Although Graydon James & the Young Novelists only came to exist in August of 2009, they have already played to crowds from Toronto to Halifax, garnering fans and praise, and securing a spot at the eighth annual Winterfolk Festival in Toronto in mid-February, and the Burlington Sound of Music Festival and a NXNE showcase in June.
As the story goes, in April, 2009 Graydon James had a band, but no album. By August, he had an album, but no band. He also had a two-week east coast tour booked, culminating in a CD release show in his home base of Toronto. The fledgling singer-songwriter, who released his debut solo EP in 2007, had spent the past three months arranging and recording his sophomore release: a harmony-driven, roots-based, hyphen-inducing double-album of 40 songs titled goodnight, young novelist, a roller coaster ride exploring heartbreak, small towns, older brothers, ever-elusive Canadian fame, dropkicks, and handclaps. Now, looking down the double-barrel of a CD release tour, he needed a band to bring the recording to life.
Fortunately for Graydon, being a veteran drummer in the Toronto indie scene, he had deep roots in the music community, and with barely a month to rehearse, he was able to assemble the Young Novelists: Laura Spink, Shawn Jurek, Noel Di Tosto, Jason Chesworth, and Mike Paddags. The band took to the road, performing in clubs from Peterborough to Vermont to Montreal to Halifax, often playing up to three hours of original music plumbed from the newly minted double-disc. The band forged their sound between the hammer of creativity and the anvil of the stage, rehearsing in the van, motel room, or around the campfire, and returned to perform to a capacity crowd at Toronto’s venerable Cameron House.
Since then, the band has fine tuned, bringing a tight sound punctuated by warm, four-part harmonies, and salted with layers of bouncy piano, moody organ, romping bass, plucky banjo, heartfelt melodica, spry mandolin, and plaintive guitars, all centred by a deep-down roots-driving drum beat. They have been compared to The Traveling Wilburys for catchy roots hooks, The Band for heartfelt harmonies, and Wilco for intricate arrangements, but for Graydon James & the Young Novelists, it's about creating a sound to call their own – and they thank you for listening.
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