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GR: I enjoy both. When playing with other musicians on the stage, there is an energy and chemistry
that brings the music to a different level. It is fun to play off that energy. For me, there is more
pressure and nerves before I step on the stage to perform solo, but I enjoy the raw and undecorated
performances.
ND: How would you define your sound for someone who has not heard you?
GR: If you combine soul, blues, rock and roll, and little bit of country into a ball…that is me. I am
often asked how such a big voice comes out of such a tiny body. So, I guess you can say I serve up
that musical ball with some vocal power. I have been compared, vocally, to Etta James, Bonnie Raitt,
Janis Joplin, Melissa Etheridge, and Susan Tedeschi.
ND: Where do you get your inspirations for your songs?
GR: Everywhere. From my personal experience in life, my experiences with people and my views of
the world. ‘Stray Cat Blues’ from my second album was written for a little stray cat who wandered
up my driveway and into my life. The meows you hear at the end of the song are her meows. ‘Big
Oak Tree’ on my latest release was inspired by the huge oak tree standing just outside my bedroom
window. ‘Is it Today’ on my latest album was written for my 19-year-old dog who was dying. Yeah, I
am a big animal and nature lover.
ND: You have also won awards for your songs...
GR: Yes, I won two awards at the 2019 IndieCon,
Indie Originals Live Convention, held here in
Melbourne, Florida. My song ‘Fever’ from my
first album (Fly On) won for best blues song and
my song ‘You Lied To Me’ from my second album
(These Days) won for best blues vocal
performance. I feel very blessed that my latest
album, Help Wanted, is charting on the Roots
Music Report Top 50 Blues Rock Album chart and
a couple of songs off that album are charting on
the Blues Rock Song chart.
ND: There are a lot of positive messages in your
music...
GR: Yes, there are. That is because I am basically
a positive person. I believe if you can dream it
and envision it, and you work hard at it, you can
do it.
ND: Tell me the background to your new CD?
GR: My latest album, Help Wanted, was released in January of this year. I had previously released
my first album, Fly On, in April 2018 and my second album, These Days, in September 2018. I had
just started writing my own music a few months before my first album release and am making up
for lost time by releasing three albums in 3 years. I really did not have much direction as far as
where to go with my music after my first two releases. I just wanted to get my music recorded and
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