Video: Grady, ‘Lemon Sun’

S.Lo on June 27th, 2019

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* Update: As of early 2020, Grady is going by the moniker Grady Strange.

The way to eternal happiness could be a lemon pie to the face. In his sweet tune “Lemon Sun,” Grady (née Graydon Wenrich, also of Lonely Biscuits) struggles with some inner forces before reaching the nirvana of humbly accepting the power of that bright orb in the sky.

“It’s about my experience staring down the sun, both inside and outside of me,” says the singer-songwriter. The video, co-directed by him and Michael Delaney, features him grappling with and ultimately embracing partner Mackenzie Howe (The Wild Reeds) as the sun who gives him a dose of humility and humor that leads to lasting bliss. With a new perspective, he sings, “My shit feels so important now / But if I could zoom it out / One hundred billion drops inside the sea of everyone / Relyin’ on that big ol’ yellow sun / And when my time is in the past / I hope my heart lays in the grass / And feeds another one / Who lives like it’s all just begun / And it’s confusing, scary, dumb / The place under that perfect lemon sun.”

This latest single is the continuation of Grady getting back down to basics in the recording process, as well. Released from the pressures of a touring band, he said in a recent interview, “There’s a lot of cool limitations to tape, and those force you to be more creative and to work harder and to get better at your instrument and to… make commitments quickly on the spot without being able to go back and make a million edits or add a million effects. That’s what really attracted me in the beginning to tape. I … really just wanna strip down my whole process and not have a million plug-ins and a million options. I just want to only have my guitars and drums and this tape machine.” With Howe (on backing vocals and lead guitar) as well as the old Tascam Portastudio 246 formerly belonging to CBGBs owner Hilly Kristal as inspirations, drums by Nick Pillot (Bleached, No Parents) and mixing/mastering by Zachary Dyke (COIN, Keeps, Liza Anne), the song shines bright.

Grady will be sharing some humble sunshine headlining the Bootleg Theater on July 5, with Howe accompanying in the band. The show will also feature the latest issue of his community art zine “Ordinary Thoughts,” with art, photos and writings from over 15 L.A. artists and musicians.

||| Watch: The video for “Lemon Sun”