Grace Potter sounds relaxed and carefree as she speaks by phone from Los Angeles.
And why not? After all, the Vermont-based Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (GPN) have wowed major labels and critics alike with their bluesy roots rock.
“It’s weird when you turn that corner,” says Potter. “All the years when the work you are doing doesn’t seem like it will go anywhere.”
That certainly wasn’t due to lack of talent. Potter, who said the first words she ever spoke came out in melody, had been compared to everyone from Janis Joplin to Lucinda Williams even before the band’s recent release This is Somewhere.
The kudos and record company offers came quickly after GPN’s 2004 debut album Original Soul. But it was the sophomore effort, Nothing but the Water, which the band promoted through endless touring that really perked up ears including those of Rolling Stone’s David Fricke who wrote that Potter “is poised for bigger things.”
To ensure that Fricke’s prediction would come true, GPN carefully chose its label. They selected Hollywood Records, a label Potter said would work to develop their signature sound, not try to reinvent it.
Potter credits Mike Daly, the producer of This is Somewhere, with bringing GPN’s music to a different level. After the band recorded some demos, Daly spent a week with the members going through material. Afterward, Potter re-wrote lyrics and changed choruses, added bridges, and slashed entire sections.
“It was an emotional couple of weeks,” said Potter. “In the past, I’ve written a song and immediately added it to our repertoire without looking back.
The result is electrically charged rock, churning anthems, languid melodies, and some just-plain-good rock and roll; it’s impossible to do it justice in writing. As GPN’s publicists say when asked to describe it, "just insert and press 'play.'" It might be wise to add, go see GPN as they tour in support of the new CD.
“It is gonna get big, it’s gonna get crazy. We don’t have anything booked to play with the [Rolling] Stones yet, but we’ll take it slow and steady as we always have,” Potter said, then paused. “But it will get faster and bumpier too.”
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.