San Francisco has always been the home of free-spirired musicians. The Summer Of Love started here amd the city played a crucial role in the development of thrash metal. The local scene is still thriving there with bands like Neurosis, Giant Squid, Black Cobra and Deafheaven being the pulse of everything experimental and cutting edge. Another great outfit is Grayceon who just released a brand new EP, entitled Pearl And The End Of Days. Raymond Westland had a very friendly chat with vocalist/cellist Jackie Perez Gratz. She talked candidly about the new EP, how becoming a mother has changed her outlook on life, and her music career and many other things.
Grayceon is based in San Francisco, a city renowned for being a haven for creative souls. How does SF influence the music of Grayceon?
San Francisco residents have a freethinking, do-what-you-want kind of attitude. People tend to live their lives without much care as to what everyone else thinks about them, whichbreeds a very unique collection of individuals. Grayceon embraces a similar thought process behind our musical collaboration. Max, Zack, and I don’t care much about what other people think about our music or us. Either you dig it or you don’t, and I’ll be the first to admit it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Our songs don’t fit in any specific genre, which is ok by us. Individually, our riffs fit into a myriad of different genre buckets, but we don’t mind that either. We just write and let our creative juices flow naturally, which is very much the vibe of the city.
Graceyon have already released three full length albums. So why did you guys decide to release an EP? Is there a proper-full length album in the works?
These two songs were written at the same time, and it felt like they wanted to be on their own album from the beginning. They are kind of the yin and yang of each other, so it didn’t seem right to put them on a full-length with a bunch of other songs. I can’t remember at what point in the process we started talking about releasing them as a vinyl EP, but we have always wanted to do a 12” record, and the music seemed to want it. When I hold it in my hands, I feel like Grayceon’s music is finally on the format it was always meant for. As for a new album, yes, we have one in the beginning stages. Three songs are already underway, and they are all under five minutes. In fact, I just got a text from Max saying he’s got six new riffs, so I think our fourth new song just got started!
Compared to your previous output, Pearl And The End Of Days seems lighter in spirit—a little more positive and upbeat, if you will. What brought around this change? Would this be a blueprint for future Grayceon releases?
The EP is more light-hearted than our past releases, but it’s not necessarily the way our next album will sound. ‘End of Days’ is about the end of the world, so I wouldn’t say that is too much lighter! The new songs are upbeat, but still have a darkness and aggressiveness to them like ‘Dreamer Deceived’ and ‘Shellmounds’ from All We Destroy. Since the whole album isn’t finished I can’t say what the overall feel will be, but so far it is sounding heavier and faster than previous offerings.
Grayceon draws influences from many different styles of music, yet it all sounds wonderfully cohesive. What’s your secret?
It’s positively difficult to put some of our songs together without sounding like experimental composition. I’m not sure it’s a secret, but we tweak for hours on bridging between parts, making the stops and starts meaningful, not overkilling a riff just because we enjoy playing it, that kind of stuff. This and methodically laying out the vocals contributes to the cohesiveness. I’m glad you think they are cohesive, because sometimes I wonder! Critics have described our music as sounding like Czechoslovakian polka, Neurosis-like semi-dirges, and Nyquil infused Foo Fighters. So, ok—I don’t know what any of that sounds like, but it sounds like it might be really interesting music to listen to!
What do you remember most vividly of the writing and recording sessions for Pearl And The End Of Days?
I was pregnant for most of the time period we were writing these songs, so there are a lot of things that were different because of that. Zack would pick me up and take me to practice in his gigantic beer delivery truck from work, because I couldn’t ride my bike and parking at night was really hard in my neighbourhood. That was very sweet of him and memorable. I also remember that my threshold for volume was much lower than normal so we wrote these songs at a much quieter volume than we usually do. And I couldn’t play the last couple of months because my belly was so big it got in the way of holding my instrument! Max and Zack were troopers though, and they took good care of me. The most memorable thing about recording was that we tracked in an enormous wood shop next to the recording studio, with lines being passed through the walls. It gave us a giant drum sound and it was fun to look at all the furniture in various stages while we tracked.
Some time ago you became a mother. How did that influence the way you approach your music and being a musician in general?
Being a mother is tough work, and I so admire all the women who can be moms and still pursue their own careers and dreams. Motherhood is also one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever known, so the sacrifices made are worth it. Honestly, I don’t think having Pearl has changed my approach to music or being a musician. but it is completely time-consuming and exhausting! I find myself not wanting to play or practice as much because I need/want to be with Pearl or would rather be sleeping! Motherhood has made my ego fairly small, which has somewhat lessened my ambition. I am still very passionate about what I do, I just don’t feel like I need to drop everything to do it all right now. The urgency is gone, so my musical path is a lot more slow going now. But like I said earlier, it is worth the sacrifice.
Experimentation and challenging musical boundaries is another thing that sets Grayceon apart from the rest. How important is it for you to constantly push creative boundaries?
It’s not intentional so I’m not sure it’s important to us per se. We don’t sit in a room and try to figure out how we can push the boundaries. But we like to challenge ourselves because it’s much more fun. A part of that is doing things we have never done. We have always said that Grayceon sounds like whatever the three of us can pull off, so as long as we keep coming up with new ideas we will try to execute them to the best of our ability. I think that our instrumentation and the various things we each bring to the table is a dynamic mix that already sets us up to be different. Our love of many styles of music, Max’s fingerpicking and oddball tuning, Zack’s frenetic sensibility with his drums, the fact I chose to play the cello instead of the bass when I was young; all these things make our music a little eccentric, but in a good way.
Would you guys consider playing in Europe at the Roadburn festival for instance?
Yes, of course! We would love to play Roadburn; we’re just waiting for the invitation. We toured Europe with our friends Jucifer in 2010 and had the time of our lives.
Sticking with the Roadburn theme, if you were the honorary curator of the festival which bands would you pick and why?
We would pick all the great bands from the SF Bay Area that we know and love because it would be an awesome show and so much fun to bring the whole scene abroad. Hammers Of Misfortune, Om, Sleep, Ludicra, Asunder, Worm Ouroboros, Giant Squid, Amber Asylum, Acid King, Neurosis, Black Cobra, Deafheaven, Botanist, and all the others I can’t think of off the top of my head.
Finally, what is next in terms of touring, albums and possible other projects?
Grayceon is planning on continuing writing our new album, which we will probably record next year. Max just started nursing school so we won’t be able to do much touring, but we’d love to play in Europe again sometime soon. I have been wanting to do a solo album or a duet with my partner (and Pearl’s father), Aaron Gregory, also of Giant Squid, but who has the time? Maybe we will solicit Pearl to play and we can have a family band!
Raymond Westland