Moments In Grace
Driven by invigorating rock dynamics and the dazzling vocals of singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter Jeremy Griffith, Moments in Grace is richly melodic yet fraught with a potent, progressive edge. The debut Album showcases the bands talents with songs such as the stirring first single, "Stratus," and the energetic "My Dying Day" explore haunted emotional terrain - loneliness, struggle, regret - yet ultimately achieve great beauty and genuine catharsis. Produced by Brian McTernan - known for his work with the likes of Thrice, Cave In, the Movielife, and Hot Water Music - "MOONLIGHT SURVIVED" is a genuinely moving, often inspiring premiere that stands as a powerful introduction to a remarkable new band.
Griffith and bassist Jake Brown first met in the late 1990s, when the two musicians played in a couple of North Florida punk combos. Griffith eventually moved north to Boston, but they maintained their friendship via e-mail and late night phone calls. In 2001, Brown issued a disc of Griffith's demos, called The Purple Magnolia, through his "really, really, really indie" label, Computer Club Records. When Griffith returned to Florida the following year, it seemed obvious that the two friends should team up in a band. They enlisted guitarist/keyboardist Justin Etheridge and drummer Brandon Cook to fill out the line-up. Taking their moniker from a lyric by Fugazi precursor Rites of Spring, Moments In Grace was born. They quickly began playing live gigs, but most of their time was spent holed up at Griffith's rented rehearsal space - dubbed "the Factory" - writing songs and refining their sonic approach.
In June 02, Moments In Grace supported Liars Academy at a show near Birmingham, Alabama, and the two like-minded outfits became fast friends. Later that year, Liars Academy was recording tracks with renowned indie producer/engineer McTernan at his Salad Days Studio in scenic Beltsville, Maryland. During a break between sessions, McTernan overheard the band's guitarist listening to Moments in Grace's early demo CD.
"I was like, Holy shit, who is that?'" McTernan recalls. "Jeremy's voice was unbelievable. I just couldn't stop listening to it."
Impressed and moved by what he'd heard, McTernan reached out to the young band, with an eye towards signing them to his new Salad Days imprint. He flew down to St. Augustine, Florida to see them play live, and while he was intrigued with their provocative sound, it was clear Moments in Grace was still in its embryonic stage. It wasn't until drummer Tim Kirkpatrick (formerly of prominent hardcore outfit As Friends Rust) was drafted into the fold that the band began to truly gel into something special.
The four musicians knew they had found their fire after penning the yearning, anthemic "Stratus." "It really set the tone for what we wanted to do with the band," says Griffith. "Recording it was awesome as well. We rented a Hammond B3 organ, which is really cool to get to play. We also brought in a string section, which took the song to a whole other place."
On April 18th 2006, the band posted a blog on their Myspace page saying that they "had decided, after extensive touring and promotion for our album "Moonlight Survived", to take a rest from the band. Did we break up? Not officially, there's always a chance that Jeremy, Tim and I will write music together again (touring? no.). However, we're all very much wrapped up in our own separate lives at this point."
As of 2009: Tim is currently living in Hollywood, CA and recently played drums for an As Friends Rust reunion tour in Europe. Jeremy lives in Atlanta, GA and records all sorts of great bands. Jake lives in St. Augustine, FL and is currently playing bass for Frodus, and singing/playing guitar in The Eastern Wave. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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