Grace Basement

GB Live Feb. 20th and 26th…

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:08:50 +0000

Hello all,

GB will be playing live at St. Louis University’s Billiken Club this Saturday, Feb. 20th at 9pm. This is a three band bill and we will be playing first, so no stragglers.
The following Friday, Feb. 26th, GB will continue its tour of the 63103 zip code by performing at The Firebird with Northwoods, Brothers Lazaroff and Balmorhea. $8 and the show starts at 9pm. Not sure when we play, but it’ll probably be late. Thanks for those who helped with the video shoot; we should have something up on youtube sometime soon. Take care.

-K

LIVE AT THE SCHLAFLY TAP ROOM SAT JAN 16 @ 9PM, INTERACTIVE VIDEO SHOOT AND EVEN MORE BEST OF 2009 LISTS!!!

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:51:50 +0000

Come one, come all. Schlafly Tap Room Jan. 16th at 9pm with the Cruel Cuts and Tight Pants Syndrome. If you have a digital camera and wanna get in on our interactive video shoot, drop a line and we’ll get you sorted. Also I’m proud to say that Gunmetal Gray made at least three of KDHX’s top 10 of 2009 lists including Tim Rakel’s Mystery Train, Nick Acquisto’s Space Parlour and Rich Reese’s Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst….perhaps more. Thanks!!

G.B.’s GMG Makes Creamy Radio’s TOP 5 of 2009

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:36:53 +0000

The nice folks at Creamy Radio have been spinning and enjoying Gunmetal Gray, making it one of Cappy’s Top 5 of 2009 (in the company of Marc Olsen, Deer Tic, Wilco and the Eels!). Check it out here.

http://www.creamyradio.com/?p=1205

Thanks!

Radio Play

admin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:52:57 +0000

Gunmetal Gray is getting loads of radio play all over the country at the moment. I’d like to thank everyone for spinning the record. Brace yourself for another podcast, more videos, new songs and we’ll be out and about in the new year. Gots to make the moneys. In the meantime, check out Safety Words, Sean’s duo w/ DJ Parisian.
http://www.myspace.com/thesearesafetywords
……..also, stay tuned for the Bridgeton Air Defense debut coming out quite soon.
http://www.myspace.com/bridgetonairdefense

New Video Link

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:49:28 +0000

Check out the video tab for a new link to the Grace Basement Great Day St. Louis Performance.

Mangia – Aug. 29th @ 10:30

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:48:03 +0000

Grace Basement live at Mangia with Magic City. Music starts around 10:30.

Reviews and KDHX Airplay

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:39:53 +0000

Thanks to all at KDHX for playing Gunmetal Gray and featuring Grace Basement in the New Music Spotlight.

Here’s Chris Schaeffer’s review from the RFT followed by The Post-Rockist blog review….more reviews to come as the record emerges.

Homespun: Grace Basement

Gunmetal Gray
(Undertow Records)

Published on July 07, 2009 at 11:13am

Grace Basement bandleader Kevin Buckley may be a world-class Irish fiddler, but his gifts for harmony and melody don’t stop at jigs and reels. As a guitarist, singer and songwriter, he synthesizes 50 years of popular music into engaging, direct three-chord rock songs. Buckley played every note on Grace Basement’s 2007 debut, New Sense, but his Gunmetal Gray is a full-band effort and features other special guests from St. Louis’ rock, folk and Irish music scenes (including his father Jack, who contributes sweetly keening Uilleann pipes). Even though Buckley surrounds himself with talented players, these ten songs are peppered with his unique trademarks: immediate hooks, stacked vocals, serpentine fiddle runs and quirky but heartfelt lyrics.

Gray’s easygoing pop swings in two directions. Certain songs are saddled with — but not bogged down by — a sense of resigned melancholy (the addiction lament/lullaby “Back of the Moon”). Others — such as the infectious opening track “There He Goes” — ramp up the group’s perky, punchy, pop dynamics. On that sunnier tip, “On Your Side (Soldier’s Song)” begins like a Sonic Youth jam and morphs into a horn-aided rocker reminiscent of Being There-era Wilco. Even slower songs such as “Why Would I Wait for Another?” and the stunning album-closer “Land of Endless Change” turn Buckley’s blues into something grand and majestic, thanks to their precisely arranged instrumental codas. Few bands anywhere spin out songs that spring to life with a simple, earthy joy and heart-on-sleeve sentiment — but Grace Basement and Gunmetal Gray achieve this balance with emotional maturity and musical intuition.

……………………………………………………

The Post-Rockist

It’s one thing for a band to proclaim Harry Nilsson and XTC among their primary influences; it’s quite another to follow through and deliver the goods. Gunmetal Gray, the sophomore effort from St. Louis’ Grace Basement, hearkens back to the better features of any number of pure pop purveyors — a more creatively concise Jon Brion; a Ben Kweller not inclined to indulge his hokum country fancies — but at no point does it feel reduced to pastiche. With impeccably layered harmonies, urbane arrangements, and lead songwriter Kevin Buckley’s deft fiddling, Gunmetal Gray has turned out to be one of most pleasant surprises of 2009.

I’ve been listening to this album since April, when the band temporarily released it as a free download from their website. The download was split like an old record into two tracks, an A side and a B side. I don’t know if the vinyl analogy was intentional, but considering how meticulously composed each individual track was put together, the overarching emotional flow of the album as a whole is remarkably fluid. From the boisterous and baroque opener “There He Goes” to the wry resignation of “Tilly Lingers” through to the orchestral flourishes of “Land of Endless Change,” the band, only recently conceived of as a four-piece, puts on a consistent and exuberant display of power pop prowess.

It seems the timeframe for nabbing the disc as a free download has passed, but you can still order it online from Undertow Music or, what I would recommend, buy it direct from the band tonight at their CD release show at Off Broadway. Boston’s Everyday Visuals and St. Louis’ excellent Old Lights are opening.

New web site

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:26:07 +0000

sit tight – we’re working on a new website… it’s going to be cool.

Grace Basement Nominated “Best Pop Band” – RFT 2009

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:51:31 +0000

Grace Basement was recently nominated for “Best Pop Band” in the Riverfront Times 2009 “Best of St. Louis Music” awards. Here is what has ben said about the band:

Grace Basement began as a solo recording project for Kevin Buckley, whose low-key vocals, melodic sensibilities and pop-friendly arrangements made his debut, New Sense, a must-hear. A full-time band now aids Buckley; loads of live gigs during the last year have helped the group coalesce, while giving a kick-start to older material. Grace Basement’s sophomore record, Gunmetal Gray, will be released later this summer — and fans of the space between mellow folk and sunny pop will want to grab a copy. (CS) (MORE FROM THE RFT)

photos: kdhx harvest session

admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:20:21 +0000

(click on the image for more photos)

photos by Sara Anne Finke