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Originally from New Jersey, nowadays Grady Strange can be found churning out his own self styled brand of saltwater cowgirl rock n roll in Los Angeles, California.
Legend has it he was initially inspired to make music after scoring a garage sale 4-track tape recorder in Asbury Park, New Jersey, that once belonged to famed CBGB’s club owner Hilly Kristal.
Now firmly rooted in the Echo Park community of Los Angeles, Grady has recorded two stellar full lengths, an EP and a string of singles with his partner and frequent collaborator, Mackenzie Howe (aka Pet Dress) on guitar, sax and backing vocals.
Grady’s debut album, “Getting Stranger“, has been described by many as a high-octane rocket ship trip through the chaos of modern life, packed with electrifying hooks, blistering guitar riffs, and poignant reflections on the human experience. A rollercoaster ride of emotions, his debut captures the essence of our turbulent times with a sound that is equal parts fierce and introspective.
A key track in the success of “Getting Stranger” is the narrative song, “Karma’s A Gun”.
“The song is about feeling helplessly frustrated with the system. It was recorded in my kitchen to a 4 track tape machine that I got secondhand from the owner of CBGBs for $15 at a garage sale. The video is heavily inspired by Goodfellas and The Sopranos, complete with meatball subs and a full mobster ‘hit’ scene” – Grady Strange
Commenting on the various approaches he used to capture the magic of “Getting Stranger“, Strange remarked,
“My last EP was recorded by my friend Joel Jerome in a studio in his garage. So I was focusing solely on the performance and playing everything live with my drummer. Whereas I recorded and performed the whole new record by myself onto a 4 track tape machine and GarageBand at home. So that not only changes the sounds I’m getting but the process of recording for me. I just trusted Joel to get good sounds on the EP and only worried about my playing, and for the record I had to work really hard to find my own unique sounds. It also forced me to record every instrument separate and take my time, so I ended up focusing on the production for much longer. Months instead of days. I think the process made the songs sound more unique to my style, since I had to do it alone and got to spend more time with them. The themes and topics are similar. I’m never forcing myself to explore a certain new theme. It’s more so split up by the years I was writing the songs in. The EP reminds me of 2018 and 2019. And the album reminds me of how I was feeling in 2020. Some new topics and some showing a new perspective on an old topic” – Grady Strange
When asked by Toronto radio station Indie88 to describe the story behind the video for “Karma’s A Gun”, Strange said:
“I grew up with a very Italian grandpa who cooked a lot of big family meals, and he had a famous meatball. Delicious. His name was Fred DeCicco which I shouted out in the video. My family are all surfers and art lovers but dipped just a single toe into the world of guidos and guidettes because of our patriarch and his roots. After being gone from Jersey for a decade, I lost touch with that east coast Italian pride, but then in quarantine I watched the Sopranos and then rewatched all the classics like Goodfellas. When we finished I felt a big void in my life, and it was right around the time I was brainstorming some video ideas. This song was written about the system, but the heavy vengeful feeling of it fit well with a mobster storyline so I just ran with it. I wanted the styling and aesthetics of the Sopranos in the 90s in Jersey because it’s so nostalgic for me, but I wanted the direction and narrating aspect of Goodfellas because of how fun it is and how much it stands out. I talked to my friends like Ben Peterson who did the stunt scene and Kinsey D’Aquila who’s family owns the deli, and we bounced ideas and just did it”
– Grady Strange
Strange with Howe on guitar
Certainly a huge part of Strange’s unique imprint is due in no small part to his invaluable partnership with native Californian Mackenzie Howe who has her own inspiring world view. When speaking with web magazine Shoutout LA, Howe observed,
“Though I still identify as a musician I realize now that how you make money is not who you are, nor are you your creative outlet. When people ask me now “What do you do?” I often laugh, because I don’t know anymore! I make music under “Pet Dress,” I sell clothes under “Bandwagon Vintage,” and I style on the side. I make money in several different ways but truthfully what I love doing is finding/up cycling vintage, and playing music with my friends. My biggest success the last few years has been detaching from a title. I kicked and screamed for a while there, thinking “what will I tell people when they ask what I’ve been up to, if I’m not touring or in the studio?” But the ultimate issue is why do we need to have a success check-list when people ask that question? I am proud of the music I’ve made, and the ability to support myself, but I am most proud of my commitment to evolving, because it takes a ton of vulnerability” – Mackenzie Howe
Mackenzie Howe website: https://www.
Mackenzie Howe Instagram: https://instagram.
When asked, Grady Strange lists his influences as:
“Sonically I pull from everything from The Kinks to The B-52s to Beat Happening and more. All kinds of shit. I get really inspired by current artists who record themselves too. That makes me want to go get cool sounds in my room. This song specifically (“Karma’s A Gun”) was inspired by some Black Sabbath and probably Ty Segall. Most of the sound is just thanks to the cassette recorder I use. It gets the sounds I want that were so hard to find before” – Grady Strange
According to Grady his most recent album, “See You Later, Separator” has
“A little bit a this, a little bit a that, a whole lot of me just trying my best to express myself and not let comparisons and doubt and my evil screen get in the way!” – Grady Strange
If you can pull yourself away from your screen for just long enough, you will no doubt find yourself pulled into the seismic gravitational force that is Grady Strange’s non-formulaic angular power pop that bears the much needed freshness and sonic rebirth of a true New Wave we so desperately need today.
Many thanks to independent record label and lifestyle brand Perpetual Doom, makers of limited-edition album releases, vinyl, cassettes, Doomer apparel and home to curated DIY music, art, and video content www.perpetualdoom.com
Toronto Independent radio station Indie88, operating on 88.1 MHz, formerly used by Ryerson University campus community FM radio station CKLN-FM from 1983 to 2011 www.indie88.com
and Shoutout LA web magazine shoutoutla.com for providing invaluable resources for the writing of this article.