Graystar is a five piece band now based in Seattle, USA. At its core is Dominic James, singer songwriter from Liverpool who founded Graystar in 2003. Progressive, daring and highly acclaimed, often bursting out with radical and ground breaking songs and live performances with a fierce independence. Dave Chapaitis plays the bass; Billy Brush plays keyboards; Jon Oswalt is on the drums.
A voice in the dark, of isolation, transcending music fashion and current tastes. Graystar write songs of fear, hope and despair. Stories of individuals knocked around by fate and self-loathing; admissions, confessions and secrets; these songs are complex and challenging to the listener. Experimental and genre-mashing; their sounds are diverse. Influenced by great songwriters like Neil Young, Tom Waits, composers like Phillip Glass and John Barry, writers like Nabokov, Huxley, Orwell and Chomsky.
The band's debut album "A Million Pieces", released in September 2007, received wide spread acclaim from music reviewers and radio presenters. Six of the ten songs on the album were played on mainstream and BBC radio stations. 'Free' was one of XFM London's songs of the week in October 2005. Graystar songs have been featured on the prestigious Iain Anderson and Janice Forsyth shows on BBC Radio Scotland, as well as the Tom Robinson Show on BBC Radio 6. What sets graystar apart? The depth of emotion entwined within the melodies of the songs; the band's diversity of instrumentation and rhythm, capturing sounds both nostalgic yet progressive, touching and yet tormented; Graystar's music has an ethereal beauty and restless originality that etches its way into your heart.
EP "I Disappear" was released on March 20th 2009 on a limited edition CD and contained 5 songs. "I Disappear" was played by BBC Radio Merseyside and XFM Scotland.
The band project moved to Seattle in July 2009, and now has a new line-up of talented musicians playing gigs all over the North West of the US and beyond. New song "Secret Life" will be released in September as the band's new single, part of a forthcoming promotional CD.
2) Graystar was formed in 1999 by then 11-year-old Dylan Wilcox. Almost a decade later, the band’s original pop-punk sound has evolved tremendously into what Wilcox calls “scene-rock.” “I write music I want to listen to, you know?” says Wilcox in a recent interview, “We try to stay away from any stereotypes, and to find our own sound.” The band, who has recently signed a two-album contract with Urban Disaster Records, and just released their full length debut “Between Dreams and Waking,” has done just that. The band mixes influences from all over, from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the Get Up Kids, all the way to 18 Visions and Thursday. The band has shared stages with Taking Back Sunday, The Movielife, Aiden, Emanuel, From Autumn to Ashes, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Chiodos, and many others, as well as playing at MTV Parkfest, Vans Warped Tour, The Bamboozle, and the Skate and Surf Festival. The band has gone through several lineup changes, however have settled on their current 3 piece setup (Dylan Wilcox, Chris Lofton, James Moreland). The band practices in Albany, New York at Wilcox’s home, though they can be frequently be found playing shows in the Manhattan area in New York.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Artist biography from last.fm