Grand Hallway
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Grand Hallway is an American rock band from
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Tomo Nakayama. Their sound is described variously as
chamber pop Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...
,
indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...
, and
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
.


History

Grand Hallway began as a recording project between singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama and producer Jeramy Koepping. After the dissolution of his first band, Asahi, Nakayama sought a different direction from that band's guitar-based indie rock sound. Using the piano as his main instrument, Nakayama began to write songs inspired by artists such as Nina Simone, Neil Young, and John Lennon. After playing a handful of solo shows, Nakayama recruited bassist Erik Neumann and drummer Bob Roberts, and along with Koepping on guitar, began playing out in earnest as Grand Hallway. Strong word of mouth based on a four song demo and live shows opening for the likes of Damien Jurado led to The Stranger declaring them one of the "10 Emerging Bands of 2007."


''Yes is the Answer'' (2007)

The basic tracks for Grand Hallway's debut album, ''Yes is the Answer'', were recorded in 3 days at Jack Straw Productions through a grant received from their Artist Support Program. Engineering was performed by Moe Provencher, and overdubs and mixing were completed over the following summer by Jeramy Koepping. What began as a minimalist collection of piano/bass/drums songs grew into a fuller, chamber-pop sound with the addition of a string quartet. The cover art was hand drawn by Japanese artis
Heisuke Kitazawa
after a chance meeting with Nakayama at an art show in Seattle. ''Yes is the Answer'' was released in Japan on Sideout Records ( Bright Eyes,
Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...
,
The Velvet Teen The Velvet Teen is an American independent rock trio from Sonoma County, California. History The Velvet Teen is originally the name of Judah Nagler's electronic solo project, whose official debut was made during a brief Icelandic tour that beg ...
), and self-released by the band in the U.S. The album was received warmly in both countries. The Stranger praised it, saying it "glows brightly with warm, delicate orchestration and thoughtful song structures." In September 2007, joined by new members Alina To and Jaclyn Shumate on violins, Grand Hallway toured Japan with fellow Seattle band
Arthur & Yu Arthur & Yu are an American indie folk band from Seattle, Washington, United States. Their sound has been compared to that of various 1960s bands, as well as an aesthetic appeal of John Lennon/Yoko Ono. The duo's title has its roots from childhood ...
and Japanese singer/songwriter
Shugo Tokumaru is a Japanese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who debuted in May 2004 in America with his album ''Night Piece''. He creates every aspect of his music, including the lyrics, music, arrangements, recording and mixing. He is known for ...
.


''Promenade'' (2009)

Shortly after touring in Japan and recording the EP ''We Flew Ephemera'', Bob Roberts left the band to pursue his career as a video game designer, and was replaced by Joel Harmon. Grand Hallway spent 2008 touring the west coast and performing in that year's
Sasquatch! Music Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days. In 2018, it was announced that the festival was c ...
. During this time, Erik Neumann left the band, and bassist Kevin Large and multi-instrumentalist Chris Zasche joined as full-time members. That fall, the band entered Studio Litho with engineer Shawn Simmons and began work on their second album, ''Promenade''. Nakayama switched back from piano to guitar as his primary instrument, and the band's sound began to evolve in a larger, more densely orchestrated direction. The record was released in September 2009, with the band accompanied by new member Shenandoah Davis, as well as a 30 piece orchestra and children's choir. ''Promenade'' was praised for its intricate arrangements and memorable songwriting, and received heavy airplay and landed on the best-of-year lists of
KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in indie music programmed by its disc jockeys. KEXP's studios are located at the Seattle Cent ...
and
NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...
. The single "Raindrops (Matsuri)" was placed on Amazon.com's Best Songs of 2009 list. In January 2010 Seattle publication City Arts Magazine placed the band on the cover and called them "Seattle's Next Big Band."


''Winter Creatures'' (2011)

Grand Hallway spent the majority of 2010 on tour, playing at
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
,
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
,
Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...
, and
Capitol Hill Block Party The Capitol Hill Block Party is an annual three-day music festival and block party held each July in the Capitol Hill, Seattle, Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Performance genres include Pop music, pop, Rhythm and ...
. They played with bands such as Shearwater, Cave Singers, and The Thermals, and developed a strong fanbase of their own. In the fall of 2010, Harmon and Zasche left the band, and Grand Hallway began work on their third album
''Winter Creatures.''
They opted to record this time in Portland, Oregon with producer Cory Gray. Nakayama recorded a majority of the drum parts until Brian Wright joined the band in the winter of 2010. Inspired by the death of Nakayama's grandparents, the birth of Koepping’s son, and the closing of the beloved Seattle landmark Neptune Theater (where Nakayama worked for almost a decade), the album took a much more personal and meditative tone than ''Promenade's'' ebullient love songs. Still, the album was well received, with Groovemine noting its "more minimal direction, eschewing the orchestral microcosms and child choirs of past efforts and moving on from the typical Northwestern everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ensemble." ''Winter Creatures'' was released in June 2011 by Porchlight Records, who also reissued ''Promenade'' on vinyl.


''Horses'' (2013)

In 2012, after seeing Nakayama perform in an a capella show, director
Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton (August 27, 1965 – May 15, 2020) was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as '' Humpday'' and '' Your Sister's Sister''. She was associated with the mumblecore genre. Early life Shelton was ...
approached him about performing in her next feature film. The resulting film,
Touchy Feely ''Touchy Feely'' is a 2013 film directed by Lynn Shelton and stars Rosemarie DeWitt as a massage therapist who develops a phobia to touching skin. Other cast members include Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Elliot Page and Josh Pais ...
premiered at the
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in January 2013, and starred
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,
Rosemarie DeWitt Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series '' Standoff'' (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on '' U ...
,
Josh Pais Joshua Atwill Pais (born June 21, 1958) is an American actor and acting coach. He has appeared in the films ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990), ''Music of the Heart'' (1999), ''Assassination of a High School President'' (2008), '' I Saw the ...
,
Scoot McNairy John "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in films such as '' Monsters'' (2010), ''Argo'', ''Killing Them Softly'' (both 2012), '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (2016), '' Speak No Evil' ...
, and Nakayama, making his acting debut. Nakayama composed and performed the song "Horses" specifically for the film, and it was released as a single by Versicolor Records in August, 2013.
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called the song "arresting" and the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
cited Nakayama's singing in the film as its "most compelling moment."


Discography


Albums

* ''Yes is the Answer'' (2007, Sideout) * ''Promenade'' (2009, Self-Released/Porchlight) * ''Winter Creatures'' (2011, Porchlight)


EPs/Singles/Live Albums

* ''We Flew Ephemera'' (2008) * ''Live at the Triple Door'' (2010) * ''Songs For Japan'' (2011) * ''Horses ''(2013, Versicolor)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Seattle