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Recordings:
Give/Sell LP
Get this album free for signing my mailing list.. see over there on the right...
| 1. apartment | |
| 2. bet | (mp3) |
| 3. bastards | |
| 4. canyonland | |
| 5. cheap wine | |
| 6. six years | (mp3) |
| 7. picky | |
| 8. those people | (mp3) |
| 9. tiger nightmare | |
| 10. price | |
| 11. second sight | |
The graze is the solo recording/performing project of Seattle songwriter Louis O'Callaghan.
Give/Sell: Important news! I just finished an album long in the making called Give/Sell. You can get it for free by signing my mailing list, there on the right.. this is for a limited time, maybe, until I figure out what else to do with it. Read more on the blog.
Sounds: indie folk/rock songs featuring Beatlesque song structures, with vocals and guitars reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel and Nirvana. As a recording project includes the above plus drums, bass, more guitars, and the occasional keyboard instrument. Live, these duties are sometimes fulfilled by Sam Jansons, Jeffrey Henry, and Seth Howard, respectively, otherwise O'Callaghan appears solo. The graze has been compared to Elliott Smith, Beck, Nick Drake, Thom Yorke, Jeff Mangum, and Jeff Tweedy. Influences also include Cat Power, Mirah, the Microphones, the Softies, the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, Grant Lee Buffalo, Soundgarden, Built to Spill, Low, Radiohead, Azure Ray, and Modest Mouse.
May 2007 Demo: Eight new original songs and one cover, highlighting the graze's continuing development as a songwriter and recordist.
May 2006 Demo: Six new original songs and one cover, compiled for the graze's May 2006 Northwest mini-tour. If you bought the demo at a show and are wondering what the tracks are, go here.
Iowa Anvil: Released in 2004, Iowa Anvil is ten songs of melodic, hook-laden, lo-fi indie melancholia in sparse guitar-and-vocal arrangements as well as full-on rock. It was played at a number of radio stations around the country and received a fair share of press.
Give/Sell Critics Say:
"Give/Sell is an instantly-likeable collection of lo-fi folk songs --
something that's furthered by O'Callaghan's vocal kinship with the likes of Jeff Mangum, Ryan Adams and John
Vanderslice."
- Sara Bricknet, Seattle Weekly
"...a solid set of lo-fi indie/folk tunes that at times recall Elliot Smith.s
brooding and Neutral Milk Hotel's songwriting knack."
- Nico Janssen, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle
Iowa Anvil Critics Say:
"...praise should be lavished on the Graze, the
one-man project of songwriter Louis O'Callaghan. The band's self-released
debut, Iowa Anvil, is full of tender-hearted laments and wrenching
ballads. His tentative voice holds the perfect blend of agony and
restraint."
- Tizzy Asher, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Excellent debut from this local one man band 'the
Graze' (Louis O'Callaghan). Passionate, heartfelt songs inspired by
Elliott Smith or Nick Drake but with is own original voice. Great songs
with the right amount of production and subtle guitar arrangement. Great
debut."
- John Richards, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle
"Regardless of the
inevitable comparisons and mentioning of Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott
Smith, Beck, the vague, occasional whispers of something even Beatles-like
and a hum of Nirvana-sprinkled tension, The Graze navigates its way
through a rugged and yet vulnerable emo landscape that's both fresh and
familiar for their audience."
- CD
Baby
"...the Graze's Iowa Anvil is a highly
entertaining and consistently strong first full-length..."
- Tom Scanlon, Seattle Times
"This CD is really fucking good."
- J.R. Zufelt, Music Director, KRUA 88.1 FM Anchorage
Bio: O'Callaghan is a veteran of several Seattle bands, having played in Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, Rosyvelt, Log Lady, Utah Anvil, Summerset Frisbee (members of the Delusions and Built to Spill), and with Daniel G. Harmann. He currently plays in An Invitation to Love and Mississippi Painful.
Upcoming shows:
Sign the mailing list...
...and get a free album. How this works: after you type in your email address and hit the button, you'll get an email. That email will list the URL, login, and password for the mp3 and artwork download site.
Booking/Contact:
thegraze - j-shirt.com
c/o J-Shirt Records
PO Box 85133
Seattle, WA 98145