Granian

Granian is an acoustic/electric rock band led by Garen Gueyikian.

This article is about the band. For the horse in the Harry Potter series, see Magical creatures (Harry Potter).

Granian was founded in 1995 in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, where Gueyikian initially used the name Grane but changed to Granian over possible copyright concerns.[1][2] Gueyikian's initial lineup consisted of George Schultz on bass and backing vocals, Chris Nicoletti on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and Anthony Fazioli on drums. Fazioli left in 1996 and was replaced by Tim Shahady; Nicoletti left in 1998, after which the group worked as a trio.[2]

In 2000, Schultz left the group, and Adam Braun and Tony Maceli both did stints in the group on bass.[2] Shahady departed soon after, and Graycon Legere took over on drums, while Nathan Fox took over on bass. Gueyikian later performed by himself as Granian, for the 2002 release Live Sessions[2] through 2005.[3] He used the name interchangeably for solo shows and for those with a backing band of available musicians.[4] The group played a benefit concert for Armenian victims of genocide in 2004.[5] In 2006 Gueyikian began a new project, Kill the Alarm.[6]

The group released four albums and one EP (2004's My Voice),[7] and toured with Matchbox 20, Guster, Dispatch, Howie Day, Pat McGee Band and O.A.R, among others. SPIN called the group "the country's best unsigned band" early in its career.[8]

Granian's third studio album, "On My Own Two Feet", was produced by Mike Shimshack, and features Nir Z (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Genesis) on drums. It received generally positive reviews.[9][10] The album reached #1 on both CDBaby.com and Awarestore.com and the group's five independently released albums have sold over 35,000 copies to date.

Garen has since recorded under the new band, Kill the Alarm.

Discography
  • Without Change, 1996
  • Hang Around, 2000
  • Live Sessions, 2003
  • My Voice (EP), 2004
  • On My Own Two Feet, 2004
  • Alternate Mixes, 2006

References
  1. Sisario, Ben. "ALBUM REVIEWS; From Asbury Park To Hoboken", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed March 15, 2011. "Granian is the nom de disc of Garen Gueyikian, a 28-year-old singer-songwriter from Holmdel who has steadily built a reputation as one of the hardest-working and most popular independent musicians in the region."
  2. Alex Henderson, Granian at Allmusic
  3. Granian. Bucks County Courier-Times, February 11, 2005. (See also Google News listing)
  4. Granian Serves Up Honest Rock. The Intelligencer (Doylestown, Pennsylvania), February 11, 2005.
  5. Granian to Play Benefit Concert in Support of Armenian Genocide Recognition Efforts. The Armenian Reporter, April 10, 2004.
  6. Granian Becomes Kill the Alarm Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. Alternative Addiction, September 3, 2006.
  7. Granian Will Perform Free Show. Arizona Daily Star, August 20, 2004.
  8. The Circuit. ("Granian was named the country's best unsigned artist a few years back by Spin magazine.") The Washington Post, April 18, 2003.
  9. Review Archived 2009-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, Splendid E-Zine.
  10. Review, Hybrid Magazine.
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