(MusicPortal.com) (05/18/06)

Edited By Michael Bennett

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - Like so much classic literature, art and poetry, 24-year-old GRAN BEL FISHER's circuitous journey from rural Sabina, Ohio to Los Angeles, California begins with something essential and ultimately inexplicable: life, love and death.

Those themes are movingly explored on his upcoming Hollywood Records debut album, "Full Moon Cigarette," due for release on July 18th, and are based wholly on personal experience. "The Littleton Funeral Home has been in my family since 1905," explains Fisher, who has grown accustomed to the barrage of questions about the family business.

"Our attitude was that it was a very normal occupation. Working there gave me a different perspective on things: I realized early on that everyone has the same reaction to death. Ultimately, I think working there made me more sensitive to life."

Indeed, "Full Moon Cigarette" finds Gran Bel Fisher's unique, life-affirming perspective fueled by his powerful and mellifluous voice, passionate songwriting, and consummate musicianship. Witness the title track, which opens with him playing a single piano note suddenly transformed into a complex piano fugue before exploding into a full-throttle Rock groove with his soaring baritone voice.

"The song is a reflection of my life," he explains. "I started thinking about how I see everything: life, love and death and those themes embody this entire album. The songs are inspired by my everyday realizations of life."

"Full Moon Cigarette" is also about Gran Bel Fisher's utterly original songs and brilliant voice, which transcend fleeting fashions and simple categorization. Baring this out are soul-stirring tracks like 'Edible,' with its melodically-addictive chorus and Fisher's multi-octave voice, 'Far Cry's emotive expression of dislocation and alienation, and 'Moment,' which builds from a gentle Delta Blues croon to a ferocious, primal roar.

Elsewhere, the ballad 'Bound By Love' explores the tension and release of heartache and solace, while the anthemic 'Crash And Burn' showcases Gran Bel Fisher's accomplished piano playing while simultaneously "burning the whole place down."

To understand Fisher's multi-faceted references, one has to go back to Sabina, Ohio (est. population: 2,827), a single-stop light town and farming community nicknamed the "Eden of Ohio."

His idyllic childhood was filled with music as his mother and father (a gifted pianist) introduced Gran Bel Fisher and his three siblings to music. "Beginning in second grade we all took piano lessons," he recalls. Thus began an eclectic music education where everyone from Beethoven to Tom Waits ("my dad does the craziest impression"), Duke Ellington to Pink Floyd, and Glenn Miller to Janis Joplin found their way into GBF's musical collection.

By fifth grade the budding musician had written his first song, soloed in the church choir, and first heard -- or rather misheard -- his moniker. "My Great, Great Grandfather Granville Fisher Littleton founded the Littleton Funeral Home. I always thought my aunt had said his name was 'Gran Bel Fisher,' and it stuck with me. Something about it just clicked, and it created a special connection between my music and my roots."

By high school, Gran Bel Fisher had taught himself guitar and was recording original songs. In addition to acts like Led Zeppelin and Ben Folds further informing his music purview, leading roles in two musicals ("The Music Man" and "Brigadoon") helped him realize how much he enjoyed performing before audiences.

It was apparent, however, that the wunderkind's 80-person high school class couldn't contain or nurture his growing music talents. With his parents' blessing, Fisher transferred to Cincinnati's School For The Creative & Performing Arts. "It was like 'Fame,'" he says.

"I was living on my own in downtown Cincinnati, playing open-mics, recording on an 8-track, and my songwriting was evolving." With overwhelmingly positive feedback, Gran Bel Fisher left school to pursue music full-time, working in a restaurant and woodshedding dozens and dozens of new songs.

"I know this part is going to sound silly, but I swear its true" he says sheepishly. "One night I had this dream that I had to go to New York City. I told my dad about it the next day and he was like, 'You gotta go with your gut.'" Fisher then contacted a friend of friend who worked in the music industry.

"I showed up at their office with my guitar and started playing." And, what usually happens when Fisher performs live happened: people were blown-away. That led to a cross-country move to Los Angeles and a life-changing introduction.

"I met [producer and songwriter] Dave Bassett at a party and the next day I went to his house," Fisher recalls. "I played a few measures and he started playing along. I stopped mid-song and said, 'You're the guy!' In that moment I just knew. We had this unspoken musical chemistry I've never had with anybody else."

Within days, Bassett and Gran Bel Fisher recorded demo versions of 'Edible,' 'Moment,' and 'Do We Say Bye.' Demo in hand, Fisher played exactly one showcase at L.A.'s famed Viper Room before signing with Hollywood Records.

He signed his contract on November 12th, and by November 14th he went into the studio collaborating with Joey Waronker and Justin Meldal-Johnsen (who also play with Beck). Tracking then began at the legendary Sunset Sound, where seminal bands like Led Zeppelin and The Doors recorded. "One night I opened up this hidden room behind a wall where Jim Morrison did his vocals," Fisher explains. "It was very haunting."

The bulk of "Full Moon Cigarette" was made in Los Angeles and mixed in New York with Michael Brauer (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket), and the preliminary reactions have been excellent.

"Lyrically and musically this is the record I've always wanted to make," Fisher says. "The journey of making this album, even with some hard times and problems I ran into along the way, was really just a blessing in disguise."

Upcoming Gran Bel Fisher Tour Dates:

05/23 Alexandria, VA [Birchmere] (with Brandi Carlile)
05/24 Philadelphia, PA [Theatre Of The Living Arts] (with Brandi Carlile)
05/25 New York, NY [Bowery Ballroom] (with Brandi Carlile)
05/27 Chillicothe, IL [Summer Camp Festival - Camping Stage]
05/28 Chillicothe, IL [Summer Camp Festival - Piano Workshop]
05/30 Atlanta, GA [Variety Playhouse] (with Brandi Carlile)
05/31 Nashville, TN [Exit/In] (with Brandi Carlile)
06/02 Chicago, IL [Metro] (with Brandi Carlile)
06/03 Minneapolis, MN [Varsity Theatre] (with Brandi Carlile)
06/04 Omaha, NE [Mick's Music & Bar]
06/06 Indianapolis, IN [Murat Egyptian Room] (with The Fray)
06/08 Toledo, OH [Headliner's] (with Saving Jane)
06/10 Wooster, OH [Seattle's Coffee House] (with Josh Krajcik Band)
06/11 Millvale, PA [Mr. Smalls Theatre] (with The Fray)
06/13 Akron, OH [The Lime Spider]
06/14 Cleveland, OH [House Of Blues - Cambridge Room]
06/15 Cleveland, OH [House Of Blues - Cambridge Room]
06/17 Manchester, TN [Bonnaroo Music Festival]
06/20 Austin, TX [The Parish]
06/21 Dallas, TX [Gypsy Tea Room]
06/25 Boulder, CO [Fox Theatre]
06/29 Quincy, CA [High Sierra Music Festival]
06/30 Quincy, CA [High Sierra Music Festival]
07/01 Quincy, CA [High Sierra Music Festival]

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