Grace Askew

Artist Information

Biography

Grace’s technical jazzy/folk tinged style blends itself seamlessly with the Southern grace of her Memphis roots and the pure lyricism of an old-soul. She currently holds multiple licensing deals for an up-coming TV Pilot entitled "Tamara & the Scene," and for two up-coming Universal Studios motion pictures. Her discography now includes both her debut EP, ‘Wasted Lipstick’, and her newly-released sophomore EP, ‘Hawthorne’ (which features Grace with Groundspeak in an all-live, two-day, fourteen-hour session at Ardent Studios with Pete Matthews producing once again). She has embarked on several multiple-week-long tours starting in August of '09 (all solo) and performs weekly in Memphis with her full-band (Grace Askew & The Black Market Goods), with plans to hit the road together in Summer of '10.

A third and full-length album is currently set to be released in late February, 2010. This time around, the magic happens in the living room of Richard Ford's (of River City Bluff Clan) midtown bungalow/studio and will feature his artistry on lap steel, banjo, lead guitar, and mandolin. Stay tuned!!

Instrumentation

Current Band:
Grace Askew: vocals, rhythm guitar
Logan Hanna - lead guitar, lap steel
Andrew Simons - bass, upright & electric
Jesse Williams - drums & percussion

Discography

Wasted Lipstick EP (recorded at Ardent Studios and Leeway Studios, both in Memphis, TN with producer Pete Matthews). Available for purchase in several Memphis record shops and CDbaby.com

Track Listing:
1. Ripen
2. In 1,2,3
3. Good As Gold
4. Wasted Lipstick
5. Swoop Down

Hawthorne EP (can be heard on myspace.com/GraceAskew) and is available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Napster, and Rhapsody

Track Listing:
1. Baby Ain't My Name
2. You Make Me
3. Ramblin Rose
4. Under Memphis Skies
5. Mostly

Links

• Grace on Youtube
• Grace on Myspace

Audio

• Until They Lay Me Down to Rest
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• This New One
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• Baby Ain't My Name
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• You Make Me
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• Mostly
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• In 1,2,3
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• CD release: Beauty and all that jazz propel Grace Askew [+ Show ]
  

  Young singer-songwriter has designs on a music career By Mark Jordan Tall and striking, with a...Young singer-songwriter has designs on a music career
  
  By Mark Jordan
  
  Tall and striking, with a mane of curly black hair, Grace Askew has been getting a lot of attention for her looks, including a spot on The Memphis Flyer's "Memphis Hotties" list and a gig modeling in ads for local guitar maker St. Blues.
  "It was grueling," says Askew of the 10-hour shoot on locations all around the city. "Modeling's all right. I just feel I end up posing."
  Singer-songwriter Grace Askew is appearing in an ad campaign for St. Blues guitars. But if it's beauty that gets Askew's foot in the door, it's talent that propels her through. She got the St. Blues job as much for her reputation as a talented, rising artist as her appearance.
  "We wanted to use real artists in the ads," says St. Blues CEO Bryan Eagle. "It helps that when she holds a guitar, she looks like she knows what to do with it."
  In just four short years of performing live, the popular 21-year-old singer-songwriter has become respected across a wide spectrum of the music community. Tonight she releases her first CD, an effort backed by some of the biggest talents in the city.
  Askew is a sixth-generation Memphian and "proud of it." Her father, Mark Askew, is president of the engineering firm Askew Hargraves Harcourt, and her mother, Rebecca Askew, is an interior designer. Uncle Lee Askew heads the prestigious architecture firm Askew Nixon Ferguson.
  Despite her family's tradition, early on Grace was drawn more to sounds than spaces.
  "They're too detail-oriented," she says of her parents' careers. "I'm more abstract."
  Following the lead of her sister, Lillian, the "only other musical person in the family," Askew started playing guitar when she was 13, picking out Beatles and Joni Mitchell covers while writing her own little songs.
  Askew might have followed the path of countless female folkies if she hadn't had a teacher in high school who introduced her to jazz and Latin music.
  "I started discovering these major sevenths and minor sixths and all these crazy, complicated jazz chords," she recalls. "It opened this whole new door, like, 'that's the way I can be different.'"
  By the time she was 17, she was ready to start playing out.
  "My first gig was in a health food store, Guava Café," she remembers. "It doesn't even exist anymore. It was, like, out in Cordova. I played over the smoothie-making machines."
  She also found encouragement that year through a Berklee College of Music summer course. In a songwriting contest, Askew was one of only 10 students chosen to perform an original composition with a full band.
  Askew went to Loyola University in New Orleans and continued her musical education in the jazz clubs on Frenchman's Street. She came back from her first year with every intention of returning to finish her music business degree, but fate intervened.
  Over her summer break, she began working on a demo with engineer Jennifer Lee at Young Avenue Sound. Lee passed the recordings on to Ardent Studios producer Pete Matthews (Evanescence, Dust For Life, the North Mississippi Allstars).
  "I guess he was impressed, and he met with me at the Blue Monkey," says Askew. "He said, 'Let's do this. I want to make an EP with you.'"
  The result is Waster Lipstick, a five-song EP that combines Askew's jazzy leanings with an Americana vibe and a touch of Cat Power-style acoustic soul.
  "I like to be soulful in the way I approach my songwriting," she says, naming Mavis Staples and Al Green as key influences. "I just try to be real about topics ... having a sassy thing, kind of like Ann Peebles and the way she approached songs."
  The disc teams Askew, who had never played with a band before her Berklee experience, with some of the city's top session players, including veterans of Cat Power's The Greatest sessions, such as bassist Dave Smith and drummer Steve Potts.
  "They learned the songs within 10 minutes," recalls Askew, who held her own by playing all the acoustic guitar on the record. "We didn't even have a rehearsal before our sessions. We did it in two days, all five songs. I'm so glad we did that because there's such a vibe to it."
  The abbreviated disc is intended to give listeners and, more importantly, prospective labels, a taste of Askew's abilities. Matthews is shopping the disc around to labels, starting with Askew's personal favorite, the Universal Records roots music subsidiary Lost Highway, home to Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams.
  Meanwhile, Askew continues to hone her performance chops, playing solo shows around town, including a regular slot as the only female on the songwriter's juggernaut The Memphis Menbrains, Wednesdays at Neil's on Madison Avenue.
  "She's has something really special," says her Menbrains cohort Van Duren, one of the most respected songwriters in town. "She was trained by a flamenco guitarist so her playing has a lot more rhythmic drive than you would expect from somebody her age."
  In anticipation of tonight's CD release show, Askew has formed her first live band, with session aces Smith and Al Gamble as well as young guns Ryan Peel on drums and Jake Vest on guitar.
  Askew's parents are still pushing for a fallback position.
  "They expect me to get a degree," Askew says. "At first they gave me a hard time about it and said, 'You need to go back to school.' Even now, they're still like, 'You're going to go back to school, right?' But I just can't imagine doing anything else with my life, period."
  
  

• Neil's [+ Show ]
  

  Last night I went up to Neil's after I got off work to see a friend of mine play a little acoustic s...Last night I went up to Neil's after I got off work to see a friend of mine play a little acoustic set. I figured it would be a pretty sparse crowd since it was a Wednesday night and this was only the second week of this on-going acoustic set for these guys. My buddy is Jeremy Stanfill of Streetside Symphony (formerly The United) and I really just came to say hey to him and show my support but I was really blown away by an opening act that he had asked to come along and play a short set. Before I go into detail about that opening act, let me say that Jeremy and his set with two other guys on acoustic guitar was great. Each guy took a turn playing a solo acoustic song on piano or guitar and the range of music was great in it's diversity. It went from James Taylor/Paul Simon type songs to the Beach Boys covers to Jeremy's Streetside Symphony originals being belted out one after the other and it was great. Neil's has done alot to improve that Music room since the last time I was in there, both atmosphere, service, and sound-wise. Apparently, this is going to be a regular Wednesday night thing and it's free of charge so why not go check it out? Think of it as an unplugged set that will feature Jeremy and some other local musicians playing their tunes for a smaller, more intimate audience.
  
  Now then, on to the musician that really surprised me with her voice and presence. Apparently Jeremy just met her at the P & H and asked her to come open up for them. Her name is Grace Askew and she's a 21 year old Memphis native that is just coming on to the scene here. I only caught the last few songs of her performance but I was blown away with her husky voice, stage presence, and nice guitar work. She reminded me of a cross between Cat Power, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, Neko Case, and alot of soulful Memphis roots thrown in with a little of her own flair as well. I can't really describe it as well as I'd like so just check her out on her MySpace page and listen for yourself.
  Hopefully, Grace Askew will lend her considerable talents to the Monday night gigs there.

• Grace Askew: Full Circle [+ Show ]
  

  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an art show outside my usual stomping grounds; I cas...A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an art show outside my usual stomping grounds; I casually wandered through the gallery, observing the glistening glass pieces of various colors, shapes and sizes adorned largely with flowing jellyfish (sounds like a bad trip at a Jimmy Buffett concert but was interesting), as well as abstracts by my friend John Graubman (right).
  After seeing all on display I contented myself with a glass of wine and began listenening to the girl singing airily in the background (local gal Grace Askew). She played good covers, with a simple, yet strong conviction. Afterwards I discovered she just recorded an EP at Ardent, a great midtown studio with a history of well-produced albums (Pete Matthews, Big Star’s Jody Stephens, John Fry, et al. know what they’re doing).
  My curiosity piqued after hearing her briefly, I was delighted to see the list of backing musicians on the album included many of my Memphis favorites. Diving in, I found her vocals cover a fairly wide dynamic range and in her crooning there is a soul familiar to women from the south, who can strip a tune bare and pour themselves into and straight through it. The songs follow a cycle of love, beginning with spring romance before advancing to further, darker corners. Additionally, Wasted Lipstick also suggests a developing songwriting ability, as Askew wrote or co-wrote each of the five tracks.
  The first, “Ripen” opens with an easy, cool groove that grows full and bright in its repeated chorus, evoking the feeling of…well, I’ll assume you get that one. Her voice reaches out well, drawing on the rough vocal stylings of artists such as Cat Power and Lucinda Williams, while her lyrics trace a new love beginning to blossom. Though most of the emotions tend to be equally light, Askew wisely advises “we’ve finally found our place, now all we need is more time.” But as we all know, love never comes easily and, “In 1, 2, 3,” a breezy and tender country-tinged ballad written in longing for a separated lover, foreshadows deeper emotions born of solitude.
  “Good as Gold” finds Askew digging deeper, revealing her Memphis-bred soulful side. Loping at a broken-down tempo with accordion and a gently whirring organ, it shifts the mood dramatically to an autumnal, introspective brooding. Here, she lives on the desperate side, confessing “I’ve got every worry with me I’ve ever known.” While fairly straightforward lyrically, her honesty and conviction make this song compelling. The title track follows suit, finding Askew pining away on the wrong end of heartbreak. Lingering between the bitterness of a love freshly lost and a fleeting hope of reunion, she embraces the dichotomy rather than ignoring the conflicting emotions.
  GRACE ASKEW - WASTED LIPSTICK
  
  “Swoop Down” culminates the song cycle wonderfully, as a lover comes full circle -casting aside a hard shell and trying to learn how to trust again. As with each of her songs, the musical feel complements the lyrics, rising dramatically as her voice exhibits an emboldened spirit eventually realized. Being a sucker for albums dealing with the multiplicitous nature of love, I enjoyed this one as an honest portrait of the ups and downs that are inevitable when you open your heart. And though still just 21, Grace Askew uses Wasted Lipstick to announce her musical arrival and will be one to keep a close eye on.
  To bring it all home, I went by Grace’s EP release at the Hi Tone. Brief sidebar, the Hi Tone has my vote for best bar in town. It continually gets great bands at unbeatable prices, has good food and beer selections, and is located right in the heart of midtown (and conveniently 90 seconds from my humble abode). I digress into high praise for the Hi Tone because I’m glad to see Grace playing there with another good local act, Jump Back Jake.
  The room quieted in rapt attention as she began the set alone on stage, plucking at her guitar and slowly wooing the audience with a few easy ballads. She then turned to her backing band (including Pete Matthews and Al Gamble), who helped bring the crowd to its feet. They added a fullness, complementing her with tasteful solo work behind her confident crooning. And though it wasn’t a long set, the show proved a good coming out party for yet another young talent that oozes that undeniable Memphis charm.
  
  
  By John Miller

• Listen Up: Grace Askew [+ Show ]
  

  Instead of singing, Grace Askew could be unearthing a tyrannosaurus rex. “I wanted to be a paleonto...Instead of singing, Grace Askew could be unearthing a tyrannosaurus rex.
  “I wanted to be a paleontologist, digging up dinosaur bones,” said Askew, 21.
  That was at age 8 after she saw “Jurassic Park.” “It was scary, but I love scary movies.”
  Joni Mitchell changed all that. Askew began listening to lot of Mitchell after getting a guitar at age 13. “I’d never heard anything like her. I could identify with her kind of writing. Her sense of imagery — I loved that.”
  That same year Askew wrote her first song, “My Retreat.” Recalling the chorus to the poppy folk song, she said, “Something like ‘Good luck will start smiling on me and you’ll still be stuck in that same tree.’”
  She considers 17 a “huge transition stage” for her. “That’s when my sister moved to New York City. I used to go visit her. And seeing that music, that culture, there. She would just take me out all night long with her friends.
  “We were staying with one of her friends in his loft in Brooklyn. He handed over this CD and said, ‘You’ve gotta hear her.’ It was Cat Power’s first cover album. That changed my life.”
  She began to emulate Power. “She’s so guttural and real. That’s who I could truly identify with more than anybody I ever heard.”
  Askew was a different person after she returned from New York. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I was.”
  She adopted an even hipper style of dress after observing what New Yorkers wore. “I’ve always been quirky in the way I dress. I didn’t care what people thought. I would just throw together things. I used to make purses with my hot glue gun and tear apart clothes.”
  Askew began performing her original songs at Memphis venues. One of them, “In This City,” was about New York. “The chorus is, ‘I think I lived here my past life. Maybe on a musty park bench or a swanky high rise. But either way it’s all the same. My life will be fanciful in every way in the city.”
  She participated in the Berklee College of Music summer program in Boston when she was 18. “There was a songwriting competition. Only 10 people were picked. I was one of the 10.”
  Askew attended Loyola University in New Orleans. “That’s when I started playing out a whole lot more and got into the jazz scene. There’s a bunch of open mikes that I would do. And just play out on the street corners.”
  Last Spring, she released her five-song CD, Wasted Lipstick, at Ardent Recording Studio. The CD is the title from one of the songs, which is about “Oh, you know, being disappointed in someone. Just being let down in love.”
  Describing her love songs, Askew said, “I can’t say that I’ve ever been in true love yet, but (they’re about) just wanting someone to be there for you.”
  “One Two Three” is about Memphis. The chorus is, “It’s July in Memphis, but I’m so cold without you next to me, so I wish you’d get on back here in one, two, three.”
  “When I was away in New Orleans, that’s when I went back to my Stax Memphis soul. Being away for a year made me appreciate Memphis much more.”
  Askew is still working on that Stax soulfulness. And, she said, “I’m trying to transition into more of a bluesy kind of thing. So, I’m listening to Black Keys a lot.”
  

Setlist

ORIGINALS:

At the Brass Rail
Beautiful Mess
Until They Lay Me Down to Rest
This New One
But Gone
Baby Ain't My Name
You Make Me
Mostly
Song for Tom
Ramblin Rose
Silent Blues




Covers:
Chocolate Jesus (T. Waits)
Green Grass (T. Waits)
Make Me Down a Pallet on Your Floor (Mississippi J. Hurt)
For What It's Worth (B. Springfield)
Ode to Billie Joe (Bobby Gentry)
3 More Days (Ray LaMontagne)
Hound Dog (Big Mama Thorton)

Basic Requirements

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