{"id":1090,"date":"2015-08-05T22:16:04","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T22:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2015-09-03T22:18:11","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T22:18:11","slug":"grace-album-embraces-literary-influences-from-poe-lovecraft-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/grace-album-embraces-literary-influences-from-poe-lovecraft-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace & Tony to release new album, “Phantasmagoric,” on September 25th; album embraces literary influences from Poe, Lovecraft, King"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

AUGUST 5, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

GRACE & TONY TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM,\u00a0PHANTASMAGORIC<\/em>,<\/strong><\/p>\n

ON SEPTEMBER 25th<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Album embraces literary influences from Poe, Lovecraft, King; \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

blends history and fiction into songs in Southern gothic style<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Husband-and-wife duo Grace & Tony are set to release their next album,\u00a0Phantasmagoric\u00a0<\/em>(a favorite word of Edgar Allen Poe\u2019s meaning \u201cout of this world\u201d) on September 25, 2015.\u00a0 Featuring 10 tracks that sound as if they belong in a macabre Broadway musical, the album is rife with dramatic tales of plagues, serial killers, mass suicide, Frankenstein\u2019s nameless creation and similar subjects so inherently theatrical that they\u2019d be right at home in a Sondheim or Brecht-Weill classic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Loretto, TN-based pair recorded\u00a0Phantasmagoric\u00a0<\/em>at Sheffield, AL (aka Muscle Shoals) recording studio Jimmy Nutt\u2019s Nutthouse. Nutt, who co-produced the album with Tony, was recommended by Tony\u2019s brother, John Paul White (of Civil Wars fame).\u00a0 \u201cJimmy really pushed our limits and got the most out of us,\u201d says Tony; that included putting the whole band together in the studio to give the album its very-much-live feel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Embracing literary influences from Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King, the duo blend history and fiction into songs that share equally vivid plot and musical twists. They call their current style \u201cSouthern gothic,\u201d and it\u2019s the next logical musical step for a duo known for mixing punk and bluegrass on past releases, most recently on the band\u2019s 2013 album,\u00a0November<\/em>.\u00a0 Their current sound finds the pair exploring a classically based, yet rootsy sound; they describe it as \u201ctheatrical, dark and epic.\u201d Their friend Andy Baxter, of Penny and Sparrow, quipped, \u201cIt\u2019s like if Tim Burton had a folk band.\u201d\u00a0Except\u00a0Phantasmagoric\u00a0<\/em>is far more orchestral than folk, even though it owes its storytelling sensibilities to folk and bluegrass traditions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of that comes from Grace being such a fan of English murder mysteries and getting in that mindset, that regal sound,\u201d says Tony. \u201cWhen you\u2019re writing a dark story, pairing it with something classical and proper makes it even darker.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace\u2019s mother read Poe to her as a baby and introduced her to mystery books, and then murder mysteries \u2013 Nancy Drew, Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels), Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, and old horror and monster films.\u00a0 This influence is clearly evident throughout\u00a0Phantasmagoric<\/em>.\u00a0 Take \u201cInvitation to an Autopsy,\u201d for instance. Grace\u2019s crisp, distinct lyrics and mandolin enfold cello and other strings as she narrates the \u201cSweeney Todd\u201d-like true story of Messrs. Burke and Hare, a pair of pre-Victorian-era gents who sold corpses for use in anatomy classes \u2014 corpses they created from living humans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam of Labour\u201d takes the perspective of Frankenstein\u2019s nameless creation. Tony\u2019s clear baritone drives that melody (he also plays guitars and keyboards), aided by Grace\u2019s mandolin and strings by bandmates Kimi Samson (first and second violin and viola) and Chris Wilson (cello, basses and sitar), who arranged the album\u2019s intentionally dominant strings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tony says the dramatic \u201cLullaby of the Red Death,\u201d influenced by Poe, suggested ebola to Grace, while \u201cThe Marsten Prologue\u201d and \u201cA Lot Dies Today\u201d are based on King\u2019s book, \u201cSalem\u2019s Lot.\u201d The album\u2019s first single, \u201cThe 1,\u201d tells a story of their own imagining, about a girl and her stalker, whom she decides she wants to meet. \u201cThe 2\u201d revisits the 1997 mass suicide known as Heaven\u2019s Gate.\u00a0 There is some leavening, however. They tell their love story in \u201c072713,\u201d their wedding date.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make something that was truly different,\u201d Tony says. \u201cSomething memorable. We really wanted to blaze trails \u2014 and make music that we would enjoy, with lots of layers, that would be as pleasing to the mind as it is to the ear.\u201d\u00a0Phantasmagoric\u00a0<\/em>is full of songs intended to make listeners question everything they\u2019ve ever known, and to remind them, says Grace, \u201cto think, smile, laugh and even cry,\u201d and most of all \u201cto dream \u2014 the wonderful way you dreamed when you were a child.\u201d\u00a0 The album will be available in the digital format; CDs will also be available via the group’s website, at shows, and at select retailers.\u00a0 A limited-run vinyl version will be available in November as well (via website, at shows, at select retailers).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next up?\u00a0 A book, \u201cGrace & Tony\u2019s Phantasmagoric Stories,\u201d which will feature tales from each song illustrated by U.K. tattoo artist Nick Devine. \u00a0The duo plans to tour in support of the forthcoming album as well; most of the time these days they perform as a quartet (rounded out by Pete Teselsky on drums and percussion and Chris Wilson on cello). \u00a0(See tour dates below; more dates to be added soon.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace & Tony Tour Schedule:<\/b><\/p>\n

8\/15 \u2013 Walla Walla, WA \u2013 Gentlemen of the Road Stopover Festival<\/p>\n

8\/17 \u2013 Portland, OR \u2013 Doug Fir Lounge<\/p>\n

8\/18 \u2013 Seattle, WA \u2013 Tractor Tavern<\/p>\n

8\/20 \u2013 Spokane, WA \u2013 The Big Dipper<\/p>\n

10\/10 \u2013 La Grange, TX \u2013 The Bugle Boy<\/p>\n

10\/14 \u2013 The Woodlands, TX \u2013 Dosey Doe<\/p>\n

10\/16 \u2013 Conroe, TX \u2013 Red Brick Tavern<\/p>\n

10\/17 \u2013 Dallas, TX \u2013 The Rustic<\/p>\n

www.graceandtonymusic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

www.facebook.com\/graceandtonymusic<\/a><\/p>\n

www.twitter.com\/graceandtony<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 5, 2015   \u00a0 GRACE & TONY TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM,\u00a0PHANTASMAGORIC, ON SEPTEMBER 25th   \u00a0 Album embraces literary influences from Poe, Lovecraft, King; \u00a0 blends history and fiction into songs in Southern gothic style     Husband-and-wife duo Grace & Tony are set to release their next album,\u00a0Phantasmagoric\u00a0(a favorite word … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Grace & Tony to release new album, “Phantasmagoric,” on September 25th; album embraces literary influences from Poe, Lovecraft, King”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1091,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skyemediaonline.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}