Having just released his second album, the self-titled Gavin Degraw, and on a national tour, Gavin Degraw granted us the rare opportunity of a 15-minute phone call.
SPM: I know I’ve only got so much time with you…let’s cut to the chase. What’s new and what’s different about your second CD?
Gavin Degraw (GD): This album is edgier than the first record. The similarities are stronger than the differences, like, my songwriting is the same. I still focus on a lot of the main themes I did in the first record, I think.
SPM: A lot of the same themes do seem to pop up in your songs. Are these all from your own experiences?
GD: A lot of it is my life, and a lot of it is my own relationships. But also a big percentage is the people around me. A lot of it is me noticing things my friends are going through, as well as what strangers are going through, and finding the similarities.
SPM: You’re on the road touring again, which must be amazing in general. What’s your favorite part though?
GD: I get to show up in a new city pretty much every day and meet the local culture, enjoy the food and music and architecture. There’s a lot of things I get to soak up. Right now there’s been such a rapid change in the country — there’s so many larger companies that own a lot of the country — so seeing small local culture is unique. It’s important for me to see what little bits remain.
SPM: What’s something that you always bring on this culture-tour of America?
GD: I always have a pocketknife on me. I’ve been carrying a pocketknife since I was a kid. It’s very handy — people will toss me a CD to sign that they just bought and I can open it for them. I did get arrested for it in New York, though. It was in my pocket when the cops stopped me.
SPM: Well, besides getting arrested for an innocuous object, what’s the worst part of touring?
GD: You can’t just walk off the bus at any moment. Some portion of the day the bus is traveling on the highway, and you can’t just wake up and say ‘I’m gonna take a walk.’
SPM: In the end, having two successful CDs and another tour, you must be feeling safer as an artist.
GD: I think there is some level of comfort, but I think its more anxiety than comfort. The market in general is making a lot of people anxious. The public has been really affected by the market, as well as the artists, and the fans have become challenged.
SPM: The fans are still coming around to hear you play though. What’s your favorite song to perform?
GD: Actually, I wrote my own birthday song. Sometimes I get fans that have birthdays at shows.
SPM: That’s probably the best birthday gift they could get.
Catch Gavin Degraw at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Monday, Sept. 22.
— amanda.fruzynski@asu.edu
