Welcome to More Than a Memory, a site dedicated to the very talented singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw. If you have anything you'd like to contribute, in the way of photos, news or articles, please send them in.
Gavin at VEVO Launch Party
From nymag.com: On Wednesday night, the music industry’s heaviest hitters came out to launch VEVO, a new website allowing one to watch music videos.
The many, many artists present all seemed heartened that their labels had finally discovered the Internet and social networking. "I'm happy that the industry is getting involved in this for a change, instead of lagging behind," said Gavin DeGraw. "Because, let's face it, the industry at the corporate level has been hurting for a long time, and when it's hurting at the corporate level, it starts hurting at the artist level, too."
What's your favorite thing about this decade? "I think the biggest thing is that magnetic car that goes up walls and upside down on the doors and the tables. If you haven’t seen it, you need to watch more TV." - Gavin DeGraw
Gavin's Turkey Recipe
Here's a video (8:45 mark) of Gavin giving his garbage can turkey recipe (yum), on the red carpet at The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in NYC.
October 16, 2009
Gavin at NASCAR Track
Yesterday, Gavin was spotted at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, NC, hanging out with NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Gavin was interviewed on the SPEED channel, during a break in practice.
View the interview on Youtube. Gavin performed at Dale Jr.'s bar, Whisky River, later that night, as part of a concert series to benefit The Dale Jr. Foundation. Here's a photo of Gavin and Dale Jr., posted on Twitter by Dale Jr.'s PR guy Mike.
Motown Interview
Msnbc has posted an audio interview of Gavin discussing Motown. If it doesn't load, right click on the Flash player and choose Play.
October 1, 2009
Wall Street Journal interview
Wsj.com has an interview with Gavin, done after the concert in Central Park.
September 11, 2009
Three Upcoming Concert Dates
From pollstar.com:
"Feel Free: A National Parks Celebration In Central Park" - 09/23/09 Central Park's East Meadow, New York, NY (freefree.org)
From scenedaily.com:
The Dale Jr. Foundation has announced the series of October concerts at
Earnhardt Jr.'s Whisky River bar in Charlotte. The "Rockin' The River" series
will feature singers Gavin DeGraw, Blake Shelton, Jessie James, The Carter
Twins, Phil Vassar and Rehab. All proceeds from the concerts will benefit The Dale Jr. Foundation and its
associated charities, including Make-A-Wish Foundation and Victory Junction Gang
Camp. Gavin DeGraw will hit the stage on Oct. 15 in a Charlotte race-week performance. (buy tickets)
From bizjournals.com: Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw will be the headline act at the Centennial
Celebration of the fall High Point Market wholesale furniture trade show on Oct. 18 (in High Point, NC), according to an announcment.
Gavin the Actor?
From Gavin's Twitter page: "Playing Blackjack on set. Just did a scene for a film. Shooting it in Delaware." - Sept. 8th
Gavin Talks Motown
From google.com: For the 50th anniversary of the founding of Motown Records, The Associated Press
over a period of months invited stars from the fields of music, politics and
film to visit Studio A to talk about how the Detroit musical movement has
affected them and the larger world.
DeGraw got into Motown as a kid, hearing songs on Time Life compilation
albums.
"I remember hearing The Temptations and The Four Tops. ... It was really a
great study for me as a singer," he said.
Fast-forward a couple of decades. DeGraw is an established singer-songwriter
and finds himself playing a gig that features one of his Motown idols ? Stevie
Wonder.
DeGraw is watching as Wonder's band starts playing at the Songwriters Hall of
Fame event.
"I know this track, but something important is missing," DeGraw said.
He then sees Wonder reaching under the piano bench and raking the ground
looking for his harmonica, which he had dropped.
DeGraw runs up on stage, reaches under the bench and puts the instrument in
Wonder's hand. Wonder starts playing, and DeGraw remembers thinking, "`I've
never been so proud to be a stagehand.' ... That would have been an honor to
anybody to give Stevie Wonder his harmonica to play that essential, essential
riff."
DeGraw also recalled sitting backstage and asking Wonder if he could record
the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer on his cell phone.
Wonder agreed, and DeGraw was thrilled, capturing some video of Wonder
playing the harmonica in the intimate setting. DeGraw called it "the ultimate
campfire hang."
From google.com: "The studio itself is its own beast. It can take away or it can add to the
sounds you're making with your instruments," said pop singer-songwriter Gavin
DeGraw. "Some rooms are dead. You play a note, and the sound disappears.
"Some rooms they ring too much. Acoustically, they're just too active. But
some of them, they just have good sound. The (Motown) recordings I've heard come
out of that room. I listen to those recordings all the time, and I think: `Why
does that room sound so good?' There's something to be said for it."
DeGraw liked the Motown recording approach so much that he rereleased his
2003 hit album "Chariot" a year later in a "stripped" format.
"I was really using that Motown ... sound as a template," he said. "I was
thinking about those records and the rawness of those records."
"I think that's why it was so successful as a social tool, because it wasn't
race-specific," DeGraw said. "It was just great music.
"And it allowed people to look past those typical lines. ... People could
hear music like that in a time when people were looking at each other strangely,
wondering what their motivations were, and they could go: 'Hey man, OK, no one's
holding a grudge. It just sounds good. Let's enjoy ourselves.'"
June 22, 2009
Craig Ferguson Video
Visit Youtube for a video of Gavin performing Dancing Shoes on Craig Ferguson this past Tuesday.
Interview from American Idol Finale
I uploaded to Youtube a short interview of Gavin on the red carpet at the American Idol finale from the Ellen show.
Mix 985 Video mix985.com in Boston has a video of Gavin being interviewed and performing in their studio.
April 2, 2009
More on Gavin's Trip to Uganda
Read Gavin's blog from his Nothing But Nets visit to Uganda.
OK Magazine has an interview with Gavin about his Uganda trip, as well as photos.
MySpace Celebrity Playlist
From gavindegraw.com: MySpace is featuring Gavin DeGraw's Artist Playlist, named 'Freedom of Song,'
starting today, April 2nd, through Sunday, April 5th.
US Weekly Video Interview US Weekly Online has a
video of Gavin talking about song lyrics and singing Mountains to Move.
ABC News Video Interviews
From gavindegraw.com: Click here to see Gavin talk about his new album Free, and here to see ABC's coverage of Gavin DeGraw combating malaria
in Uganda!
Billboard.com Article
Billboard.com has an article
on Gavin's approach to his new record.
March 20, 2009
Regis and Kelly Video
I uploaded video of Gavin performing Dancing Shoes on Regis and Kelly today.
Dancing Shoes
You can listen to the album version of Dancing Shoes on iLike.com or Imeem.com
Making of 'Free' Video
There's a new video on Gavin's Youtube channel titled "Making of Free - The Band".
Free Concert in Detriot
Gavin will perform a free concert on April 4th at The Detroit Riverfront as part of the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four weekend.
March 17, 2009
Upcoming TV Appearances
Gavin will be appearing on Regis and Kelly on March 20th, and on Jay Leno on March 30th.
March 11, 2009
Listen to Stay
Listen to the new song Stay, off of the upcoming album Free, on iLike.com or imeem.
Gavin's Trip to Uganda
Gavin recently visited Uganda with The United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign on a goodwill mission
to provide long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to the Nakivale refugee camp.
"I am really looking forward to this trip," said DeGraw. "After being driven
from their homes due to violent conflict, millions of refugees in Africa now
face another harrowing threat, malaria. These bed nets can help stop the
suffering faced by so many."
New Album and Tour Info
Form USA Today: Less than a year after releasing his self-titled
sophomore album, Gavin DeGraw has readied a third. Recorded in January and due
March 31, Free features original tunes by the singer/songwriter,
including a new version of Young Love. There also is a cover of the late
Chris Whitley's Indian Summer.
DeGraw, 32, made Free "to remind myself why I began
playing music to begin with ? because it feels good," he says. "It was a
pleasure to make an album with understated production where the featured element
was the content."
He will share that content live starting March 27, when he
launches his Where It Began tour in Portland, Ore. Tickets go on sale
Feb. 20.
Watch a video of Gavin in the recording studio talking about his new album.
Gavin to Sing at Daytona 500
Gavin will be performing the National Anthem at the Daytona 500 NASCAR race tomorrow. He is replacing two-time Dancing With The Stars champion Julianne Hough who is sick. The race airs on FOX at 2pm EST.
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