Grandaddy was an indie rock group from Modesto, California, United States. Contents Biography Discography Self-released albums Studio albums Compilations Contributions EPs Singles Split singles References External links Biography Jason Lytle, frontman of Grandaddy, live in London, 1998 Jim Fairchild, lead guitarist of Grandaddy, live in concert Grandaddy was formed in 1992 by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. In 1995, guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden joined the band. The band's musical style often combines experimental electronic sounds with elements of folk and rock. Lyrics generally focus on isolation in a high-tech world grafted onto rural America. Common themes in the band's music are wildlife, obsolete technology, robots, incompetency and heartbreak. Lyricist Jason Lytle spent time working in a sewage treatment facility, which heavily influenced many of the songs on The Sophtware Slump. Around the time that The Sophtware Slump was released, Grandaddy was invited to open for Elliott Smith on his tour for Figure 8. On some nights, Smith would join Grandaddy onstage and sing lead vocals on portions of "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot". "A.M. 180" from Under the Western Freeway was featured prominently during a sequence in the 2002 British film 28 Days Later, and is also used as the title music for the BBC Four series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe and for an advert for Colin Murray's BBC Radio 1 show. As of April 2008, "A.M. 180" also is being used in television commercials for the Dodge Journey automobile. Starting in late 2005, the Grandaddy song "Nature Anthem" could be heard in a Honda Civic Hybrid television commercial and is currently heard in a Coca Cola commercial. On January 27, 2006, Jason Lytle announced that the band had decided to split up. This was partially due to their work ethic in not releasing music on major labels or playing at typical Ticketmaster/Clear Channel sponsored venues. Lytle spoke to NME: "It was inevitable...On one hand our stubbornness has paid off, but on the other hand refusing to buy into the way things are traditionally supposed to be done has made things worse for us... The realistic part is it hasn't proved to be a huge money-making venture for a lot of guys in the band." He also revealed that the band had a meeting in downtown Modesto during December 2005 to decide on the group's future. The meeting was tense and filled with the airing of grievances, but "far from blows." The feeling at the meeting was described by Lytle as the result of a breakdown in communication between the band members.[1] The band did not tour after the release of their final album, Just Like the Fambly Cat, though Lytle stated that he intends to continue making music, and embarked on a couple of quiet solo tours. He has moved from Modesto to Montana. In the spring of 2008, Lytle launched his own website http://www.jasonlytle.com/, stating that he is working on a solo album to be released in 2008. In September 2008, Lytle gave an interview on local radio station KGLT in Bozeman, Montana in which he stated that his solo album would be called Yours Truly, the Commuter and would be released "early 2009". The album was eventually released on May 19th, 2009 on the ANTI- record label. In April 2007 Jim Fairchild put out his first solo record on Dangerbird Records, entitled Ten Readings of a Warning, under the name All Smiles. He currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. He released the second All Smiles album entitled Oh For the Getting and Not Letting Go, on June 30 2009. Jim Fairchild has also played for the bands Giant Sand, Great Northern, Lackthereof, and Modest Mouse.[2] Jim Fairchild began playing guitar for Modest Mouse shortly after the breakup of Grandaddy in 2006; he continued playing with Modest Mouse again in 2009. Aaron Burtch is now in a band called The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit.[3] Discography Self-released albums 1992 Prepare to Bawl 1994 Recorded Live Amongst Friends And Fidget 1994 Complex Party Come Along Theories 1997 Live at the Art Factory Studio albums 1997 Under the Western Freeway 2000 The Sophtware Slump 2003 Sumday 2006 Just Like the Fambly Cat Compilations 1999 The Broken Down Comforter Collection 2000 The Windfall Varietal 2002 Concrete Dunes 2004 Below the Radio (songs by other artists compiled by Jason Lytle) Contributions 1997 Zum Audio Vol. 2 - "Ghost of 1672" 2000 It's a Cool Cool Christmas (XFM's benefit compilation album) - "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland" 2001 Trigger Happy TV Soundtrack to Series 2 - "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the pilot" 2002 I am Sam Soundtrack - "Revolution" 2002 28 Days Later: The Soundtrack Album - "A.M. 180" 2007 Acoustic 07 - "Rear View Mirror" EPs 1996 A Pretty Mess by This One Band 1998 Machines Are Not She 1999 Signal to Snow Ratio 2001 Through a Frosty Plate Glass 2005 Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla Singles 1994 "Could This Be Love" 1995 "Taster"/"Nebraska" 1998 "Everything Beautiful Is Far Away" 1998 "Laughing Stock" 1998 "Summer Here Kids" 1998 "A.M. 180" 2000 "The Crystal Lake" 2000 "Hewlett's Daughter" 2000 "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland" (Note: Promo single) 2000 "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" 2001 "The Crystal Lake" (re-issue) 2003 "Now It's On" 2003 "El Caminos in the West" 2004 "I'm on Standby"/"Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" 2004 "Nature Anthem" 2006 "Elevate Myself" Split singles "MGM Grand Single" (2000) (Note: Split single with John Wayne Shot Me) "Fishing Boat Song" (2000) (Note: Split single with Persil and Beachwood Sparks available with Devil in the Woods magazine) "The Rugged and Splintered Entertainment Center" (2003) (Note: Split single with The Polyphonic Spree) "Aisle Seat 37-D" (2003) (Note: Split single with Verbena available with Devil in the Woods magazine) References External links Jason Lytle Announces Solo Comeback Grandaddy official website (broken) Grandaddy complete illustrated Discography on the official website (broken) Grandaddy official message board (broken) Links and information about the band and its members' current work Grandaddy official music video for "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)" Official website for Jason Lytle Jason Lytle's MySpace page da:Grandaddy de:Grandaddy es:Grandaddy fr:Grandaddy ko:그랜대디 it:Grandaddy oc:Grandaddy pl:Grandaddy sv:Grandaddy

Source: Wikipedia.org