Skip to Content Skip to Navigation

Graham Whorley: News

THE REMOTE SHOW

About Remote

It's that ubiquitous black box that controls electronics; the TV, the stereo, the DVD player. It's the concept of oneness and solitude, of faraway places or fantasies in a distant time. The word carries connotations of mystery and possibility.

Given its double-entendre status, REMOTE is the perfect moniker for the new music project of veteran Charleston SC musicians John Fitzgerald (keyboards/percussion) and Graham Whorley (guitar). The two performers are combining disparate musical influences into a totally listenable and highly unpredictable new art form. While the music of Remote comes across as a mix of electronic breakbeat, jazz, rock, funky samplings and noise, it's the groove that sets the two man group apart from the crowd. REMOTE not only create audio intrigue, but layer the music with groove and texture. "No matter what Graham and I put together musically, we want to be sure it makes you move," insists Fitzgerald. "As performers, to see people react to tunes we've written is the ultimate interactive music experience."

"We use software as a composition and performance tool." explains Fitzgerald, "The ability to loop multiple parts on the fly keeps the music fresh at every performance. I'd seen Graham use this technology himself and I sent him a few of my tunes and we decided to collaborate and REMOTE is the result"

Whorley and Fitzgerald are consummate musicians, drawing REMOTE compositions and performances from encyclopedic knowledge of multiple music styles. Fitzgerald cites a fascination with classic and modern rock, from Springsteen to The Smiths, as well as a dunk in the R&B, soul and funk river upon his move from NY to the South several years ago which led to exploration of breakbeat and electronic music. Whorley understandably gravitates to experimental guitar gurus Django Reinhardt, Hendrix and Frank Zappa, utilizing a plethora of pedals from shifters and delays to cry baby wahs within a context of loop stations and digital triggers.

Remote's two man ability to pull off a full band sound is intriguing in itself. The tunes are thoughtful, evocative and clearly cool. There's a degree of playful fun within the soundings of keyboards, guitar, horn triggers and percussion. REMOTE rounds up diverse influences and presents an audio carnival of clever arrangements within a side show of surprising sounds.

REMOTE is music at its highest apex, creative and cutting edge. Fitzgerald and Whorley are like alchemists mixing and matching musical form, style and substance while embracing soul and technology to form a new concoction of sight and sound.

HIDDEN TRACK AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD!

"Diablo Senorita" as well as the title track to Graham Whorley's debut solo Cd "State of Affairs" are now available for FREE download exclusively at Graham Whorley's Myspace page! CLICK HERE to get yours NOW!


Please feel free to leave your opinions over at the guestbook page. All views are welcomed and encouraged!

"State of Affairs" Now Available on iTunes!

Graham Whorley's solo CD "State of Affairs" is now available on iTunes!

BUY IT NOW ON iTUNES!

Graham Whorley opening for Tim Reynolds

Thursday, August 16th, 2007
Tim Reynolds with Graham Whorley
The Pour House
1977 Maybank Hwy
Charleston,SC 29412
(843) 571-4343
Tickets: $12



Graham Whorley will start the night off for Tim Reynolds (of Dave Matthews fame) on Thursday, August 16th at The Pour House (voted Homegrown Music Network's BEST Venue of 2006.) This will be the second time in as many years that Graham has had the honor of performing with the legendary guitarist. This is sure to be a show you don't want to miss!

Doors open at 9pm so get there EARLY! Tickets are $12 and can be purchased by visiting www.charlestonpourhouse.com or please call the venue directly at (843) 571-4343 for more info.

www.myspace.com/grahamwhorley
www.timreynolds.com

New Album Review of "State of Affairs"

The Charleston City Paper
By Stratton Lawrence
June 27th, 2007

There must be something in the air up in Virginia. Listen to nearly any 10-second clip from Cavalier-state export Graham Whorley's solo debut, and the comparisons to Va.-based loop guitarist Keller Williams are immediate. Despite his very similar sound, Whorley is able to hold his own, fortunately, placing staccato acoustic riffs over groovable, rhythmic layers to create a diverse album of jams and ballads. Opening track "Sway" repeatedly asks, "Tell me what it is to make you act that way?" as Whorley loops his vocals, effectively harmonizing with himself. Insightful, pressing lyrics like, "Do you hear the cries and fears?/God has been missing for years," (on "God's Playpen") give credence to Whorley's sometimes strained and distant-sounding voice. He places the ballads early on the album, then breaks out the slide on "CC My Playmate" to get the blood flowing. "Cue" is a live recording from the Pour House, beginning with an almost haunting, anticipatory bass walk that he complements with steel drum-like layered solos higher on his guitar's neck. By "Diablo Senorita," a song with a riff reminiscent of Phish's "First Tube," the album has picked up enough to get people off the couch and dancing. Title track "State of Affairs" closes the disc, utilizing audio clips from President Bush defending his disregard of the Geneva Convention ("Outrages upon human dignity? That's very vague."), with heavy drums and bass giving emphasis to the implications of those words. Whorley's done a good job here, utilizing samples and showing off his guitar and loop expertise to put together a polished, solid presentation of his solo capabilities. See www.grahamwhorley.com for more. —Stratton Lawrence

New Show Added: The Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh,NC- Thursday, June 21st, 2007 - May 13, 2007

The Pour House Music Hall
224 South Blount St
Raleigh,NC 27601
Website: www.the-pour-house.com
Graham Whorley will be performing at The Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh, NC on Thursday, June 21st as part of his "Get Out and Vote" summer tour promoting his new CD "State of Affairs." This is a very exciting show as it will be Graham's first time headlining at The Pour House Music Hall! Doors open at 9:30pm and show starts at 10:30pm. Tickets are only $5, please visit The Pour House Music Hall online for more information.

Help spread the word! Let Graham know if you'd like to be a part of his street team by emailing streetteams@grahamwhorley.com. For your time and effort Graham will add you to the guest list and get you into the shows for free, plus other free goodies!

The Graham Whorley Band at the Tall Ships Festival - May 7, 2007

May 18th, 2007

The Graham Whorley Band will take the stage at 3pm at The Tall Ships Festival in downtown Charleston at Ansonborough Fields across from The Aquarium on Saturday, May 19th. Admission to the festival is free! If you'd like to tour the amazing ships that will be on location, it will cost you $10. There will be music all weekend featuring Black Eyed Susan, Sol Driven Train, Laura Reed and The Deep Pockets, Here Come The Mummies and more!

Graham Whorley's NEW solo CD "State of Affairs" available NOW! - April 26, 2007

Graham Whorley's much anticipated debut solo CD "State of Affairs" is now available through cdbaby.com, and here at the website. As of today (April 26, 2007) it is selling at all Cat's Music stores in South Carolina at Millineum Music and of course at the shows! Be sure to wait for the end. There's a little surprise waiting there for you! Click on the album cover to buy it now!

album cover

Graham Whorley with Brock Butler - March 27, 2007

Graham Whorley started the night off with a bang Wednesday, March 27th with Brock Butler of Perptual Groove headlining the show at Homegrown Music Network's Venue of 2006, The Pour House in Charleston,SC. The two paired up for an impromptu performance together to top the night off! Check out a clip of the "Sopranos Theme" on the music/video page!

VISITING ACT ‌ Doin' the Dozens - December 13, 2006

BY T. BALLARD LESEMANN

Efrem 'E.T.' Towns, trumpet and flugel player for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band &
Graham Whorley Band
w/ The Sol Driven Train Horns, Juke Joint Johnny, and guests
Wed. Dec. 13
9 p.m.
$8 ($6 adv.)
Pour House
1977 Maybank Hwy.
571-4343
www.charlestonpourhouse.com www.dirtydozenbrass.com www.grahamwhorleyband.com
Let's admit it — when some sort of jam session or open-ended gig gets listed and promoted as "an all-star" event, it really means a circus of friends and musical acquaintances standing around on stage, sometimes clueless as to what's up next and what it all means to say. These shows are crapshoots — anything can happen. Sometimes it's magic. Sometimes it's catastrophic. Sometimes it's actually well organized and arranged.

"This show at the Pour House is not like a pick-up gig," says local guitarist Graham Whorley, who recently organized a special collaboration among Dirty Dozen Brass Band's Efrem "E.T." Towns and his band, members of Sol Driven Train, and special guests. "We've been working on the material for over a month. It's ready to go. E.T. gets in town the day before the gig, so we'll have less than 24 hours to rehearse. He's such a great musician and this band we've put together is so tight, there's no wrench to be thrown. Everything is right where it's supposed to be. Throw E.T. in the mix and it's going to sound great. Everything is arranged. The percussion players have been getting together a lot. The musicianship of the band is so strong, there'll be no worries about what we can accomplish."

Whorley first met Towns backstage at the Music Farm during a late-night set on Nov. 16 that included Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Hayes.

"I got the whole thing together after my Sullivan's Island friend Mark Myers suggested we check out the Dirty Dozen," says Whorley. "E.T. had spoken to him about trying to put a show together in Charleston with a local backing band. I was going to see the Mule on the same night of my wife's and my seventh anniversary and it just so happened that the Dirty Dozen were playing the same night. He asked me who I thought he should use, so, just messin' with him, I told him to use the best band in Charleston [laughs]. He said he was thinking the same thing."

Myers, Whorley, and Towns spent a few weeks shuffling possible lineups and dates and finally confirmed a date at the Pour House for this Wednesday.

Towns, 46, is a native of Queens, N.Y. and a longtime New Orleans scenester. He helped form the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in the late '70s with core members Gregory Davis (trumpet), Roger Lewis (baritone and soprano sax), and Kevin Harris (tenor sax). In addition to his work with the Dirty Dozen, he's collaborated in studios and on stage with a variety of acts, from the traditional Louisiana acts Rebirth Brass Band and Buckwheat Zydeco to such jam/rock and pop acts as Widespread Panic, Gov't Mule, Galactic, Dave Matthews Band, and Elvis Costello (check the horn work on Spike and Mighty Like a Rose).

Dirty Dozen Brass Band have stayed busy over the last few years, recording, jamming, and touring. In August, the Shout! Factory label released the band's cover of Marvin Gaye's classic What's Going On, released in part to benefit the people of New Orleans on the anniversary of Katrina through the Tipitina Foundation. It also marked the 35th anniversary of the album's original release.

All four members of the Graham Whorley Band — Whorley, bassist Will Ames, drummer Brian Ledbetter, and keyboardist Daniel Walker — are signed on as the core rhythm section with auxiliary percussion from local instructor and hand drum wiz Justin Rivers (of Adande) and Mark Myers. The horn section features sax player Russell Clarke and trombonist (and guitarist) Ward Buckheister of local ensemble Sol Driven Train. Special guest players include sax player Louis Dixon (recently of The Tens) and Steve Spaulding (of Booty Call, Love Butter).

"Justin from Adande has played with us a great deal over the years. He's the high school drum teacher for all of James Island. He's sick, man — just an amazing musician. It's a great four-piece horn section with lots of percussion."

Local fans can expect a few sophisticated reworkings of some of the Dirty Dozen's vast catalogue. Classic funk stuff out of New Orleans (a la The Meters, Neville Brothers, etc.) are in the mix along with some clever arrangements of popular radio hits and deeper tracks from the classic rock world.

"E.T. is a showman of showmen," says Whorley. To see him perform is more than just an average horn player — he gets in to the music so heavy, the audience becomes part of the music. He's so filled with the music and expresses it in every manner — bodily and mentally. He puts on a hell of a show. He sings and gets into that whole aspect — that's something that's probably not appreciated as much as it should be.

"I'm terribly excited about it," he adds. "We've done as much promotion as possible to be able to get E.T. down here and back on an airplane and pay him what he normally makes in about a half an hour on stage. He's been so gracious about it. Everyone wants to have fun with it for the love of the music."

RSS feed