Graham Whorley
Graham Whorley began his musical journey at the tender age of five, learning the Suzuki method of piano. After seven years of study, Graham left his piano teacher dumbfounded as he told her he had learned everything by ear, not by the notes on the paper and soon found his calling with the guitar. Graham was forming bands and playing shows in venues he wasn't even old enough to be in by the time he was 14. After talking to his sister over a pay phone at the age of 19, standing in the freezing snow and sleeping in his Subaru, Graham decided to make the big move away from his roots of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to head for sunnier days and bigger opportunities in Charleston, South Carolina.
Since moving to Charleston twelve years ago, Graham has been focused on nothing but his music. Forming The Graham Whorley Band soon after he arrived and playing acoustic several nights a week, he quickly became one of Charleston's best (earjingle.com) and has played over 250 shows a year for the last 5 years running. "For years, Charleston-based singer and electric/acoustic blues rock guitarist Graham Whorley has worked with various groups of musicians who understand his soulful vibe and complex rock stylings. On the side, he has established himself as a versatile solo performer," according to Michael Andrews of The City Paper (Charleston, SC.)
Graham Whorley's acoustic show can best be described as an acoustic breeze followed by a thunderstorm of rhythm. By utilizing live seamless loop recordings (no samples here, folks) insightful songwriting, and percussive back beats that make you move, Graham Whorley builds layer upon layer of groove your mood sounds created by just one man with one acoustic guitar.
Graham Whorley's much anticipated debut full length solo CD "State of Affairs" is now available online through itTunes, at cdbaby.com, here at his website www.grahamwhorley.com, and at all Cat's Music stores in South Carolina, Millineum Music and of course at the shows.
Graham is currently promoting his recently released debut solo CD "State of Affairs" and is bringing his "Get Out and Vote" theme to cities in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Graham registered over 250 people in the Charleston area alone last summer and is hoping for a much larger registration at the shows this year. After losing his 39 year old sister, Laura to ALS, (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) two years ago, Graham has been passionate about using his right to vote and is hoping others will raise their voice as well.
Graham Whorley has shared the stage in the last year with several notable musicians including Tim Reynolds, Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Lee Oskar of WAR, Efrem Towns (trumpet) of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Colonel Bruce Hampton with Duane Trucks on drums, and most recently Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove.