Choate Alum Returns to Rock the SAC The Grayson Sanders Band Scheduled to Perform Soon
By Maddie Broder ’09
News Associate Editor
On February 8 at 8 PM on the SAC stage, The Grayson Sanders Band will perform at Choate. The year-old band is named for its lead singer and piano player, Gray, who graduated from Choate in 2006. The other band members are Alex Beckmann, drums; Jay Goodman, bass; and Dan Tirer, guitar.
The band started at NYU, where the members study as music majors. Goodman refers to the current members of the Grayson Sanders Band as “version 4.0.” The band phased out some of its younger members because of transportation issues, and the drumming position in particular saw a lot of movement. The band has remained unchanged since Tirer joined in the fall.
Although most of the members are studying jazz, “they all bring a wide range of influences to the group,” according to band manager James Thaler. He described the group’s genre as “John Mayer meets Radiohead.” Sanders admitted that Radiohead was one of his most admired bands, but he says the group isn’t trying to “be like anyone else.” The Grayson Sanders Band is more of a fusion of several different artists’ styles.
Momentum picked up for the band last February when they played their first show. Currently playing a few shows a month, and having broken into the prep school and college music scene as well, the band hopes to release a full-length album next fall. “The goal is to come out with a really professional product,” said Sanders. He noted that this product cannot come without “a long and arduous process.” The band has been recording for a couple of weeks so far and has already spent thirty-five hours in the studio.
The band members, however, still enjoy this time consuming process. “All the musicians in the group are fantastic,” said Sanders. Bassist Jay Goodman echoed his thoughts: “My favorite part about being in the band is getting to play with all these great musicians.” And while recording never runs flawlessly in the studio, Sanders noted that all the band members know when it’s time to “get an air break after arguing.” He finds it “very encouraging that we haven’t experienced more backlash in the studio, where many famous bands have broken up.”
“We feel like we’ve gotten past the first level of breaking out as a band,” commented Sanders. The band has moved from playing the worst time slot on the worst night of the week to playing in New York clubs such as The Bitter End, Spike Hill, Sidewalk Café, Sullivan Hall, and other venues. The band has also performed in Battle of the Bands. The band played its first prep school gig last year at The Hotchkiss School. “Playing at the prep schools is really fun,” said Goodman. “We always get really great turnout.”
Part of the band’s almost seamless functioning may be attributed to the members’ long histories with music. Sanders started playing classical piano when he was five years old. Frustrated as a middle school student with the rigidity and structure of the music he was playing, Sanders turned his focus to jazz. “It’s the venue where you can express your creativity,” he said. While at Choate, Sanders was part of a band called MEM, comprising five seniors all of whom were friends through Choate. Sanders, now a music composition major, has always written his band’s music.
Manager James Thaler was introduced to Sanders at Hotchkiss. “I was a student there and organized the Hotchkiss Music Festival,” said Thaler. “Mr. Yanelli suggested that I invite MEM and described their sound as ‘kind of like Coldplay.’”
Asked about band’s upcoming performance at Choate, Sanders said he felt that he is “coming home.” One of his favorite Choate memories is performing in the Chapel Basement a few weeks before graduating. “It was like a last hurrah for us. I’m hoping it will be exciting for the upperclassmen,” some of whom Sanders was a prefect during his own senior year. “We’re hoping that everyone will come out for a really relaxed show.”
As far as advice for aspiring Choate bands and musicians goes, “it sounds cliché, but be true to the artist you are and let the public take it or leave it,” said Sanders.
