Graham Colton

0:00We're backstage here at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Michigan with Graham Colton. How's it going? It's going very well. Cool. You're on the show about a year ago. That's what you tell me. Yeah, you don't remember, of course. No, it's just a phone. Big Rockstar can't remember a little bit. No, no, no, no. I would know about being a Rockstar. Yeah, I'm learning. Cool. Well, we'll talk about that in a whole bunch of stuff. I want to start off with a tune. This is how we're going to do it. I'm going to give you two tunes. You're going to pick one of them and tell me why. Sure. Start the show off either first week or cut. Okay. I think, you know, I want to do cut. Okay. Well, I mean, that's, you know, I appreciate you giving me that option actually. It's very cool. It's obviously a very lenient and cool radio station. Cut's a song that is kind of become a crowd favorite. It's a song that is, you know, there are those songs that you write and you record and you play live and not a whole lot changes. You kind of,

0:48you know, you reeks the pinnacle of that song within the studio. And then there are songs that continue to evolve and kind of, I don't know, in my own words, feel like they continue to be written while on the road. And this is a song not only reminds me about being in high school, but it's a song that has kind of continued to evolve the way we play it every night. It always changes. It always kind of works really well with however the crowd reacts to it. It's kind of one of those songs that can last 10 minutes long if we wanted to. Cool. So when people see a live, it sounds nothing like Don't Morgan will play them like that. Well, I mean, it's, you know, cut is a song that I could play by myself with an acoustic guitar. I hope that's the way all my songs are. I don't think a song should be written and recorded if you can't sit down with just a

1:34voice and a guitar and play it. That's kind of my view of songwriting. And I think this song is one that I really enjoy just strumming backstage on the acoustic. But what's really cool about this one again is we can, whatever it's, you know, the dynamic of the song can turn into this 10 minute jam session. Because it really does. It connects with me live. It connects with me on stage and kind of takes me back to the place, all the imagery of driving with my friends and you know, this person who, all the relationships that, you know, it's basically about all the relationships that you have in high school or college or whatever and does handful of friends that you feel like you could just drive forever with. Cool. Here it is. 88.3. We're talking about stuff

5:27playing a bunch of students. Last time we were on the show, you talked, it was just before or just after. You sold your car, sold your apartment, said you were in front of you. Oh yeah. Yeah. So how's it going? It's, it has been a long haul. There's been a, I think we're at like, this, we're on our second van on our fourth trailer. A bunch of flat tires that we've circled the country like four times. And it really is, you know, it's finally, kind of feels like we had a milestone actually last line in Chicago. We played for about a thousand people at the House of Blues headlining and it really, this whole last headlining tour has been, I don't know, it just, it just feels like, it's, it's, it's with touring so much with other bands, you know, you get to witness each crowd and it feels like we're finally making that transition from being an opener to the headliner, you know,

6:15and it's, it's so fun because every night, I mean, you know, I still don't take it for real, you know what I mean? I still don't, I kind of question if people are really there to see me, you know. And so it's, it's cool. It's, it's, I know it's very flattering. And I think that sometimes I kind of let my excitement get the best of me and I kind of look like an idiot up there smiling from ear to ear all the time, but I'm having a blast. I'm having literally the time of my life right now. Someone just took a picture. You used to that, just happening all the time? Yeah, I'm getting used to the, the picture taking flashing moments. I've learned to accept the, the really stupid pictures that I look like a complete loser in. Last time also, you were talking to the downloading and you were cool with it and everything with the first record. Now you got to be labeled with each other. So it might change the way you view

7:01things. How has it? It's, you know, definitely with having to adhere to the, the guidelines and the confines of being on a major label, universal records, people buy the album, it's always a plus, you know, but I really do feel like people who download the music and typically the people who have downloaded our music are going to come to the show and they're going to buy a t-shirt, you know. So, you know, I think that it's, it's kind of for us. We're kind of one of those bands that is very heavily downloaded and we appreciate that. And I don't know, I kind of ride the fence a little bit now that I do have a major label album out, but I'm very, very pro downloading. I say download all you want as long as you're going to share it with a friend, as long as you're going

7:46to come to the show and support the band. And we've, we've found that typically, you know, one of our most, our most famous songs is a song called Seller Fangirl that was never even released on a CD. I mean, we played it last night in Chicago and the whole house, I mean, every word. And that literally was a song that I wrote recorded in my bedroom when I was 17. Just on a four track. It just, yeah, it literally is amazing. I mean, so it, you know, I'm all for it. I mean, anything that's going to get people to the show and, and spread the awareness about, you know, my music and my band. Play another tune killing me or killing me old one or new one. I would have to go with a new version just because it's on our new record. You know, it's funny because that was a song that on the first, we'll call it our first album, our first, it's basically a demo,

8:36you know, I mean, because just because the way it was recorded on a shoestring budget, I mean, killing me actually the old version of the song was half recorded in my friend's living room. And it was a song that, you know, I kind of think, I mean, you know, I have multiple recordings of a lot of my songs, whether they're live, whether they're acoustic, whether they're full band, whether they're words of change. You know, I was just, but say I have, I have sat down and I was home not too long ago and found an old copy. I don't ever listen to my records. I just can't. I had a hard time listening to myself on the answering machine. It's literally, it's a weird, weird thing. I hate my voice. I can't stand listening to it. I really, I really don't like it, honestly. But killing me, the first version of killing me that we did, I just felt like we could do more, you know, and it's funny because we went to Los Angeles and had a whole orchestra play with

9:23it on the new track, which is very cool and powerful. And I love it. But there were also things about the old version that I like as well, you know, you know, it's just my voice has changed so much over time and, you know, different elements when you listen back, you remember recording it in a living room. And there was kind of a, this funny on the old version, which we couldn't do on the new one, we were taping an episode of Jerry Springer for the, and it ended up being exactly in tune with killing me the first version. The key that we were playing in and this, this frantic woman was screaming on the Jerry Springer show. So we put a microphone up to the TV set and it actually fell right in line with the song. Of course we can't do that on a major label because we'll get sued. So you listeners out there don't tell anybody it's Jerry Springer. I just like the cat out of the bag. But, you know, that's kind of a cool moment, you

10:12know, I mean, you never know what magic like that's going to happen, you know, and I think it's cool there's two versions of the song. People can like whichever one they want, it's the same song, you know. So I mean, everybody comes up to me and says, oh, I like the Jessica acoustic version better than the full band version or I like, you know, killing me the first, you know, it's, you know, they like the new, you know, new stuff versus the old stuff is in that. I'm like, take your pick. I don't care as long as you, it's me. It's all mine music. That's cool. You know, all right, let's play it. Killing me. Idiot point three. The only thing you ever wanted was for me to be here to stay the night you've gone away.

11:20Better brother, let me say. We were just talking about killing me. We just played killing me. The

14:27musical is going for it. Yeah, the orchestra you're saying in the background. You write that to someone else. You know, we basically what it ended up happening is we had a lot of lines that we really loved, you know, that we had written, I mean, all, all the writing that I do is with the guitar. I wish I was a piano player and I, yeah, I always want to learn. I mean, I'm just, I'm so busy out on the road. I, you know, I can play a little bit just by ear, you know, with just the notes I want to hear. But a lot of the lines that I had written on the guitar, a lot of the instrumental lines underneath and behind the vocal turned into the string arrangement. But it was, it was pretty cool. It was a pretty cool deal to watch. Like again, I saw it was written on the acoustic guitar turn into this massive thing. And it was, it was very, very cool. So you write all the stuff on acoustic? Pretty much. It's different. It's different, you know,

15:14ever, you know, up to now it's pretty much been the music has come first. But you know, now the new songs that I'm writing, I probably shouldn't be talking about new songs because I'm still pushing this new album. Hopefully a long time. We'll always keep writing, we'll always keep playing new stuff and you never know what's going to be released here and there besides and whatnot. We hope this record has a lot of life left in it. We think it does. But, you know, it's strange because now, you know, I'm writing a lot of, I don't want to call it poetry, but I'm just writing a lot of phrases and things that I hear on sheet of paper. And it's amazing what you can write or what, you know, what I'm writing now musically with just what I'm feeling. Does that sound, I know it sounds kind of vague, but, you know, oftentimes I'll, in the past, I'll sit down with an acoustic and I'll play four chords on the

16:03guitar and that will kind of tell me what to write. You know, those four chords are saying, you know, that sounds like this and it puts me in this kind of mood. You know, now, I got all these phrases and all these thoughts running through my head and the things that I'm experiencing out here and it kind of tells me what chords to play. You know, it tells me where the music wants to go. So it's weird. It's kind of flip-flopping right now. It's interesting and it's strange the kind of songs that are being created. They're far different than what I've already, whatever it before, which is cool. No, no, no, we have so many tapers in the audience, which I totally support, but I'm really scared to play new stuff just because I know there's going to be some mediocre version of it. If it's taped and I later record a year down the road or something. So play another tune. Jessica, hello. Um, man, you pick. This is your, you pick the last

16:51two. Well, let's play. Let's play hello. I hate to, I hate to play just stuff off the new album, but I got to support the new record. Um, hello is a song that I'm, I kind of wear my influences on my sleeve. Uh, I'm a huge fan of a band called the Lemonheads, which was an early 90s. Yeah, Evan Dandoe, lead singer is amazing solo artist as well. Uh, and that was kind of written, I always wanted to write kind of a jangly Lemonheads kind of song and that one just kind of came out. So that's why I was listening to that a whole lot and I wrote that in a motel room. I think I wrote it in Jersey or something, but uh, it was a song that was more written about the feel of the song and not necessarily trying to change the world with the lyrics. You know, it was just kind of the, the quirky kind of mood that I was in. Cool. It is.

17:41Oh, it's yeah. April 17th, April 16th, Toronto, April 19th in London. First time in Canada. Well,

21:07first time playing in Canada. I've been to Canada a few times, one to gamble and another on a fishing trip when I was a kid way up in Canada. I'm talking like super north. Yeah. Actually, I like from Oklahoma, which is where kind of my family is. Bands from Texas. I lived in Texas for five years. So that's kind of where the band is. Yeah. So first time in Canada, playing music, I'm actually really, really excited because we've got, we get emails all the time from people in Canada hoping that we'll come out. I think it's a great opportunity for us with Kelly with Kelly. Now it's a little different than Guster, the Wall Flowers County Crowe. It is. Yeah. I mean, you know, we've spent three, three solid years on the road being so fortunate with being asked by, you know, amazing bands to

21:53open and share the stage with. And we've learned so much. And really, I mean, with bands like the Wall Flowers County Crowe's, Train, Guster, Maroon Five, John Merriman, the list goes on and on. You know, you'll hear all those bands in our music. There's no way you can't. You know, I mean, we've learned so much. I mean, I'm just 23 right now. So it's kind of hard to, you know, to have Adam Durets in the County Crowe's take you as a 20 year old under his wing. And he and I became fast friends and he became a huge mentor to me. And so there's a lot of Adam Durets in my music. And there's a lot of the way he writes songs. And I've, I mean, literally like a sponge when it comes to being around my idols, you know. Yeah. I mean, it's weird because I got, I got, I'm thinking that I got really, really spoiled because between Jacob Dillon from the Wall Flowers and Adam

22:40County Crowe's and even Dave Matthews who, you know, our music sounds nothing like, you know, they're amazing. They're super nice people. You know, most of these guys are on my speed dial, you know, it's, it's crazy. It really is. It's, yeah. I think he wouldn't like that very much. But, you know, the Kelly Clarkson thing came about in, in a strange way. We were on this tour doing our own headlining shows and didn't really know what the spring was going to have in store for us. And she actually called our, our, I guess, our managers and was a fan of the band, you know, fan of the record. And I, and I really, really, I'm not just saying this, I really totally respect where she's going and what she's doing with her music. I love that new song. She's God. They've since even gone. I really do, man. I think it's a great rock song.

23:27And, you know, I've read several interviews with her and several articles and everybody knows where she's come from and where she is now. I think that it's, I really respect what she's doing. And obviously to have somebody who, in my opinion, is a superstar, you know, I mean, she's of that kind of kind. And she is a, I mean, I, I, I watched the first season, I think, with her on it, you know, because I wasn't really touring as much. But I'm really not familiar with it. I just know the music that she's making now is really great. I mean, she co-writes a lot of her own stuff. I think all of her new record, she's co-written. Yeah. And I mean, she can sing her ass off. So, and, you know, whenever somebody calls and says, they're a fan of your music, especially someone as big as she is, that's amazing. It's really cool to me, you know. And my deal is, as

24:13long as I stay true to myself, I don't care who I play for, you know. And I think that I'm really, really looking forward to whatever the fan base is going to be that we're going to play for. It's definitely, I think, going to be different than the Counting Crow's audience and the Wallflower's audience. But that's the way it goes. Dave Matthews's audience is different than Guster's audience is different than Maroon 5's audience, different than John Mayer. And so I'm not saying that Kelly's audience is going to be any different. They could be the same group of people that saw us and Detroit with Counting Crow's or whatever, you know. But all I know is I just really respect what she's doing. And I think that, I think it's going to work out really cool. I, you know what, I don't know. I think I'm the only one that's single. So maybe, maybe we'll, maybe we'll hit it off. Who knows? Cool. Let's pick another chair. Don't give up on me or this time. I will take this time. How about that? We'll stick to

25:04what I was doing. Yeah, I put three new ones thus far. This time is a song off our first look. We'll call it our demo CD. And this is a live song. And when I say live, not like live at a concert venue, we actually recorded this live in a studio. We had a big full band version recorded with a song and it just didn't sound right. It didn't feel right. And we ended up just setting up a couple microphones and a couple acoustic guitars and literally just singing it straight to tape. And that's what ended up. Does a band ever feel bad when you do that? You say, no, I don't like it with you guys. It's fun to do my own. No, I mean, the first album, the first demo was kind of, you know, a work in progress. I mean, it's all still kind of a work in progress. That's kind of how I define my music and myself. I'm just a work in progress. But, you know, that song was, you know, on an album that had a collection of songs that literally

25:52were, you know, one was an acoustic song. One was a full band song. One, you know, different songs came together in different ways. And it just kind of all, we just kind of threw it all against the wall and hoped that a few people would buy it around the Dallas area. And it kind of took off like wildfire, you know. So it's, you know, it was a very cool thing. But no, the band is always supportive as to what, you know, whatever I do as being kind of the lead singer slash songwriter in the name of a band, you know, it's, it's, it's all been always been about the song about the music and those guys are, oh my gosh, are very supportive of the whole deal. Cool. Let's play a song. It's time at 8.3. Let's see what we'll let you in. Let's see what we'll be waiting around. Let's what we'll push you in.

26:47And watch you drown. Love her better as you go and let her in. I've been here before. But I'm not coming round again. And I can turn the blood down when I'm screaming. I want you to hear me this time. Look now because I'm leaving. I want you to hear me. I'll be fine. But you'll slow me back out. I'll stop the rain to push you down. I've heard

28:10better as you go and let her in. I've been here before. But I'm not coming round again. I can turn. I want you to hear me this time. I want you to hear me. I'll be fine. That's time to get away. The reason's why I think you say it's not right. That's time for

29:01different ways. You watching why y'all still the same. Let's you break down and try. Watch you to hear this time. Look now because I'm leaving. I want you to hear me.

30:13Grand Colton. Three part harmonies. Unsaved me. Can you pull those off live? You know what? Not really. We kind of find that that's a song that we kind of find. We're much more raw now than when we recorded that song. And it's kind of an example of the evolution of our band. We hope. We love the song. We don't really play it a whole lot anymore. Not because the song isn't great. But we hope it's great. But you know you get into a vibe on the road and you get into kind of a routine. And we just kind of are in a space right now where kind of less is more. You know and we don't really want to showcase that every person in the band can get on the microphone and have a barbershop quartet. You know some things that work in the studio don't necessarily

31:00represent you live. You know just like you know we can have a backup track with a string you know a big string section on killing me but we don't want to. You know. We'll do that. Bring a keyboard on this play effect like you know it is spontaneous. I mean every every night is different. We throw things in here and there. But you do get into a routine. You know you do get into you know playing a set list that's

31:48similar every night just because it works well and it flows well. You know but it doesn't mean that they're you know the show is the same every night. You know we'll jam out songs. The songs will be different. I'll throw in cover songs in the middle of different songs. You know. Recently I'm playing a fast car by Tracy Chapman in the middle of killing me which is kind of cool. I'm a huge Oasis fan so I throw in as much Oasis as I can. Yeah I really am and I'm hoping to get to go see them in Texas. I've never seen them. The one band I haven't seen. I think I know I'm a super huge fan. I mean it's between them and probably Green Day in the early 90s or not that early 90s. I'm going to say the Post Grunge era. They're my two biggest influences I think of modern rock and rollers you know. Yeah we do it in all year in cover. We like a lot. The one I love. Yeah so

32:38there's a lot of fun stuff that we do live. So come see us. Definitely April 17th in Kitchen or Play Another Song South or Since You Broke It. That's kind of a tough one. I'm I've kind of grown I grew a fonder and fonder those two. How about we'll play Since You Broke It. We don't want to say South when it's in Canada right? We'll play Since You Broke It. April 17th in Kitchener he's got the show he's coming up with Kelly Clarkson. It's going to be a great show.

36:12I will help some man. I'm looking forward to it. Who are you listening to Lazy? I listen to a lot of Wilco. Yeah. I'm really really. Yeah I saw him last week in Birmingham, Alabama and for the first time actually. And you know a lot of the new stuff they're doing. I'm I'm a total fan of the whole like country rock stuff that's going on. When I say country rock don't freak out people. I'm talking about I'm not talking about what's it called? CMT or the country the modern country. I'm talking about like Ryan Adams, Whiskey Town, Wilco, the Jayhawks. You know there's so many bands that are very we'll call them Roots Rock. You know Roots Rock is a good one. That's kind of how I describe our music. Wilco's a band that I think in their own genre very similar to Radiohead that they're you know they take a song again that

37:03is written on acoustic guitar and could be played which is an acoustic and a vocal. And they mess it up so much in a good way that it's just amazing to witness live. And some of the things that you listen to on their newer albums you know the sounds that are created on the record you don't really understand until they play it live and it was truly I mean it was like a religious experience watching those guys last week. So I'm listening to a lot of that right now. I'm really excited because Ryan Adams has a few new albums coming out. He's got releasing four records next I don't want to get him mixed up with Brian Adams who's like this is a Canadian artist which is cool which is very cool but I'm into Ryan Adams as of right now. As sure you can't debate that can't debate that. And he got lucky with that New York song coming out right after

37:509-11. You know it's amazing how much I mean just different things of that kind of thing how artists break and get their chance and we look at Lenny Kravitz's new album you know his album the new record he just released was kind of down and out and then he did a gap commercial. You know it's strange you know with the downloading and with different things that you know different ways people are getting music you know you know it's never a bad thing because of all the new opportunities that the internet and sharing the music with people have created but records just aren't selling what they used to you know. Do you say it's kind of selling out? No I really don't I really don't I think as long as the music this song was written from a pure place I think that

38:36you got to do whatever you have to do to get your music heard and like I said nowadays you don't have the luxury of signing with a record label but near album stores and selling a million copies it just doesn't work that way anymore but the cool thing is it's opened up so many doors for touring it's opened up so many doors for live recordings bootlegs internet songs B-sides merchandise I mean you know it's totally put more emphasis on being a live act which I love you know um you know DVDs are selling like crazy now I think that's awesome um so you know a lot of people ask me that do you think you know I love to last that if you think it's selling out of you know doing a commercial or doing this and that but you know I really I really think as long as you stay true to yourself and the music is written from a pure place why not take it to whoever you can you know I mean if

39:25if a gabat is is gonna be or an iPod commercial is gonna be your way of marketing your product you know that's basically the same thing as having a video on MTV you know I mean I think I don't know I haven't done anything like that yet so maybe if I do it and it ruins me I'll come back to you and let you know if you mentioned the DVD you know works without it all I sure hope so I mean I you know I there's so many amazing DVDs out whenever we do want I want it to be great so like I said we're still learning how to be headliners so I think that we got a couple years where we release a DVD but I think there's always concert footage of us floating around the internet yeah which is kind of cool awesome take another tuned sure summer stars

40:10versus sending a note sending a note definitely why well I was sending a note to really really close song for me I sending a note was the first song that I wrote on the new album that wasn't about a girl but this you know basically sending a note is a song where I kind of realize that being on tour my college experience had kind of escaped me after being a dropout and all my friends were graduating from college some of them were getting married getting you know we're even having kids it's kind of crazy and meeting 23 you know I should be just now graduated and that's kind of a song about trying to reconnect with my old friends and my old life and going home and witnessing all these changes that have happened since I've been gone you know and it's just been it's a cool song for me to play and kind of I don't know in some ways

40:58be a little envious of the life that I don't have so I don't know it's kind of that's what that's all about no absolutely no regrets but it's you know it's just kind of the road less traveled you take sometimes you wish you know you don't know what what you missed you know here it is April 17th at center of the square we do a thing on the show called five

45:22questions every week okay five questions one word answer sure favorite album of all time definitely maybe Leonard McCartney McCartney why um that's hard man that is literally like chocolate vanilla um you know what I it's like a day a day to day thing I mean I think you asked me tomorrow I'd say lemon you know I mean really it really is I mean it's it's you know lemon was always said to be the darker one and McCartney's always said to be the the more poppy happy one but you know you you look you listen to some of these guys songs they write and you'd say these exact opposite you know really I think so what's McCartney's song is the present oh man I think uh I think here

46:09there and everywhere that McCartney did is unreal and I don't necessarily think that that I mean you know fool on the hill incredible song unbelievable song and McCartney song you know I think that a little happy melody though yeah I think it's happy but I don't necessarily think that a happy melody means that it's a happy song you know I think that the the songs that you know that McCartney is written I mean Leonard's definitely his own kind of cat you know he's very strange and very weird I love that about him you know but um I don't know I think McCartney to me has really uh can kind of do everything he wants I mean from him the way he sings get back you know the way he can make his voice different the way he can uh I mean he can sound like a

46:57totally different person you know Ryan Adams does that really well you know and that's very difficult you know um think that you know it's amazing I mean just you know you know obviously Leonard is Leonard is no longer here I it would have been amazing to see what his career had where he would be at this moment but you know now it's amazing what he went on to do with wings and his own solo stuff as well and it's just it's it's even like even like the early beel stuff it's amazing how uh his you know I want to hold your hand can be played next to you know uh you know like I said full on the hill you know I mean it's or or maybe I'm amazed or whatever you know it's it just seems like there's there's no division between each song and they're totally different songs I mean it's yeah it's it's really you know what it is it's really cool for

47:47an artist like me who started writing and recording songs and I was 17 and 18 and now I'm 23 obviously my 23 year old songs are much different than my 18 year old songs when I was 18 I wrote about I wrote songs as an 18 year old and now I'm a 23 year old yeah the next album everywhere so you know it's like you know I think it's really cool that a guy like that can have a song called I want to hold your hand and the next you know the next batch of songs can you know can be about drugs and be about all kinds of stuff and nobody even that's what he is it's where it is it comes from a totally pure place so there's the answer sorry long rimba answer unfortunately the tape cuts at this point of the interview there's only a couple of questions left alcohol in marijuana he chose alcohol if he could change any law I think he said the drug law and I'm not sure what he said about the final question which is gram quilt man I don't remember it was a couple of weeks ago

48:35but here's some good news for you we've got gram coming on to this station sunday afternoon at four o'clock to play acoustically and to do a little interview with me a little chat we'll hang out for a bit maybe 20 minutes or so and he'll play you a couple of tunes just on the acoustic guitar live in the studio so check that out sunday april 17th at four o'clock also sunday april 17th astern on the square right here in kitchner check him out with kelly clarks and hope you enjoyed the show hope you enjoyed an entire hour's gram quilt and one of my favorite musicians we're gonna leave you with a couple of tunes we're gonna leave you a cigarette first week and don't give up on me here on 88.3 cjiq