

Group Members:

Kevin Garcia, Jason Lytle, Tim Dryden, Jim Fairchild

Similar Artists:

Influenced By:

Followers:

Formal Connection With:

See Grandaddy Lyrics
  • Formed: 1992, Modesto, CA
  • Disbanded: 2006
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "The Sophtware Slump," "Under the Western Freeway," "Just Like the Fambly Cat"
  • Representative Songs: "The Crystal Lake," "Hewlett's Daughter," "Chartsengrafs"

Biography

The solar-powered space pop combo Grandaddy were formed in 1992 in Modesto, CA, by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Although a noisy, lo-fi approach characterized early recordings like 1994's Complex Party Come Along Theories, the addition of guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden in 1995 expanded the band's sound exponentially, fueling such subsequent efforts as the unreleased Don't Sock the Tryer and the 1996 EP A Pretty Mess by This One Band. Originally issued on indie label Will Records, 1997's acclaimed full-length Under the Western Freeway proved to be Grandaddy's creative breakthrough, and the following year the album was reissued on major label V2, with "Summer Here Kids" earning Single of the Week honors in the pages of the NME.

The Broken Down Comforter Collection, a compilation of singles tracks, preceded the 1999 Signal to Snow Ratio EP, which heralded a movement toward the vintage electronic textures further in evidence on 2000's superb Sophtware Slump. In 2002, the group released another odds-n-sods collection, Concrete Dunes, which paved the way for a busy 2003. That spring, Grandaddy released the Floating Debris EP as well as their fourth full-length, Sumday, and spent the rest of the year touring, making appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury. In 2005, they resurfaced with the Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla EP, and a full-length album (Just Like the Fambly Cat) followed in 2006. The latter release was essentially a solo project for frontman Jason Lytle, however, as the group disbanded during the recording process. Lytle subsequently relocated from California to Montana, where he mounted a solo career in 2009. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wikipedia: Grandaddy
Top
Grandaddy
Origin Modesto, California, USA
Genres Indie rock
Psychedelic pop
Synth pop
Years active 19922006
Labels V2 Records
Website Official website
Former members
Jason Lytle
Kevin Garcia
Jim Fairchild
Tim Dryden
Aaron Burtch

Grandaddy was an indie rock group from Modesto, California, United States.

Contents

Biography

Jim Fairchild lead guitarist of Grandaddy, live in concert

Grandaddy was formed in 1992 by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. In 1995, guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden joined the band.

Musically, the band features guitars (both in the indie rock style and in a fashion calling Jeff Lynne to mind[original research?]), keyboards reminiscent of Philip Glass's minimalist style[original research?] and vocals reminiscent of Neil Young[original research?]. The band's musical style often combines experimental electronic sounds with elements of folk and rock. Lyrics generally focus on isolation in a high-tech world grafted onto rural America. Common themes in the band's music are wildlife, obsolete technology, robots, incompetency and heartbreak. Lyricist Jason Lytle spent time working in a sewage treatment facility, which heavily influenced many of the songs on The Sophtware Slump.

Around the time that The Sophtware Slump was released, Grandaddy was invited to open for Elliott Smith on his tour for Figure 8. On some nights, Smith would join Grandaddy onstage and sing lead vocals on portions of "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot".

"A.M. 180" from Under the Western Freeway was featured prominently during a sequence in the 2002 British film 28 Days Later, and is also used as the title music for the BBC Four series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe and for an advert for Colin Murray's BBC Radio 1 show. As of April 2008, "A.M. 180" also is being used in television commercials for the Dodge Journey automobile. Starting in late 2005, the Grandaddy song "Nature Anthem" could be heard in a Honda Civic Hybrid television commercial and is currently heard in a Coca Cola commercial.

On January 27, 2006, Jason Lytle announced that the band had decided to split up. This was partially due to their work ethic in not releasing music on major labels or playing at typical Ticketmaster/Clear Channel sponsored venues. Lytle spoke to NME: "It was inevitable...On one hand our stubbornness has paid off, but on the other hand refusing to buy into the way things are traditionally supposed to be done has made things worse for us... The realistic part is it hasn't proved to be a huge money-making venture for a lot of guys in the band." He also revealed that the band had a meeting in downtown Modesto during December 2005 to decide on the group's future. The meeting was tense and filled with the airing of grievances, but "far from blows." The feeling at the meeting was described by Lytle as the result of a breakdown in communication between the band members.[1]

The band did not tour after the release of their final album, Just Like the Fambly Cat, though Lytle stated that he intends to continue making music, and embarked on a couple of quiet solo tours. He has moved from Modesto to Montana. In the spring of 2008, Lytle launched his own website [2], stating that he is working on a solo album to be released in 2008. In September 2008, Lytle gave an interview on local radio station KGLT in Bozeman, Montana in which he stated that his solo album would be called Yours Truly, the Commuter and would be released "early 2009". The album was eventually released on May 19th, 2009 on the ANTI- record label.

In April 2007 Jim Fairchild put out his first solo record on Dangerbird Records, entitled Ten Readings of a Warning, under the name All Smiles. He currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He released the second All Smiles album entitled Oh For the Getting and Not Letting Go, on June 30 2009. Jim Fairchild has also played for the bands Giant Sand, Great Northern, Lackthereof, and Modest Mouse.[2]

Jim Fairchild began playing guitar for Modest Mouse shortly after the breakup of Grandaddy in 2006, he continued playing with Modest Mouse again in 2009.

Aaron Burtch is now in a band called The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit.[3]

Discography

Self-released albums

Studio albums

Compilations

Contributions

EPs

Singles

Split singles

References


External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Grandaddy" Read more