2008 Woodie Awards
DeGraw Rocks Rollins
Lara Bueso
Issue date: 11/12/04 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
| |
| |
|
This young 26 year old musician soothes the ladies with his raspy yet incredibly sexy voice that evokes a sense of painful heartbreaks, classic love stories and captures the emotional roller-coaster rides in relationships. An amalgamation of country from his grandfather, singer/songwriter from his mother, and rhythm and blues from his father is where Gavin classifies his genre. "I'm a big mix of all of that," he said. His most famous songs, "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to be", and "Chariot" among several others prompted the crowd to sing along and wrestle other audience members for the best view. Thank goodness ACE was prepared with security and police forces to break up even the most unruly crowds.
Reminiscing back to his early career, Gavin used to perform in local bars with his brother since he was about 15. "Oh, I've been playing guitar for about 18 years now," he said casually. From New York State, he considers himself a mountain boy who was encouraged by his grandfather to pursue a Nashville career. His grandfather's favorite song was El Paso, which they habitually sang until his death and even at the funeral service. From there on, Gavin was an instant success. It began as a family affair, music was in their blood, as he and his brother both embarked upon the rock journey. His brother is no longer an official member of the band, but did tour with Gavin recently and even performed on Tuesday night with him. You can now see Gavin's video on MTV, buy his first album Chariot, check out their website at Gavin DeGraw.com to hear song clips, tune into One Tree Hill on the WB to listen to the theme song they wrote, learn all the words to their old cd and the upcoming one, buy merchandise on their homepage, travel with the band and attend every concert (a.k.a. stalker), and then fight to be the biggest fan ever!
Wiggling in his piano seat and stomping on the floor, Gavin danced across the stage from the piano to the guitar and even on the lights set at one point. Ladies, you should all know that Gavin admitted to me being his inspiration for his music. That's right, he's a charmer and most importantly down-to-earth. After the show, Gavin hung around for about an hour signing autographs, mingling with fans, and was even thrown in the trash can by a fellow band member. Plus he recommended new Disney/pixar animation, The Incredibles as he slyly took my Incredibles action figure to play with. Unlike many up and coming artists, Gavin is in touch with himself and has not yet succumbed to the pressures of routine celebrity life.
Opening for Gavin was Michael Tolcher and his talented band from Atlanta, Georgia that also sparked a consistent rhythmic head bob from the crowd. Featured in last week's newspaper, Michael Tolcher is similar to Gavin, John Mayer, and others with an R & B, rhythmic, rock sound. He has incredible potential to rise to MTV stardom as well with his debut album, I Am. Visit his website at Michaeltolcher.com for song clips and a photo gallery. Remember where you first saw them - here at Rollins. This was their last performance with Gavin, but you can catch them again soon on tour with Everclear.
Lastly, congratulations to Cara Langer, a Holt student and the winner of the Rollins talent show who opened the concert with beautiful, original piano/song pieces.
As the popularity and success of both bands continue to spread rapidly, they may no longer be able to reveal themselves to their fans, and casually hang out with the audience afterward. Be sure to follow their successes and tune in to MTV for more information and continue to rock on. Gavin is planning to release another album sometime within the next year, and if you like to sing along to his songs, sheet music should soon be available. Congratulations to ACE for a tremendous concert and this has truly been "the start of something good."