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Grady is a Southern rock band based in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.


History

Grady originally consisted of Canadian vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson (known as Grady Johnson as part of the band), Canadian bass guitarist "Big" Ben Richardson, and
Chris Layton Christopher Layton (born November 16, 1955), also known as "Whipper", is an American drummer who rose to fame as one of the founding members of Double Trouble, a blues rock band led by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Te ...
on drums. Prior to Grady, Johnson was the frontman for
Big Sugar The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate climate ...
, Layton was the drummer for
Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...
's Double Trouble rhythm section, and Richardson was with The Jeff Healey Band and The Phantoms in Toronto. Grady often plays at The Continental Club in Austin, did an eight stop Canadian tour in March 2005, and appeared at the University of Regina to play a free show in September 2005. This was followed up by a full-length album called ''Y.U. So Shady?''. The band released "Hammer In My Hand" as a single from the album, which was a moderate hit on Canadian radio, peaking at #14 on Canada's Rock chart in 2005. After the issue of a second album, A'' Cup of Cold Poison'', Grady made two extensive tours to Canada early in 2008. The band caught the attention of Jello Biafra of the
Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...
who released ''Y.U. So Shady?'' in the United States. Chris Layton was replaced on drums by Billy Maddox in early 2006. Maddox was also a veteran of the Austin music scene, having played with The Electromagnets, Alien Love Child and The Eric Johnson Band. In 2006, Grady shot a video for “Woman Got My Devil” which was played in Canada on
MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic with ...
. Produced by Michael Maxxis and directed by David Hogan, the video features Witchbaby from A&E's '' Rollergirls'', as well as a number of other Rollergirls in supporting roles. It was shot in Luck, Texas, an 1800s Western town owned by
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
. In 2007, Grady released their second album, entitled ''A Cup of Cold Poison'', which was recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio. The album features appearances by Willie Nelson,
Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...
and Ron Hynes. The band released a single for "You’re What’s Happening Baby". In September 2007 drummer Billy Maddox left Grady due to a pre-existing health condition. The band began touring again in November 2007 with a new drummer, Nina "The Queena" Singh of Austin-based band Kitty Gordon. Grady's next full-length album, ''Good As Dead'', was released in Canada on C12 Records in 2009. The album contains a cover version of
The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...
's "Boots or Hearts", which Gordie Johnson described as "volatile", as well as the eponymous "Good as Dead", penned by Johnson. The record showcases the "Cowboy Metal" sound and features backup vocals by drummer Nina Singh. In April 2010, Gordie Johnson made his directorial debut when he wrote and directed the video for "If I Was King" on location in Texas. It is dedicated to Johnson's lifelong friend, comedian Eric Tunney. Grady released the live DVD/CD during the "Calling All My Demons" tour in Fall 2010. Footage for the DVD was requested by Gordie Johnson from all in attendance at Grady's October 2009 show at the Pyramid Cabaret in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Manitoba. On Dec 27, 2010, Billy Maddox was killed in a tragic freak shooting in his house. In August 2011 drummer Nina "The Queena" Singh left Grady to join
Court Yard Hounds Court Yard Hounds were an American country music and folk duo, founded by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks. The sisters decided to record a side project under ...
. Drummer Trinidad Leal from
Dixie Witch Dixie Witch is a Texas-based hard rock trio formed by guitarist Clayton Mills, drummer/vocalist Trinidad Leal, and bassist/vocalist Curt Christensen in 1999. The band released their self-produced album ''Into the Sun'' on Brainticket Records in ...
has been working with the band since. While considered an "American" band by location of establishment, most members of Grady are Canadian.


Discography

* ''Y.U. So Shady?'' (2004) * ''A Cup of Cold Poison'' (2007) * ''Good as Dead'' (2009) * ''Calling All My Demons'' ive(2010)


References


External links


Grady
official website
Interview with Grady's Big Ben Richardson

Interview with Grady's Gordie Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grady Alternative Tentacles artists Hard rock musical groups from Texas Texas blues musicians Musical groups from Austin, Texas