Biography
GRACE BASEMENT IS:
kevin buckley : vocal, guitar, fiddle, viola, piano, keyboard, lap steel, banjo, bass, drums, percussion
with
ben phillips : bass, guitar, bell
sean price : drums
BIOGRAPHY
St. Louis’ Grace Basement returns with their latest effort, Gunmetal Gray. Led by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Kevin Buckley, Gunmetal Gray restates Buckley’s knack for creating intensely crafted power pop anthems. Each song is a portrait of Kevin’s 15-year music career playing Irish fiddle, producing records, backing country singers and playing in punk bands. Lifting melodies immersed in harmony, guitar, trumpet, violin, and even uilleann pipes are featured throughout the record. Think a more land-locked Pet Sounds. From the dissonant strings and lush harmonies of the opener “There He Goes,” to the dance hall influenced melody of “Tilly Lingers,” the record is a synthesis of marking new musical teritory from the musical backdrop of Buckley’s rich musical cache.
Gunmetal Gray also marks the first official ‘band’ recording for Grace Basement. With a line up that includes friends, Ben Phillips, Sean Price and Mike Zapf the musicians help propel the songs with a new sense of urgency and focus.
PRESS:
Voted “Best New Band” by The Riverfront Times (2007)
“The music is smart, and the tone is varied without being scattered; specifically, it’s a genre-hop through alt-country, basement pop, fuzzy rock and acoustic folk…. More surprising is the source, 27-year-old Kevin Buckley, who plays every instrument on the record and who is primarily known for his mastery of the fiddle. New Sense is packed with simple harmonic riffs, complex vocal harmonies, and tossed-off lyrics that spring to life in the record’s joyful atmosphere.”
- Christian Schaeffer, The Riverfront Times (July 2007)
“The sound is crisp, lush and ever-flowing streams of stellar guitar work and earth fiddle make “New Sense” a wonderfully arranged, smoothly harmonized and accomplished display of what song-craft should be about. VERY Highly Recommended.”
- Bruce Brodeen, Not Lame Records (2007)
“Pretty hooks, jaunty verses, slightly-raggedy vocals… He’s got real skill as a writer, and he imbues his songs with just enough of an off-kilter perspective to shear off the sharp edges of craft.”
- Jon Worley, Aidabet.com (2007)
“…the Beatles’ melodic smarts; Guided by Voices’ songwriting quirks; Superchunk’s sunny, grungy riffs…”
- Annie Zaleski, The Riverfront Times (November 2006)
“The creative spark comes in many ways. For renowned fiddler Kevin Buckley, it started innocently enough with a project recorded on a Tascam 424 mkII 4-track cassette machine in his parents’ basement and ended up as New Sense (Dren Records, 2007), a full-length CD recorded in Adobe Audition that blended power pop and Americana rock and was released under the moniker Grace Basement.”
- Diane Gershuny , Electronic Musician Magazine (Jan. 2008)
“Delicious Pop! New Sense is one of the few great comfort albums! I’ve listened to it a hundred times and it sounds better with each listen!”
- Nick Acquisto, The Space Parlour, KDHX
“This is a real awesome debut CD. The same kind of enthusiasm that emerged from the first Johnny Polonsky album “Hi My Name is Johnny” is here After a few listens, this one really sticks with you and the song melodies grows like a weed garden in your brain. That makes it a top ten contender in my book.”
-Aaron Kupferberg, Powerpopaholic.com (2007)
