Garrett Gray is a Chico-bred songwriter known for performing across the North State with his previous band, Perpetual Drifters. Gray has been recognized by the Chico News & Review with CAMMIE awards in the categories of Best Songwriter as well as Best Male Vocalist, and his music has been described by the Synthesis Weekly as “roots rock that casts the world in hues of burgundy romance and gray loneliness.”
Garrett Gray & The Reincarnated will perform Friday, November 6th at The Maltese in Chico to celebrate the release of their latest album, Turnstiles.
-IYlI
Interview highlights
NSPR: So tell me — how did you get started playing music and when did you begin writing songs?
Garrett Gray: I started playing guitar and I think I was about 17. I'd always loved music. I took piano lessons when I was younger, but it didn't really stick. I kind of at some point realized I wasn't going to be an amazing guitar player so I kind of fell back on songwriting, and I think that's where my real passions are at.
How would you say that you've changed your approach to writing since you first started?
I think I'm more discerning. I feel like it takes me longer to write now, probably because I'm more, you know, discriminating. I don't want to necessarily tread on too many places I've already been. I think the songs are getting better. I definitely can say that with all honesty. I try to raise the bar every time, and it's got to be something I feel like I could wear for a long time.
What's an ideal environment for you when you're writing?
Definitely solitude. Yeah, I have to be alone. Unless it's like —well I can write like lyrics and stuff like that a coffee shop or whatnot, but if I'm working on a song, I tend to loot stuff, and I start to feel kind of self-conscious if people are hearing all my mistakes and me stumbling through, trying to work something out. So it's usually best for me to be by myself.
What is the song that you're playing for us today? And what can you tell us about it?
There's a wine called Dearly Beloved and it has kind of a Day of the Dead skull on it with flowers and, the song, it was way different when I first wrote it. It was something a little bit darker. But it just kind of tumbled out. It wasn't very premeditated at all.