Bluegrass + Punk = Punkgrass. I love it. How did this develop and what influences your songwriting as well as your playing?
Punkgrass was a very natural occurance for us. I (Tony) was coming out of a punk band called “What’s Below” out of Columbia TN. Grace was experimenting with bluegrass instruments, such as Banjo & Mandolin. When we met and fell in love, Punkgrass was born. It was just a combination of my Punk rock riffing and melodic style, with Grace’s writing background, poetry, short stories etc…we had a huge variety of musical influences, and just managed to get em all in there…without really forcing it.
I first heard about you guys at MusicTree Fest 2012 in Manchester. You guys have accomplished quite a bit since then. What has happened for you over the past months? Is there still a Glenrock Pistols or is it exclusively Grace & Tony now?
A lot has happened since the Music Tree Fest, mostly a whole lot of gigging. We got a nice boost when TCN (The Country Network) out of Nashville, started playing our video for “Let You Down.” And a lot of writing and recording. Oh…did I mention we are engaged to be married!? July 27!! As far as The Glenrock Pistols, that project came to an end once we realized the difficulty of keeping together a 4 piece band. (School schedules, day jobs, etc..) Strictly Grace & Tony now, we have all our musical energy and creativity flowing in one direction, and it feels good.
Holy Hand Grenade, Batman! What is the setting/location of the video for November? What led you to choose this location?
The setting for the November video was beautiful downtown Florence, AL. We just love the timeless feel of that town, and also kind of fed on the rich music history of the Shoals area in general. As for the indoor shots, they were shot inside of Rivertown Coffee House, in Florence. John Cartwright (owner) was nice enough to let us play in this venue when no one in Florence really knew who we were, and we were grateful. We thought it would be a nice way to showcase this wonderful place.
What role is the Internet and social media playing in your career and building and connecting with fans?
We are huge Social Media junkies. We’ve had to be. Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram…the works. We come from a county with basically zero music scene, outside of bar gigs for southern rock, or country cover bands. So we basically had to build our following one person at a time. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. We appreciate each and every person who has supported us from the very beginning, all the way up to this point. THANK YOU!!!!
What can we expect in the next 6 months from Grace & Tony?
The next 6 months are huge for us. Our first full length album titled “November” is set to release around the end of March tentatively, followed by a summer tour of England…then of course, Marriage:) Pretty life changing events to say the least.
Where can people find you and buy your music?
You can find our music on iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp, Spotify, CDbaby, or just check out our website at www.graceandtonymusic.com
Any last words or shout outs?
We would like to think our Villain Place family out of Nashville, TN. They take care of anything and everything for us….Recording, art direction, videos, management….you name it. Great people.
