Wakey Wakey (formerly known as ''Wakey!Wakey!'') is an

adult alternative An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

pop group fronted by Michael Grubbs and based in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

. Michael Grubbs is also known for his role as "Grubbs" on One Tree Hill, where the band's music has been featured. They reached critical acclaim with their 2010 release,'' Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You'' which reached No. 1 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

's Heatseekers Chart.

History

Michael Grubbs was born and raised in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and began his career as a musician at the age of 5, taking lessons from his mother, a long time piano and choir instructor. Earlier influences included the church music he was forced to practice as rudiments, as well as classical composers such as Brahms, Bach, and Beethoven. As a teenager, Michael discovered the song books of the likes of

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

as a more culturally relevant counterbalance to his classical canon. Following a few early ventures into performance, Grubbs spent time with two touring musicals -

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song "Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a m ...

and

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

- standing out both for his technical ability as well as his exceptional aesthetic. Grubbs came to

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 ...

in 1998 and soon came to be an understudy of the notable Lach, one of the main proponents and founding fathers of the

Anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, an ...

movement in New York's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, from whom he learned to channel energy and inspiration from what he characterized as a repressed background into a style of music that was more accessible to today's audience. As an active member of this movement he came up alongside the likes of

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

and

Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song "Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...

. His greatest musical break came from meeting

Mark Schwahn Mark Schwahn (born July 5, 1966) is an American former screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the WB/ CW teen drama series '' One Tree Hill''. His career largely ended in 2018 following widespread sexual harass ...

, critically acclaimed

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

drama series, '' One Tree Hill''. After being introduced to Schwahn and playing for him at an open mic in New York City, Grubb's song ''War Sweater'', the title track from his ''War Sweater EP'', was featured on the finale of ''One Tree Hills sixth season. Following that placement, Schwahn offered to give Grubbs cameos on the show to promote a new record including performances of his songs ''Brooklyn'', ''Light Outside'', and ''Almost Everything''. Wakey!Wakey! signed with The Family Records, a Manhattan based independent record label, under which they released their full-length debut album ''Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You...''. The group has since signed with

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping ...

and released the EP ''Homeless Poets'' in 2015 and full-length album ''Overreactivist'' in 2016.

Discography

*''Silent as a Movie'' (2007) *''Wakey!Wakey! Wednesdays'' (2008) *''The War Sweater EP'' (2009) *''Brooklyn/Manhattan'' (2009) *''Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You...'' (2010; used as title of season 7 finale episode of '' One Tree Hill'') *''Dance So Good/Great Lake Love'' (2010) *Irresistible EP (2014) *Salvation (2014) *Homeless Poets EP (2015) *Overreactivist (2016) *Strange is Beautiful EP (2018)

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Musical groups from Brooklyn One Tree Hill (TV series) characters The End Records albums