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Bet on another hit by Gavin DeGraw
By John Benson
A decade and a half after he first emerged on the music scene, singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is still enjoying one heck of a chariot ride.
The multiplatinum artist arrived in 2003 with No. 1 hit “I Don’t Want To Be,” from his debut effort, “Chariot.” The tune garnered national attention after it was used on television show “One Tree Hill.” From that point on, DeGraw has enjoyed a slew of radio songs, including “In Love With A Girl,” “We Belong Together,” “Not Over You” and “Best I Ever Had.”
Now DeGraw returns with his fifth studio effort, “Something Worth Saving,” which features top 20 Hot AC single “She Sets the City on Fire.”
After spending the last few years traveling the globe opening for Billy Joel, DeGraw is teaming up with Andy Grammer (“Honey, I’m Good,” “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah),” “Back Home” and “Keep Your Head Up”) for a fall tour that comes to Warren’s Packard Music Hall on Tuesday.
The Vindicator talked to DeGraw about his new album.
Q. Congrats on “Something Worth Saving.” How did you approach the album?
A. Every record is me just trying to outdo the last one. I worked with a lot of different people so the record is diversified. And some of the stuff sounds really fresh. Almost unexpectedly, some of the stuff sounds like the type of thing you would have gotten from the very first record, “Chariot.”
Q. Can you give us an example of a song sounding like it’s from “Chariot?”
A. I’d say the title track. There’s a real innocence in the approach and songwriting of that particular song. It’s a classic ballad in a lot of ways. Doing a bunch of those Billy Joel dates, listening to him so often and watching him play, I think it really kind of got in my DNA that much more. I wrote a bridge that would be really reminiscent of tipping the hat to Billy because he’s like my hero.
Q. Conversely, what’s a song that marks a new direction for Gavin DeGraw?
A. Something like the current single, that’s absolutely a step toward the most modern thing that I could do. That’s certainly unexpected from me but at the same time, it also suits what I’m doing without making my fan base go, “Whoa, what the hell? Where are you going?” I think that song has a freshness about it that’s really a step toward the future. But I have to straddle that line. I think it’s making the shows that much more dynamic by throwing those curve balls out there musically.
Q. How did having incredible success with your debut effort affect the rest of your career?
A. When the first record came out, I wasn’t feeling success right off the bat. I was really fortunate to have a TV show pick up a song. The placement of that song really helped us build a story to take to radio. But without that show giving me a shot, I don’t think we ever would have gotten radio. And then over the course of time I got my butt kicked for a little while and then got lucky again with another (hit) single. Then I got my butt kicked for another while and was lucky again with another single. I think that’s just part of the journey. It’s an exciting characteristic of the music business. Granted, it’s the most expensive lottery ticket out there with the time and money, but man, I like the gambling element of it.