Here's Where We'll Be In January 2016

We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!

Visit to WHUP 104.7 FM and the Graymatter Playlist

Did you know there’s a dedicated Graymatter playlist on YouTube? Just click on it once and YouTube will move seamlessly from song to song. You’ll find favorite covers, some originals and even some holiday tunes too. See something on there that you particularly like? We’d love it if you’d share the link on your Facebook page. We’re adding to the playlist all the time so check back now and again to see what’s new! 

Speaking of our YouTube playlist, the screen shot above is taken from our latest video, thanks to our pal and radio host Bob Johnson during our appearance on WHUP's (104.7 FM) Pass the Hat in October. We had such a great time trading songs and stories that evening. The two hour show just flew by!

Want to see where Graymatter is going to be playing for the remainder for 2015 and beyond?  Just click here! Be sure to check back often because new dates, venues and events are being added.  We'd love to see you at our upcoming shows!

Benefit for Friendship Adult Day Services

One thing that Graymatter is pleased to do is to give back to the community, so when the folks at Friendship Adult Day Services contacted us about participating in a fundraiser for them we happily signed on. So what happens at an Adult Day Center?  Caring for someone who is frail or has a disability is a demanding job that requires a lot from family members. Adult day centers provide caregivers with a much-needed break, secure in the knowledge that their family member is receiving excellent care during daytime hours. ADS centers provide frail adults experiencing physical, mental or social problems associated with stroke, isolation, confusion or other conditions with the opportunity to enjoy social interaction, participate in challenging activities and enjoy daily life in comforting surroundings. Update: The volunteers put in a lot of hard work and created a great event. The evening raised $5000! Graymatter was happy to be a part of such a fun evening.

Forsyth Woman Magazine: Local Vocals

LOCAL VOCALS
By Carolyn Peterson

GrayMatter

Back in the day, good four-part harmony was easier to come by, but many of today’s bands rely on pre-recorded music and vocals to give a smooth tone. For the band GrayMatter, ‘graymatterizing’ songs of their youth and four-part harmony are what they do best – and why they are so popular on the local band circuit. “Our covers are usually ‘graymatterized,’ said Bev Gray Gude, “meaning that we’re likely to come up with different arrangements and/or instrumentation and we always layer on harmonies. We’re re-imagining and recreating the songs of our youth. It’s pretty terrific to look out into the audience and see people singing along with us to their favorites. The audience lifts us up and it’s for them that we keep working to get better at what we do. Our original songs are full of 4-part harmonies and personal storytelling, and because there are four singer/songwriters in the group, we have a range of styles, whether it’s tender ballads, folky Americana or driving rock and roll.” Along with Bev, who plays 12-string and high strung guitars, flute, tambourine, bodhra and tabla, GrayMatter’s band members include Barry Gray, acoustic guitar; Brad Gray, acoustic, electric and sitar guitar; and Dave Gude, acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica, and mandolin.

A Family Affair
Growing up, the ‘Gray’ kids, Bev, Barry and Brad, listened to a lot of the early folk singers like Peter, Paul & Mary, Kingston Trio and Bob Dylan, soaking up those harmonies. “Our dad, Bryan Gray, was also a big influence. He played guitar and piano, and after many of our family dinners, we’d often gather our instruments, come back to the table and sit around singing and playing together for hours,” recalled Bev. When Dave Gude and Bev started dating at ages 14 and 15, Dave immediately joined in with the Gray family, performing for years together in various configurations until 2011, when the group formed the current GrayMatter.

Love What You Do, Do What You Love
Pinpointing exactly what the members of GrayMatter like best about performing is hard to do. “Playing and singing big harmonies on top of those great classic songs that we cover is amazing, and we love working on and performing each other’s original pieces. Our audience’s reaction, from singing along to dancing, is the best! We have people come up to us after a show and tell us that we’ve played a song that they so loved and haven’t heard in a long while. We’re bringing back good memories during our shows and people really respond to that,” Bev stated.

Being Busy is a Good Problem to Have
“This has been a great summer for us. We’ve really been busy
and have met lots of great people and other talented musicians. GrayMatter was invited to perform at a John Prine Tribute Concert in Greensboro this past May and at Bull Fest in Durham, NC. Recently, we performed live on WQFS 90.9 FM in Greensboro, NC, playing all original music. We’re working hard, staying busy, and are so appreciative of the people who invite us to play their venues and events, and so grateful for our wonderful audiences,” said Bev.

GrayMatter is currently researching studios to record a CD of their original music by the end of the year. There are links to their music and embedded music at facebook.com/graymatternc and at graymatternc.com. For more information on upcoming events, visit graymatternc.com.

Roadtrip!

September finds us readying for another roadtrip to Upstate New York for Historic Lowville's Cream Cheese Festival!

 

We've been invited to play at this fun event and to play at an after-party as well...and we can't wait!

 

So we're renting the extra-long van, packing up our heavy sweaters, loading up the whole crew, and heading up into a really gorgeous part of the country.

 

 

We're looking forward to reconnecting with some childhood friends, seeing the friends we made in Lowville when we were there two years ago and making some new friends too. We'll have some photos for you when we return!

 

 

 

Times News article: GrayMatter Brings the Family to Musical Chairs

GrayMatter Brings the Family to Musical Chairs
Via Times-News



The “Gray” in Graymatter stands for family. “We grew up singing/playing together,” Bev Gray Gude said of her brothers, Barry and Brad. When Bev began dating Dave Gude, as teenagers, “he immediately joined in with the Gray family. We’ve performed in various configurations over the years and it was about four years ago that the four of us finally got together to create the current band.”

Bev took some time out to answer questions about GrayMatter prior to its Musical Chairs performance from 7p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Historic Downtown Depot Amphitheater. The show is part of the Musical Chairs Concert Series. Admission is free, but donations of children’s art supplies for classes at Alamance Arts are appreciated.

• What type of music do you all play? Folk-rock/rock/Americana.

• Originals, covers or both? Our covers are usually “GrayMatterized,” meaning that we’re likely to come up with different arrangements and/or instrumentation and we always layer on harmonies. We’re re-imagining and re-creating the songs of our youth. It’s pretty terrific to look out into the audience and see people singing along with us to their favorites. The audience lifts us up and it’s for them that we keep working to get better at what we do. Our originals are full of those same swirling four-part harmonies and personal storytelling, and because there are four singer-songwriters in our group we have a range of styles, whether it’s tender ballads, folky Americana or driving rock & roll.

• Which bands/musicians inspire you? “Growing up we listened to a lot of early folk singers (Peter, Paul & Mary, Kingston Trio, Dylan) and soaked up their harmonies. Our Dad, Bryan Gray, was also a big influence. He played guitar and piano and after many of our family dinners we’d often gather our instruments, come back to the table and sit around singing and playing together for hours. Then there’s The Beatles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, James Taylor, Beach Boys; the list goes on & on.

In addition to Bev on 12-string and high-strung guitars, flute, tambourine and bodhran, the band includes Barry Gray on acoustic guitar, Brad Gray on acoustic and electric guitars and sitar guitar and Dave Gude on acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica and mandolin.

• What sets this band apart from others in and around Alamance County? “I’d say our harmonies, first and foremost. There’s just something about the unique chemistry of tightly-knit family voices. We also play a lot of songs that no one else is playing. Usually after a gig, people will come up to us and say that we’ve played favorites that they haven’t heard in a long time and brought back a lot of memories for them. We find that younger folks really like these songs too and call out for their favorites at our shows. We love introducing those dynamic classics in a fresh, new way to younger audiences who have never heard the songs before. Our audiences are just terrific.”

• Recordings: “We’re researching studios now and hope to get working on a cd of originals before the end of the year. In the meantime, we have both audio and video music online for people to hear. There are links to our music and embedded music at www.facebook.com/graymatternc and at www.graymatternc.com.”

• Upcoming performances: “We’re fortunate to be playing somewhere almost every weekend of the year. People can check out our calendar at either of those websites mentioned above. Here’s a partial list: July 31 at the Rusted Bucket Tavern in Burlington; Aug 6 for a taping for the Tokyo Rosenthal Radio Show (broadcasts on WCHL 97.9 FM and syndicated to a dozen-plus other stations including Country Music Radio-Nashville); Aug7 at The Kraken, Chapel Hill; Aug 29 at the Doodad Farm, Greensboro; Sep 6 at Muddy Creek Café, Winston Salem; Sept 11 at Pittsboro Roadhouse, Pittsboro; Sept 19 Historic Lowville Cream Cheese Festival, Lowville N.Y. and a few other dates in N.Y. and N.J. on this trip; Sept 26 at Beer-B-Que in Burlington; Oct 2 at the Rusted Bucket Tavern in Burlington; and Oct. 4 at Festifall in Chapel Hill. “We had a great time playing the Musical Chairs event last year and are pleased that Alamance Arts, the Burlington Recreation and Parks Department and Downtown Burlington Corporation have invited us back again.”

“This has been a great summer for us so far. We’ve been really busy and have met lots of really great people and other talented musicians. GrayMatter was selected to perform at a John Prine Tribute Concert that happened in Greensboro in May and at Bull Fest in Durham as well. We also performed live on WQFS 90.9 FM in Greensboro, where we played all original music. We also were invited to play at the Festival for the Eno in Durham on July Fourth, which is always a very fun event. We’re working hard, staying busy and we’re so appreciative of the people that invite us to play their venues and events and so grateful for our wonderful audiences. They’re the best.”

For more details on the band, visit graymatternc.com or facebook.com/graymatternc.