Download the album – zipped mp3 collection
Album Notes:
adam gray: vocals, guitars
ernie gray: vocals, drums, guitars, bass, keys
vincent gray: vocals, guitars, bass, contrabass, viola
Recorded in Nashville, Tn., Atlanta, Ga. & Kingsport, Tn. Mixed by Ernie Gray. Produced by The Gray Brothers.
the effect – (ernie gray)
force of habit – (adam gray, e. gray)
the crossing – (vincent gray, e. gray)
waiting for the night – (e. gray)
never forever – (v. gray)
within without – (a gray, e.gray, v.gray)
ghost mind – (e.gray)
carnivale – (v.gray, e.gray)
wall of ego – (e.gray)
tumbling down – (e.gray)
Following the release of Gray Brothers, Richard DuBois sat down with Ernie Gray for an in-depth interview.
Richard Dubois: So, beyond being brothers, how did the Gray Brothers begin as a musical project?
Ernie Gray: It began as the three of us goofing off, recording old folk and country tunes one Thanksgiving so we could hand out copies at Christmas. We called it, “The Whiskey Sessions.” It was very stripped down – just one or two microphones, some acoustic guitars, Vince’s upright bass, a harmonica and a bottle (or two) of whiskey.
RD: The next recording, you guys mixed in more instrumentation.
Yes, our second outing was a bit more daring: we wrote and recorded original music over multiple sessions in 2007 – I schlepped more microphones and better equipment around. Part of it was recorded at a beach house in South Carolina. We also brought in my friend Keely Lane on drums. I started to tinker around on keys, so we got a pretty full sound.
RD: You wrote some more personal songs on that one..
The process for the second was also cathartic, dedicating the work to our ailing father and each of us compelled to somehow say something to him before he passed. There was this underlying sense of urgency to it — and a real reason to write.
Five years flew by and we didn’t manage to collaborate as a trio. Meanwhile, Adam became a father and we all got busy with our careers. Vince was working with his band, The Codex Boom, and as a member of the very talented Atlanta-based collective, Imagination Head which is about to release their 3rd or 4th LP. Vince and I had several productive sessions in Nashville during summer in breaks in 2010 and 2011 that culminated in Vince’s solo EP, Verath & my own forthcoming Vacations In Color LP.
RD: So what brought you guys back together?
It was long overdue. We promised to push each other, and I promised to mix and produce it! (laughs) Vince and I managed our schedules to decamp in Kingsport, TN at our mother’s house for five days of evening sessions. Given that we have to raise the bar with every album, five days was not nearly enough .
My go-to-guy on drums, Keely, left Nashville. Being attracted to the drums, I spent the last two years practicing rudiments and felt confident enough to play this time around.
RD: So, tell me about the cover. What was the concept behind the minimalist, almost antique shop art?
Beyond the obvious three cherries metaphor, the format imaging and layout is tongue-in-cheek. It’s somewhat inspired by New Order’s cover for Power, Corruption & Lies and classic ECM album art. The bourgois element is not something you see in rock, but this album is very pretty, and in many ways, very petit bourgois.
RD: Can you tell us about the writing process?
We wrote nearly the entire album on smartphones. We would just pass around sketches via email. It’s actually a great method – you have a song idea and you just record it on your phone and send it. I carried around a little cassette recorder in my car for years, so it’s nothing new.
RD: So can you tell us a bit about the songs? What about The Effect… it has a very U2 vibe about it, and sounds somewhat like Lost & Found from Whiskey Sessions Vol 2.
The subject matter here is esoteric. It’s an abstract thread about getting to those places where you let go, but are aware – that gnosis point. I’m trying to describe it without tying it down too much to a literal meaning. Once you cross the river, you don’t carry the boat with you, you leave it behind. The chorus is pretty literal: “We all carry part of the love.” How much of that love you carry is largely up to you.
RD: Then it takes an abrupt turn with Force of Habit – almost a Latin vibe.
Yeah, I love this one. It’s an Adam tune that he sketched out on the phone and then I filled the lyrics. I had written a latin sketch that I shared with the guys and then Adam sent us this one that totally crushed any chance of my tune comparing. He nailed it and so I banged out some lyrics that same day.
It’s from the point of view of a character who can’t stop hitting the bars. It’s somewhat autobiographical and ironically about as far away from Adam’s current lifestyle as possible. But it could also be about compulsion in any form. Tenacity runs in the family. Force of Habit is a turn of phrase our family uses often, so it’s a good fit.
RD: The Crossing? This is almost a country number. It has that vast cinematic quality.
This was actually recorded as part of the Verath sessions in Nashville and Atlanta. Vince wrote sang and played just about everything except for percussion while I engineered. He was playing the tune for me on guitar one night but didn’t have any lyrics. I remembered I had a lyric from 3-4 years ago that didn’t have music and it just fit right in with the whole vibe.
It’s the story of lovers living under a repressive regime who are trying to emigrate by night, and the mixed emotions of leaving their home and loved ones for a better life.
It’s such a favorite that I had to include it. Verath was a private digital release, so I want to see this song gain more traction. Vince had a breakthrough on this where he took it up a few notches in his vocal parts. Vince has developed a unique style all his own that I find very compelling.
RD: Then it switches channels to 1960s R&B with Waiting For The Night
I love 60’s R&B. Our mother had us on a steady diet of classic Staxx, Tamla & Motown soul – and I think some of my earliest memories are of her playing Otis Redding, Sam Cooke etc. We recently got to see Smokey Robinson at the Nashville Symphony and he was absolutely perfect. He’s in his 70s but was flawless and a spectacular showman. He also happens to be one of the greatest pop songwriters of all time.
What I love about soul groups from 60s and 70s is that it was common for a male to take the high tenor/alto part and really do a sultry, sexy thing — almost androgynous. I mean, think of all the doo wop and vocal groups where the boys would do the high voice: Smokey, Ronnie Isley, Marvin Gaye, and recently, guys like Prince, D’Angelo. This style is something I’ve been sort of working on over the past few years. It’s a very challenging thing to pull off live.
The sound of the recording is intentionally very raw and lo-fi. It’s straight four mono tracks with some reverbs. I was trying to capture the sound of some local recording studio in 1967, which is similar to the stuff I used to record when I was kid on a little fostex 4-track.
RD: Then it shifts to an almost 70’s soft rock thing with, Never Forever
This is the real “sleeper hit” on the album… Vince wasn’t sure about this one at first, but it turned out to have a great vibe. The rest of album has a very spacious sound, and I like the contrast here where the drums and soundstage is dry and tight. Vince has this incredible instinct for jazzy progressions, and like all of us, a penchant for major 7ths.
Lyrically, the song is critiquing faith. I can’t speak for Vince, but I think he addressing the fundamental question of infinity. He’s pointing out that what certain belief systems attach to the notion of infinity as divinity is in fact, limiting the wonder and possibility of the infinite.
RD: Within Without is one of the more “beautiful” songs on the album
Yes, it’s a love song, and it’s very pretty. Adam wrote the core parts and Vince and I contributed sections and lyrics. This one embodies the feeling that comes with getting older, wiser, becoming a father, a husband and realizing that you don’t know all the answers. It’s about leaving behind those impatient, impulsive and zealous tendencies of youth and learning to trust yourself to trust others.
The tension created in the verses is released in these big lush and almost overflowing choruses. It’s a powerful juxtaposition and probably has something to do with the fact that he and his wife Tara are expecting their second child!
RD: Ghost Mind, the next track sound unlike anything else on the album. It has a cavernous, almost “eiery” sound.
Ha ha, yes. The plate and spring reverb has experienced somewhat of a renaissance lately with various indie bands. This is the sound of a classic plate reverb being overused. They are created very faithfully now as an virtual computer-based model, but I got to see an original one recently in a studio storage facility. They are about the size of a grand piano.
I’m indirectly influenced by the works of filmmaker Terence Malick, and this song attempts to suggest the same sort of imagery and feeling that Malick evokes in his films.
It’s eschatological poetry.
RD: It’s followed by another ethereal piece called Carnivale
This one is Vince’s epic. He and I are both fans of the band Grizzly Bear, and we wanted to pull off something that had big vocals. He wrote the piece and asked me to take lead vocal duties. The minor to major lift with 3 part legato vocal harmonies in 6/8 time is not something you hear on many rock records. This was a challenging piece to pull off with so many long notes.
We original considered taking a non-lyrical approach. We ended up going with a Carnivale theme. My inspiration was of all things, Woody Allen’s movie, Midnight In Paris – but otherwise it could be anything. It’s your dream.