THE HYPE FROM MODEST BEGINNINGS, GRANDADDY MATURES.Grandaddy's music may be good. It may even be great. But no matter what you think of the quintet's frequently gorgeous space-rock, the band is stuck with the world's worst selling point selling point n. An aspect of a product or service that is stressed in advertising or marketing. Noun 1. selling point - a characteristic of something that is up for sale that makes it attractive to potential customers - Grandaddy gran·dad·dy n. Variant of granddaddy. is the best band ever to emerge from Modesto. Modesto, that rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. town right in the heart of California's agricultural armpit arm·pit n. The hollow under the upper part of the arm below the shoulder joint, bounded by the pectoralis major, the latissimus dorsi, the anterior serratus muscles, and the humerus, and containing the axillary artery and vein, the infraclavicular part , the San Joaquin Valley Noun 1. San Joaquin Valley - a vast valley in central California known for its rich farmland Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes , is a hot, arid hour's drive from sinful Sacramento. Although band leader Jason Lytle and his fellow Grandaddies hail from the place, the group's biggest stronghold is Europe, particularly England, where Grandaddy is nearing headliner status. ``We started touring extensively over there early on, and the playing sort of came together,'' Lytle says. ``I think we must come across as an oddity in a country dominated by dance music and indie rock Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent underground music scene. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with underground music as a whole, though more specifically implicates that the music meets the criterion of being rock, as .'' It all makes sense in a way since Lytle's desolate, graceful writing and fragile, otherworldly delivery is often likened to Radiohead. In fact, the band's acclaimed second album and major-label debut, ``The Sophtware Slump'' (V2), a delicate sci-fi suite dealing with lonely astronauts and melancholy androids existing in a dot-com landscape littered with discarded computer parts, touches on some of the same themes as Radiohead's ``OK Computer.'' The Brits got the picture. In the States, the word on Grandaddy - appearing tonight and Friday at the Troubadour troubadour One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. - is spreading at a far slower rate. ``It's paying off, but I do feel like we've been on the road for a long, long time,'' Lytle, 30, says with a sigh. Perhaps surprisingly, the guys just want to hang out at home - even if home happens to be Modesto, where Lytle maintains his recording studio in a building he rents next to a farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Ultimately, he says, it really doesn't matter where one lives today ``in this age of information transmission, parcel delivery and global-unification satellites.'' Still, he allows, he does sometimes consider moving away. ``I like the outdoors, the good, fresh air, the quiet,'' Lytle explains. ``But then there are times when I'd like to be able to go to a deli at 1 in the morning.'' - Fred Shuster GRANDADDY Where: Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. Blvd., West Hollywood. When: 8 tonight and Friday night. Tickets: $12. Information: (213) 480-3232. ``Why do people think that it's weird for me to be living with my mom? I'm 18. It's not like I'm 30.'' - Kirsten Dunst, appearing in the upcoming film ``Crazy/Beautiful,'' on her housing situation in an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) no caption (Grandaddy) |
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