Burn The Afternoon by Grant Sparks

“The music I write doesn’t seem to fall into any one category but resembles many styles,” he says. I just try to write what I want to hear, and it’s not always mainstream material. I remember listening to an Abba tape in the tape player of my Mom’s 82 Pontiac. I thought the lyric “Take A Chance On Me” was “Chicken Chins On Me.” Either way, I was loving it. Later on I became so consumed by music and lyrics it was almost unhealthy. My early influences were the same as any other kid with a guitar. Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughan were at the top of the list. I also fell in love with all the old blues. Once again, pretty typical. It wasn’t until I started writing that I found a voice.

I think a listener should have a mental picture in their head after the first verse. Everything else just elaborates on that picture. Choruses and solos are just payoffs for listening. I like lyrics that are thick and sticky, common as a conversation and prolific as writing on a bathroom wall.

Most artists are always looking for that big break, or the moment or event that propels their music career into the stratosphere. I have learned that for the most part there is no such thing as a “big break”. Success is a series of little victories that are few and far between. Along the way are countless times of joy, heartache, and struggle often referred to as mileage. Not just the struggle to be successful, but the struggle to satisfy my own expectations. I’ve got a little mileage and I’ve won a few victories and it has always been worth it. Money and recognition ain’t always the best payoff. If I had to name my best little victory or my “big break” it happened at a restaurant called the Chalet on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was playing a gig in the bar doing covers and throwing in original songs here and there. As it turned out my current producer Bill Szymczyk had walked into the bar and had been listening for awhile. Later on we exchanged small talk and I eventually gave him an album of my original material. A couple of weeks later I went up to his house and played him some songs and we have been working together ever since. This album is a collaboration of my lyrics and music and his production. It’s pretty much that simple. Right place right time, maybe so. I like to think of it as two guys both looking for something new. I think we found it.

Listeners find that with Grant it’s not just about music, but passion. Passion for life, love and adventure. It creates a sense of longing and nostalgia. It grabs your attention, drenching it in desperation, leaving you saturated with emotions and thirsty for.

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