You Power Us Along!

Some Warm Weather Inspiration

Oh my, what a Winter we've been having! 2015 has been brutal, weather-wise. The east coast has really been slammed this year and I know that we're all yearning for Spring and warmer weather. A bit of daydreaming...

Flashback: It’s 1966 in New Providence, NJ and I’m spending a lazy summer afternoon in one of my frequent, favorite pastimes. I’m leaning up against the huge old willow tree in our yard, my prized AM transistor radio in hand. I’ve got WABC on the dial and listening to Dan Ingram, Cousin Brucie, Ron Lundy or Harry Harrison spin some tunes and I spend (what seems like) hours listening to the fabulous music of the day. One of my favorites was Summer in the City, and since I’m looking for warm weather inspiration today, I’ll pull this one up. My transistor radio is long gone, but YouTube has all those favorite summertime songs of my youth archived for me. Here ya go!     (~Bev)


The Lovin' Spoonful

The Earliest Origins of Graymatter

A Completely True Story by Dave Gude


Once upon a time there was a boy who saw The Sound of Music and thought, "That is exactly what I want—to be part of a singing family, just like Maria and the von Trapp Family Singers. How grand that will be, tripping through yellow flowers and singing to the mountain tops!"

Photo from the 20th Century Fox film, The Sound of Music, 1965

But lo, the boy was not born into a singing family. It was true that his mother liked to sing, but all her notes came out somewhat deflated, like sad tires. His father liked to sing also, but his bass notes were so low that only hippos could hear them. His sister liked to sing, but only along with her Monkee’s albums behind closed doors in her room. So the boy had no one to sing with. He could only dream of being part of a singing family.

One year in high school the boy learned to play 3 slightly odd chords on a guitar, and because of this achievement, had an opportunity to meet a girl who also played guitar. However, she knew all the chords, and sang like an angel.

A year went by and the boy and girl began to go on dates. Things were going pretty well for the boy, what with having a girlfriend and everything, but all the time the boy was wishing he was part of a singing family, gathered in a close circle and blending their voices together.

Photo from the 20th Century Fox film, The Sound of Music, 1965

One day, to his surprise and delight, the girl casually said to the boy, “Come and meet my singing family.”

“What, you have a singing family??” said the boy. “Get out of here!”

“Oh yes, we all play and sing together every day.” said the girl calmly, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

So the boy came to dinner at the girl’s house. Sure enough, after dinner, the dad and mom and 5 children cleared away the plates and everyone grabbed guitars and ukuleles and pairs of drumsticks to pound on the dining room table and suddenly a great whooshing of harmonies rose up in the room and filled the boy with delirious wonderment.

That boy was me, Dave, and that girl with the voice of an angel was Bev, and that singing family was the Grays, including younger brothers Barry and Brad. This really happened, circa 1974, and that is the completely true story of the earliest origins of our band, Graymatter.

And now you know.

Photo from Graymatter's session for the "Cloud 9" video, 2015, videographer: Bev Gray Gude

Something New: Graymatter Notes!

We’re doing something new for you in 2015! Graymatter Notes is a brand new way to get the latest news and info about Graymatter. Subscribers to Graymatter Notes will hear directly from us, hear what we’re up to, will receive exclusive 1^st peek at new music, sneak peek at hidden music videos, Q&A and direct communication with the band, occasional give-aways and more. We love Facebook and the other popular media outlets, but let’s face it, the algorithms they use often result in missed posts you might wish you’d seen in your newsfeed. With Graymatter Notes you’ll receive all the good stuff right in your e-mail inbox. Rest assured, we won’t spam you, pester you, share or sell your addresses with anyone else. So subscribe to Graymatter Notes today and get ready for some fun! Just enter your e-mail address in the box in the upper right column on this page and we’ll take it from there…and thanks! It’s going to be a great 2015!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2014 from Graymatter!

A video gift, from us to you:



Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, from Graymatter!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Covers?

"I was about 25 before I ever heard the idea that rock and roll was meant to be disposable. To me, the great songs have lasted." Jackson Browne

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been approached at the end of a gig, by someone who exclaims something like: “I loved that song when I was a kid!” or “I’d forgotten all about that song and how much I loved it!” Remembering, passing along and keeping alive a great song is actually a strong part of folk and roots music tradition. For generations, songs were sung and played at gatherings, and with any luck at all, they were recorded, and in this way they lived on.  It’s really interesting to see how a particular song changes as it moves along this path, taking on the characteristics of the person performing it. Through the years lyrics may be slightly altered, harmonies added, maybe even a bridge or verse included that wasn’t in the original. The song is a living, growing organism. 

An extreme example of this practice are the ancient songs She Moved Through the Fair and Black Waterside. These tunes can be traced back to medieval times and the earliest lyrics to She Moved Through the Fair were penned in 1916. There are many, many people who have performed these songs, passing them along through time, but look how Jimmy Page morphed these songs and made them his own. 

There’s also the haunting song  Molly Ban which can be traced back to 1796 and has been passed on through the generations. Here’s a version leaning towards the traditional.  Peter Paul and Mary fans probably know it as Polly Von, which they recorded in 1963 and made unmistakably their own. Bob Dylan also recorded it in 1992 and Chris de Burgh in 2002, among countless others throughout the decades.

The idea of the importance of the cover song really hit home for me personally, when I heard the news that Linda Ronstadt could no longer sing now that she is stricken with Parkinson’s Disease.   Now Glen Campbell is losing all memory of the songs he wrote and is unable to recall or even play most of them. Sadly, there have been several of our heroes who have passed away in recently years and we’ll lose even more as our own generation ages. What occurs to me is that if people aren’t singing their songs live to an audience then does the great work done by these artists just disappear? Do these songs just die too? Certainly, the majority of the radio stations aren’t sharing them, so when the original artists aren’t around to perform them for us then it’s up to musicians who are currently on the road, to keep these great songs alive. The icing on the cake is that current performers are likely to, just like in the folk and roots traditions, be adding some spit and polish and breathing new and different life into the old songs.

Does this mean we shouldn’t strive to be singer/songwriters and support the working artists of our time? Absolutely not! We need to keep populating the world of music with more new songs, more new music. We should however, pay attention to and support the performers that are working hard to keep the older songs alive. 

Magic: via Alfonso Tobar

Monday morning, after a two gig weekend, we woke to find this amazing post from Alfonso A Tobar. It's the reward for all the hard work we put into our performances, all the study, practice, time, expense, energy and effort that goes into the shows you see. Thanks Alfonso, for your kind words and beautiful photos!

Magic...
In order to see magic, you must believe in it. Every day I ride my bicycle in or around Alamance County, NC.
Saturday night, I decided to go around at night time. Burlington was empty and silent. As I continue to move through the streets, I discovered an unusual echo of some noise and I followed into it. In the middle of the street nocturnal lights, I found what I was looking for, some crowd, something nice, real people....
Graymatter, a local band, was performing live and playing great music. Their audience were relaxed, chatting quietly. And you could see friends chilling out with some beer.
These are the first days of autumn down here.
The sound of Graymatter's music was simply cool and magic. I stayed there, enjoyed the moment, grabbed a couple of shots with my camera. Then, I faded back into the night. (Thank you guys. I had a wonderful time).
That was Saturday, the last week end of September...

Look at our Great New Stage Sign!

The very talented Morgan of Grayscapes created a fabulous new stage sign for us! We'd been looking for something fun and creative that we could have up on stage with us and she created exactly the right thing. She's a talented artist, creating original art and works on special request commissions too. If you're interested in seeing her pieces or having her create something special for you, you can reach her here. Thanks Morgan!

Where has your Graymatter tee been this summer?

So our Graymatter tees have been backpacking and fishing in the gorgeous Adirondacks, taken a swim in the Hudson River, traveled to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, felt the cool breezes of Lake Ontario in Lowville NY, enjoyed the sun on the Jersey Shore, enjoyed the desert in Reno Nevada, and the beautiful mountains in Truckee California. Where has your Graymatter tee been this summer? Send us your photos!