The Gracious Few

The Gracious Few

Taylor, Martin, Gracey & Dahlheimer on October 30, 2010
Background information
Origin York, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres Hard rock, alternative rock
Years active 2009–present
Labels Questionable Entertainment
Associated acts Live, Candlebox, The Hiwatts
Website www.thegraciousfew.com
Members Kevin Martin
Chad Taylor
Sean Hennesy
Patrick Dahlheimer
Chad Gracey

The Gracious Few (also known as TGF) are an American rock group from York, Pennsylvania. The band features guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey from the band Live, along with lead vocalist Kevin Martin and guitarist Sean Hennesy from the band Candlebox.

History

Formation

With Live on what they initially termed a "two-year hiatus", Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey and Patrick Dahlheimer needed a vocalist for the new songs they had written. Chad Gracey called his friend Kevin Martin and suggested that he should join them. Martin explained, "He called me and said Pat, Chad, and I have been writing and we think you are the perfect singer for this project.”[1]

With Chad Taylor claiming that he no longer wanted to play guitar solos, Martin suggested that his Candlebox bandmate, guitarist Sean Hennesy, could do the job. Hennesy explained, "Tonally, he’s got a big, fat, manly beast sound. I have more of a high-cut karate sound that cuts through, so our tones complement each other very well."[2] Once Hennesy was recruited, The Gracious Few's line-up was completed.

On November 30, 2009 Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and Chad Gracey issued a statement announcing that Live had disbanded following the departure of lead singer Ed Kowalczyk and that The Gracious Few was now their main focus.[3] Their statement alleged that Kowalczyk had demanded a $100,000 "lead singer bonus" to appear with the band at the 2009 Pinkpop Festival, and had obtained sole publishing rights to the band's songs without the knowledge of the other three band members.

The Gracious Few played their first concert date at Fat Daddy's in York, Pennsylvania on May 27, 2010. This was followed by shows at Summerfest in Milwaukee on June 25, 2010 and The Troubador in Los Angeles on June 28.[4]

The Gracious Few

The band began rehearsing in California in September 2009 and subsequently recorded their self-titled debut album. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads[5] and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge.[6] The first single from the album is "Honest Man". In September 2010, Kevin Martin explained that it had been difficult to schedule the recording of the album because Chad Gracey's wife was about to give birth, Martin and Hennesy were working with Candlebox and Taylor and Dahlheimer were involved in a film project. Also the band members live far apart; Taylor and Dahlheimer in Pennsylvania, Gracey in Orange County and Hennesy and Martin in Los Angeles. Eventually twenty songs were written in two sessions totalling only twenty two days.[7]

The band undertook an extensive American tour in the latter part of 2010 in support of the album, beginning in Buffalo, New York on September 24 and ending in Ventura, California on December 11. In February 2011 the band undertook a short European tour, beginning in London on February 18, with a concert at The Barfly in Camden. They also played at the Rocklahoma festival on May 28, 2011.[8]

In June 2011, Chad Taylor announced that Live would be re-forming without Ed Kowalczyk. He added that new Gracious Few material would also be forthcoming.[9]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Chart performance

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US US
Heat.		 US
Hard Rock
2010 The Gracious Few[10]
  • Released: September 14, 2010
    •
  • Label: Questionable Entertainment
 168 7 15

Singles

Year Song US
Main.		 Album
2010 "Honest Man" 39 The Gracious Few
"Appetite"[11] 29

Gallery: The Gracious Few, October 2010

Chad Taylor - rhythm guitar
Pat Dahlheimer - bass guitar
Chad Gracey - drums
Kevin Martin - lead vocals
Sean Hennesy - lead guitar

References

  1. ↑ Chad, "Kevin Martin Excited About The Gracious Few" alternativeaddiction.com - July 2, 2010
  2. ↑ Prudencio, Lisa "Style File: The Gracious Few " Guitar Edge - September 23, 2010
  3. ↑ Michael Alan Goldberg, "No Lead Singer Bonus For You, Ed Kowalczyk!" Make Major Moves Blog, philadelphiaweekly.com - December 7, 2009
  4. ↑ Rick Florino, "The Gracious Few — The Troubadour, West Hollywood" artistdirect.com - June 30, 2010
  5. ↑ Chad, "Kevin Martin Explains The Gracious Few" alternativeaddiction.com - November 23, 2009
  6. ↑ "Members of Live & Candlebox Join Forces For New Band - The Gracious Few" theywillrockyou.com - April 6, 2010
  7. ↑ "From The Ground Up, An Interview With The Gracious Few" Type 3 Media - October 4, 2010
  8. ↑ Drainu182, "Poison and Hinder Added To Rocklahoma 2011 Lineup" The Audio Perv - March 1, 2011
  9. ↑ "Exclusive Blog: Chad Taylor talks The Gracious Few and Live" The Comet - June 8, 2011
  10. ↑ "The Gracious Few - Chart History" Billboard
  11. ↑ Kashyap, Akhil "Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart December 25, 2010" Polyrhythms Magazine - December 17, 2010
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