Girlyman was an American folk-rock band formerly based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, later based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Its 2003 self-released debut album, '' Remember Who I Am'', sold 5,000 copies before it was re-released by

Daemon Records Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

, the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

run by

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daem ...

of the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

. Girlyman described its musical style as "harmony-driven gender pop" and "leading-edge three-part harmony folk-pop," and enjoyed a strong following in the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

community. In late 2012, Girlyman took a hiatus from touring. Greenstein and Borofsky both began work on solo albums, while Muramatsu, Jones, and Borofsky announced they had formed a new group called Django Jones. Greenstein's album ''One True Thing'' and Borofsky's ''Every Wish'' were released in 2013. On September 11, 2013, Muramatsu announced that Girlyman had officially disbanded. In 2014, Django Jones released the children's album ''D is for Django'', and Greenstein announced a new musical act, Mouths of Babes, with her partner Ingrid Elizabeth.

Members

Girlyman had four members: * Tylan "Ty" Greenstein (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

) * Doris Muramatsu (

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and bluegrass banjo) * Nate Borofsky (

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

) * JJ Jones (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

). The founding members were Greenstein, Muramatsu and Borofsky. Before they came together, Borofsky was an award-winning singer-songwriter, while Greenstein and Muramatsu (best friends since second grade in Princeton Junction, New Jersey) were the award-winning duo The Garden Verge. In late 2010, Doris Muramatsu was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, which led to the band taking a brief hiatus. Jones was the drummer for

Po' Girl Po' Girl is a Canadian music group whose style derives from folk, country and jazz. The band evolved from a series of jam sessions, in 2000, between Trish Klein of The Be Good Tanyas and Allison Russell, then of Fear of Drinking. The two met up ...

, a group that frequently toured with Girlyman, before joining the group on January 3, 2010. According to the Girlyfan email update (signed by the entire group): "JJ Jones is an old friend and a fantastic drummer whom we've crossed paths with many times over the years, and when we finally got to play with her over the past couple months, something just clicked. Our sound got bigger and closer to what we had all imagined it to be for years." Jones and Doris Muramatsu were romantically involved.

Discography

Girlyman

*'' Remember Who I Am'' :Independently released in fall of 2003, re-released nationally September 7, 2004 on

. *''Little Star'' :Released May 24, 2005 on

. *''Joyful Sign'' :Released nationally on April 13, 2007, with a special edition released earlier to fans; ''Joyful Sign'' contains fourteen new original songs, was produced by Girlyman and Bob Harris, and features drummer Joe Chellman. *''Somewhere Different Now (Live)'' :Released nationally on May 1, 2008; includes previously unreleased songs, tuning songs, and banter from live shows. *''Everything's Easy'' :Released to pre-order customers in July 2009; release party and concert at

Eddie's Attic Eddie's Attic is a music club in Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 1992 by Eddie Owen, it is a venue for both local musical talent and musicians of some acclaim who often got their start in the Atlanta area. Artists who developed their fanbase at Ed ...

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

, on August 1, 2009. *''Supernova'' :Released to pre-order customers in November 2011; the CD became generally available on June 19, 2012; the release was supported by a number of shows. Compilation appearances *"Amaze Me" on ''Amaze Me: Songs in the Key of Peace'' (2003) *"Viola" on ''Sounds Like This ... Volume 3'' (2004) *"Young James Dean" on ''New Arrivals: Volume One'' (2006)

Pre-Girlyman

The Garden Verge *'' Shadow of a Habit'' (2001) Nate Borofsky *"Never Enough Time" on ''Oasis Alternative: Volume 16'' (date unknown) *"Beautiful Boy" on ''Can You Read This, Boston?'' (1999) *''500 Miles'' (1998) *''Powerball'' (Live EP) (1999) *'' Never Enough Time'' (2000)

Awards

*Winner, Boston Music Awards, 2001 – Best New Singer-Songwriter: Nate Borofsky *Winner, Outmusic Awards, 2002 – Best New Recording by a Duo, Group, or Band: The Garden Verge, '' Shadow of a Habit'' *Winner, Outmusic Awards, 2004 – Best New Album: '' Remember Who I Am'' *Winner, 3rd Annual Independent Music Awards, 2004 – Song, Folk/Singer-Songwriter "Viola *Winner, Outmusic Awards, 2006 – Outstanding New Recording-Duo or Group: ''Little Star''

Nominations

*Top Ten Finalist, Plowshares Songwriting Contest, 2004: Ty Greenstein *Nominee, 17th Annual

GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

2006 – Outstanding Music Artist: ''Little Star'' *Nominee, Outmusic Awards, 2006 – OutSong of the Year: "Young James Dean" *Nominee, Outmusic Awards, 2006 – Outstanding Producer: Bob Harris and Girlyman *Nominee, Outmusic Awards, 2006 – Outstanding CD Graphic Design: ''Little Star'' *Nominee, 7th Annual Independent Music Awards, 2008 – Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year: ''Joyful Sign''