Big Drop - OUT NOW!!
Stanford first picked up a trombone--or as he calls it, his "gateway" instrument-- when he was a kid. Bass, guitar and piano followed. His love for music led him to study at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. However, he ultimately abandoned his studies. "I realized that a degree in jazz performance really won't get you a hot cup of jack squat, " he says with a laugh. "In examining all the artists that inspire me and get my blood pumping, like Bob Marley, I realized school wasn't necessarily a big part of where any of them came from. I decided the only way to really school myself in music is to play music."
But his schooling did provide one career path; he and several of his fellow students formed a band called Townhall. In their few years together, they became something of a regional sensation, playing in front of up to 2, 000 people.
"I learned about being on the road and about the craft of songwriting and the craft of entertaining, " he says of his days in Townhall. "Even if it's just a six-inch platform, as soon as you step up on stage, just give them a show. When people buy a ticket, they want a piece of you in a sense and there's also something just in terms of respecting the tradition of all the great people who inspired me, like Tom Petty, who was the first artist I saw live."
Eventually, the members of Townhall grew apart and Stanford decided to go solo: "I found I was reaching people in a fundamentally deeper and more effective way when I would just play my songs with my guitar, " he says.
Confirmation of that fact quickly came when, through a little help from a fellow Philadelphian, Stanford landed his record deal. Stanford wrote "Heartbeat, " a tune also featured on "The EP, " with the aforementioned Tozer, another Philly boy best known for his work with multi-platinum sensation John Legend.
The set opens with "My Own Worst Enemy, " a mission statement of sorts about Stanford's relationship with an alternately loving and harsh mistress: music. "It's given me the greatest things. It's about the struggle of trying to make a life out of it, " he says. "When I was struggling, I'd start to think about my options and I really couldn't think of any so it always came back to music for me."
The EP's emotional center is "Downriver," a stripped-down song highlighting his ringing guitar work that was recorded live at Los Angeles' taste-making Hotel Café shortly after his arrival in the City of Angels, where he currently lives.
"That's a real important song for me," he says. "It sums up that feeling of surrender, when I decided if I never make a dime from my music, I have to be okay with that because this is the path I've chosen. It was very liberating in a lot of ways. There's going to be rapids and obstacles, but the only way to reach the other side is to throw away your fears and go with the flow."
It looks like the Laundromat will have to wait.
music
Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Manu Chao, Cannonball Adderly, The Band, John Lennon, Hank Williams, Lee Morgan, Bjork, Randy Newman, Thriller. Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding to Outkast, Beatles to Buddy Guy, and everything in between. Ray Charles, George Jones, Smokey Robinson, Merle Haggard, Fleetwood Mac. Musiq soulchild and recording studios. I love old r&b and country records. Elvis, Shuggie Otis, and Frank Sinatra. Sam Cooke, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly. the music that rock and roll evolved from. Sounds like a good party, no? This list goes for days. Some early musical memories: hearing mom and dad sing old country songs in harmony, getting teased by an older brother for singing along to Aretha Franklin's "You make me feel like a Natural Woman, imitating Elvis, and freaking out at the Dire Straits' "I want my Mtv" video. First rock concert was Tom Petty at the spectrum, which would forever warp his impressionable young mind.
Band Members
George Stanford
Influences
Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Manu Chao, Cannonball Adderly, The Band, John Lennon, Hank Williams, Lee Morgan, Bjork, Randy Newman, Thriller. Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding to Outkast, Beatles to Buddy Guy, and everything in between. Ray Charles, George Jones, Smokey Robinson, Merle Haggard, Fleetwood Mac. Musiq soulchild and recording studios. I love old r&b and country records. Elvis, Shuggie Otis, and Frank Sinatra. Sam Cooke, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly. the music that rock and roll evolved from. Sounds like a good party, no? This list goes for days. Some early musical memories: hearing mom and dad sing old country songs in harmony, getting teased by an older brother for singing along to Aretha Franklin's "You make me feel like a Natural Woman, imitating Elvis, and freaking out at the Dire Straits' "I want my Mtv" video. First rock concert was Tom Petty at the spectrum, which would forever warp his impressionable young mind.
Website
georgestanford.com
Other Artists
Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Cannonball Adderly, The Band, John Lennon, Hank Williams, Lee Morgan, Manu Chao, Sly and the Family Stone, Bjork, Randy Newman, Thriller. Dave Chappelle, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding to Outkast, Beatles to Buddy Guy, and everything in between. Ray Charles, George Jones, Smokey Robinson, Merle Haggard, Fleetwood Mac, The Roots. Microphones, and recording studios. I love old r&b and country records. Elvis, Shuggie Otis, and Frank Sinatra. Sam Cooke, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly. The Sopranos, The Godfather, Deadwood. The music that rock and roll evolved from. Sounds like a good party, no? This list goes for days. Some early musical memories: hearing mom and dad sing old country songs in harmony, getting teased by an older brother for singing along to Aretha Franklin's "You make me feel like a Natural Woman, imitating Elvis, and freaking out at the Dire Straits' "I want my Mtv" video. First rock concert was Tom Petty at the spectrum, which would forever warp his impressionable young mind.
