A NEW BEGINNING: AN INTERVIEW WITH GAY SINGER/SONGWRITER
STEVE GRAND
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By Gregg Shapiro
hen it comes to album titles, gay singer/songwriter, Steve Grand, came up with a good one for his second album, Not the End of Me (www. stevegrand.com), on which Grand deals with his pre-sobriety downward spiral, is definitely fitting. Facing his demons head on, Grand has written some of his most visceral songs for this album (check out “Disciple”). Nevertheless, Grand knows his fan-base well enough to also include the kind of songs his devoted followers will appreciate, as in the case of “You or the Music”. We spoke about the new album and his newfound clarity in July 2018, while Grand was doing his Provincetown residency. Gregg Shapiro: When we spoke in late spring 2017, I asked you about being “laser-focused” on your second album and you mentioned having just written and recorded a chorus, as well as the production work you were doing. How much of what you were creating at that time ended up on what is now Not The End of Me?
Photo by William Dick
Steve Grand: [At that time] I think I was really refining my song “Safe and Sound” which is on the new record, track number five. I was hoping to get the album all done before I got to Provincetown (in the summer of 2017). I was going to do a shorter version of an album. But it’s such a time commitment being out here and promoting the show. I was flying out on the weekends, so I didn’t have any time to record.
GS
One of the first things I noticed about the songs on Not The End of Me is that you are doing different things with your voice, for example the gorgeous vulnerability of “Can’t Go Back”. Can you please say something about that?
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