A member of Terrible Parade in the ’80s and Jehova Waitresses in the ’90s, Alan Grandy was a major catalyst in Cleveland’s flourishing 90s folk rock scene with his Sound of the Sea record label. His early compilations They Pelted Us With Beads and Flowers and Field Day gathered some of the top area artists in that genre and he released efforts by many of the scene’s biggest names.
Since then he’s continued to make music with ensembles such as Sputnik, Fits of Hail, and now, The High Season, which he’s released on the Sounds of the Sea banner.
He’s just released the self-titled, ten-song debut of The High Season, a duo featuring himself on vocals and various instruments and long-time music-making buddy Jef Harmon on drums and “harmon-y.” (Harmon was also in Jehova Waitresses and Sputnik.) According to their own description, “The High Season debut combines thoughtfully bittersweet and cutting yet often humorous lyrics with harmonies
and instrumentation inspired by the mountain music that swept through early ’50s Nashville.” It features songs by Grandy with the exception of a cover of “una pistola per ringo” by Ennio Morricone. Unlike the hardcore honky tonk of Cleveland’s Cory Grinder and the Playboy Scouts, who also just released new music, there’s a strong strain of rockabilly (“Right Where You Left Me”) and, not surprisingly, folkie indie rock (“Big World”), as well as hardcore honky tonk such as the spirited “Rhythm on Time.”
Check it out here.