User:The original kiden/sandbox

Greymatter are a five piece British indie folk rock band from Berkshire, Brighton, and Bournemouth in the South East of England.

History
The band was first established in Berkshire in 2004 when singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist Georgey and vocalist Emma were joined by guitarist Susan and bassist Ju. The four girls were joined in 2006 by drummer Bob. Susan left the band in 2007 and was replaced by guitarist and trumpeter Jules. Bob left the band at the end of 2008 and was replaced temporarily by Carys until Andi replaced her in late 2009 to make Greymatter an all lesbian five piece.

Early life
All are experienced musicians: Georgey has been playing in bands and performing live since 1987; Emma and Georgey have been singing live together since 2000; Andi has been in various local bands; Jules plays regularly in a brass band in Brighton.

Members

 * Georgey Payne - songwriter, vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
 * Emma Kavanagh - vocals
 * Ju Boyce - bass guitar
 * Jules Hawthorne - electric guitar, trumpet
 * Andi Holloway - drums

Style and influences
Their songs are a distinctive blend of richly textured harmonies, sung against layers of skillfully crafted electric and acoustic guitars, piano, and trumpet, and woven through with solid bass and tight drum rhythms.

Their sound is simultaneously unique and familiar, reminding the listener of the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, and Shawn Colvin. Their enduring and beautiful melodies are interlaced with heart-felt and memorable lyrics about love, heartache, yearning, and passion.

Discography
Sales of albums are directly from the website and most digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, etc), sales of EP from most digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, etc), with one in eight copies going to the U.S. and Germany.

Songs and Lyrics
Songs and lyrics can be found on the Greymatter website

Live performance
The 2008 European promotional tour for Caterpillar Tree started at the international Fete de la Musique in France. UK based dates include Brighton Pride and the York Lesbian Arts Festival (YLAF). The end of summer sees the band perform at the International Women's Festival in Lesbos.

Greymatter have played a variety of venues over the last few years including The Nottingham Playhouse, St David's Hall in Cardiff, Komedia Brighton, Nottingham Pride, Brighton Pride, Reading Pride, LadyFest, and the Isle of Wight Festival.

Fans
Greymatter fans number over 1600 MySpace fans, over 1000 newsletter subscribers, and 500 on Facebook.

Magazines and eZines
G3 Magazine - August 2008, September 2008 Edizioni Ares, Italy - December 2008 Diva Magazine - 2006, August 2008 crAve Magazine - Issue 3, December 2008 Velvet Magazine - 2008 Women in Music Network - 2006 eurOut - November 2008 L Mag, Germany - 2007

(will do an audit and get them all listed here accurately with page references)

"Playing their set of acoustic, mellow music interwoven with sublime harmonies, Britain’s answer to The Indigo Girls have wowed audiences at Brighton Pride, an L of a Night and on their recent French tour. Ooh la la!"

- Belinda O'Hooley

"mellow, quiet, well-made and solid ... very accomplished song-writing, with complex structures and themes ... a profoudly earnest album"

- Charlotte Cooper

"on top of some strong tunes, sound production and musicianship, greymatter have been developing a reputation as a great live band"

- Charlotte Cooper

"widely renowned for delivering their music with the most passionate performance you may ever see"

- Anon

"The five-piece band are the greatest thing to come out of Reading since … erm … no, they ARE the greatest thing to come out of Reading. They are gaining a growing reputation and a similarly growing support. And you don’t need to use your own grey matter to work out why."

- Julie Gibson

"[Greymatter] with their thoughtful lyrics and sparkling instrumentals were having a ball and their enjoyment was infectious."

- Julie Gibson

"it is refreshing to find a new talent with original material"

- Ju & Jo

"their set brimmed with luscious and thoughtful melodies, as well as an assured vocal range that mesmerised the audience"

- KD

TV Coverage
RGB TV, Greece, September 2008

Radio Play

 * Radio Reverb 'Up & Out' July 2008, 'Latest Soup' August 2008
 * BBC Radio Berkshire 'The Session' July 27, 2008
 * US radio 2008 
 * Eagle FM 2006 (clip on Greymatter website)

Online

 * Gaydarnation
 * Sapphic Central
 * Women in Music Network

Magazines

 * Curve Magazine
 * Diva Magazine
 * G3 Magazine
 * Go Magazine
 * Velvet Magazine