Wayne Grajeda
- Chameleon
Bestellnummer: 05-0020
VÖ 2005
1. |
When the nighttime comes |
2. |
Chameleon |
3. |
Private property |
4. |
Good intentions |
5. |
He rides the Bakerloo |
6. |
Galahad |
7. |
You´ve got that girl |
8. |
Snap Zoom |
9. |
Maybe I love you |
10. |
Hold the line |
Wayne Grajeda began
developing his melodic rock style in the music clubs and studios of
his home town Los Angeles. It was there that, as a member of the
band Eastfield Meadows, he signed a record contract with VMC Records
and released his first album. Among the players on the sessions were
Kent Henry, lead guitarist from Steppenwolf, and Mike Botts, famous
for his drumming with Linda Rondstadt, among many others.
Wayne•s early travels led him to Munich, Germany. There he began
performing in what would become countless clubs and concerts
throughout Europe. When he was offered the understudy part of Jesus
in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar he headed for the then •walled
city• of Berlin to join the cast. After the show lowered it•s final
curtain he decided to stay. In Berlin Wayne is still known as being
a member of the Hagelberger Street Group, a collection of singers,
songwriters and musicians who acquired their name from the
celebrated Hagelberger Strasse 14 address where many of its founding
members once lived. These artists performed every night of the week
until the wee hours of the morning during some of the most exciting
years of the city•s music scene. In 1996 many of them, including
Wayne, reunited to collaborate on an essentially •live in studio•
album titled "Hagelberger Street • Americans In Berlin". Recorded in
Los Angeles, Toronto and Berlin, the CD and accompanying booklet,
containing personal stories about Berlin written by each of the
songwriters, capture much of the intimate sound and atmosphere of
that unique period.
The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper wrote: •HAGELBERGER STREET• IS NOT
ONLY A FINE COLLECTION OF HIGHLY-CRAFTED ACOUSTIC-SONGS, IT IS ALSO
A DOCUMENT OF A TIME WHEN, BETWEEN TWILIGHT AND THE EARLY MORNING
GREY, GREAT MUSIC RANG FROM SMALL STAGES.
Not long after arriving in Berlin Wayne teamed up with singer/songwriter
Tom Cunningham and, armed with a demo they recorded with then Donna
Summer producer Pete Belotte, headed for England. One night Gerry
Rafferty•s manager Ray Williams and legendary songwriter/producer
Jerry Lieber saw the duo perform in London. Within weeks Williams
and his partner Robert Wace, who had guided the career of the Kinks,
became their managers, had helped them form a band and got them
signed to a world-wide recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.
The group subsequently recorded an album with the Who•s producer,
Shel Talmy. A single written by Wayne titled "Just Like In The
Movies" was released. It seemed the hard work had paid off and a
dream had been realized but after playing shows that included dates
in Germany, Italy and England the members succumbed to the
inner-band trials and tribulations suffered by so many music groups
and they disbanded in disappointment.
Wayne returned to Los Angeles where he continued to perform and
write music. In subsequent years he collaborated with musicians who
had played with the Doobie Brothers, David Bowie•s, Bonnie Raitt•s
and Bruce Hornsby•s bands. In the mid-nineteen eighties Wayne also
began a career in television production and composed music for a
number of television programs.
During the 1990's Wayne began once again to work with music talents
he originally met in Berlin, most notably songwriter Robert
Williams. Together they performed frequently in Los Angeles and
Germany and recorded an album called "Staytrue Street". The title is
another reference to their shared past. One of the favorite haunts
of Berlin•s music denizens was a club called Go-In. Presenting acts
every night of the week until at least four in the morning, it was
located at Bleibtreu Strasse 17. Bleibtreu can be loosely translated
to mean •stay true•. Two songs from the album, William•s "Jumbo•s
Clown Room" and Grajeda•s album title track "Number 17 Staytrue
Street", are surrealistic portraits in sound of the strange,
seductive and beautiful inhabitants of Berlin•s renowned decadent
nights. A world that, once drawn in, like so many others, neither
artist could ever fully leave.
Der Tagespiegel newspaper wrote: THE DUO WAYNE GRAJEDA AND BOB
WILLIAMS CONVINCE WITH BEAUTIFUL SONGS, A DENSE GUITAR SOUND AND
IMMACULATE TWO VOICE HARMONIES•
As if to prove the point in 2002 Wayne departed Los Angeles and
returned to Berlin to live. He continues to perform, compose and
record music. In 2006 Wayne completed a new solo CD titled "Chameleon",
which is available on the Bluebird Café Berlin Records label, and
produced an album for fellow •Hagelberger• songwriter, Francis
Serafini. At the same time he remains fully active in television
work, producing, writing and directing for both American and German
television production companies.
For more information about Wayne go to his
website: http://www.waynegrajeda.com/ |