QUICK FACTS:

** #1 artist In Las Vegas and #12 globally according to Reverbnation.com

**Opened for John Legend, The Eels, Regina Specktor, DJ Shadow, Ernie Halter, Chaka Khan & his songwriting idol Stevie Wonder.

** August 2010 Vocalist Of The Month for singeruniverse.com

** Fox News Live Performance June 2010**

** Channel 13 News Live Performance June 2010**

** 107.9 The Alternative "Ain't That A Bitch" regular rotation 2007-current

**"Alone" most requested song on 92.3 KOMP "Homegrown show Las Vegas

** "You Had Me At Goodbye" on closing motion picture credits "The List" 2009

** Modern Rock Album Of The Year for "Music For Life" 2008 - JPF Music Awards

** "Ain't That A Bitch" song used for TV commercial 2008

** Modern Rock Album Of The Year for "In My Room" 2005 - JPF Awards

** Modern Rock Song Of The Year for "All We Need" 2005 - JPF Awards

** Five full-length CD's released since 1997. Total of 62 original songs in library.

Q+A with Shaun DeGraff:

Shaun DeGraff

is a Vegas native who made singing, songwriting, beatboxing and musicmaking his lifework. After receiving his first piano at age 13, Shaun immediately fell in love with the freedom of thought and expression that song writing afforded him, ultimately gravitating to the keyboard as his main creative outlet.

Since committing full force to pursuing his talent, the artist has turned quite a few heads - earning a few award nods and even seeing his music featured in film.

Shaun's recently released album

Grey Area

is appropriately titled as the songs explore the ups and downs in life, walking a tight rope between positive and negative energy.

His music absolutely caught me off guard with its eclectic sound and one-of-a-kind force. Shaun may incorporate the flavors of a few big name artists - Immogen Heap, Owl City, and Beardyman, as he references - but he definitely has a sound and dramatic flair that is uniquely his own.

Inventive, refreshing and absolutely electric. His songs will get stuck in your head time and time again.

I got to speak with Shaun over the last few weeks about his musicmaking. Here is what he had to say:

Give us a little background - how did you get started in music?

Ever since I was a kid I've always been a ham. My family never pushed me in the musical / theatre direction, it was just what I was naturally good at. I love the synergy of live performance. It's a rush putting your ass on the line and asking people "Am I good enough?" I think I chose it as a profession because I wouldn't be much good at anything else. As far as instruments, I play the keyboard so I can be any instrument I want to be organic or electric. Chances are I will fool 99% of the people out there that the instruments were played by a real drummer, guitarist, bass, strings etc. Grey Area was produced completely in the digital realm with all virtual based instuments and software synths.

How would you describe your sound?

Avant-pop with soaring dreamy melodies, experimental production and a danceable beat.

Very first song you wrote?

It was a song called "Shawna" and yes, of course I wrote it for a girl named Shawna. It sounded a lot like Woody Harrelson's song "

Kelly

" from a Cheers episode. It didn't work unfortunately. I didn't get laid. Hahahaha..

You have a very unique energy, who/what inspires you in your music?

This rollercoaster ride they call life inspires me the most. I haven't been diagnosed but I'm sure I have at least a mild case of bi-polar. If not, I'm just one moody bastard! That's why my songs range from soft and sweet to hard and aggressive. That has always been my problem as far as marketing is concerned. But that's f*cking life. As far as artists go, I'm all over the board. Bjork, Stevie Wonder, Ben Folds, Bill Withers, Imogen Heap, Owl City.

Favorite song on Grey Area?

"

Had Me At Goodbye

." Love the melody, catchy lyric in the hook, and the way I produced it did the song justice. I didn't write the song. My amazing talented friend Phillip Stendek wrote it.

Name some artists on your iPod right now.

Lot's of progressive trance DJ sets. I get sooo much shit done when I listen to it. Angels and Airwaves, BT, Cocteau Twins, DJ Shadow, Fever Ray, Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons (great band from Vegas), Justice, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend to name a few.

You seem to be doing well lately with album drop earlier this year, the recent vocalist of the month win and #1 Vegas ranking on ReverbNation. What's next for you?

First, Around The Way blog, then, THE WORLD!!! Muuuwwwaaahahahahahah!!! (Evil laugh). My goal for the next month is to put a college/festival tour together. My goal for the next three to six months is to get enough college radio play to open for a headlining tour.

Upcoming shows?

TBA. Go to

http://www.shaundegraff.com/

 and sign up for the mailing list!

FULL BIO

  Growing up in Sin City has naturally given Shaun DeGraff a very unique perspective on life as we know it. For a world who's survival depends on putting their best foot forward, Las Vegas is one of those rare places one can let it all hang out and be "human" for a moment. Currently working as a musician/entertainer on the Vegas strip on a weekly basis, local enviornment has truly shaped Shaun DeGraff into a person who open-heartedly accepts all that is "good" and "bad" about humanity and his music shows it.
 
    Shaun's inspiration for making music comes from many different places. As a young boy growing up listening to Motown on his dads stereo, he developed a love for 70's Rhythm and Blues and great songwriters of the era like Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Bill WIthers and Donnie Hathaway. Shaun can even remember listening to Southern Baptist gospel music while attending cemenary class for the Mormon church. After begging his parents for a piano, Shaun got his wish at age 14 with an old out of tune upright and began to prove himself as a talented storyteller. 

As Shaun matured and got older, he was exposed and gravitated to b-boy style dancing and the music that came along with the culture. Clinging to the powerful lyrics of early hip-hop emcees like Grandmaster Mele-Mel, KRS-1, and keyboard skills of piano giants like Herbie Hancock and George Duke, Shaun began to develop his unmistakable style in the studio. Feverish, unpredictable and simply powerful right down to the softest ballad, Shaun DeGraff has a unique sound instantly recognizable to familiar fans which is perhaps the highest honor as a performing/recording artist.

    

   After high school, Shaun was fortunate enough to find a funk band who allowed him to join with absolutely no money or gear and travel to Japan to play his first paying gig as a musician. While overseas, Shaun got the news of his mothers death back home and immediately prepared to come back home to the states. Unfortunately, the Japanese consulate decided to make an example of him for overstaying his Visa by 4 days and he missed his own mothers funeral. With his #1 fan and friend now gone from his life, Shaun would not write another song for almost 5 years. 

    

   One day while taking out the garbage, Shaun lost mobilization in his back and began to draw a fever that just would not go away for months at a time. Feeling like something was wrong, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was told that he had 10 years left to play the piano. It was not long before Shaun would succumb to a deep depression. This state of mind eventually left him without a job, car and a place to live. Shaun soon began gambling, partying, and experimenting with prescription drugs including daily doses of ephedrine (a main ingredient in meth). Then while living off a friends couch in a studio apartment, the dream happened. There he was sitting solo aboard an airborne jetliner and before long the plane malfunctioned and began aggressively swirling towards the ground. The dream seemed so real and Shaun remembers all of the things that went through his head as gravity took its course. Feelings of guilt, remorse, sadness, and all of the goals he had yet to accomplish all surfaced into his consciousness along with the terrifying realization that there would be no second chance. Surprised and heart beating out of his chest, he woke up with an unbelievable feeling of vigor and new hope to try to accomplish the things he knew would make his mom proud.
 
    Shaun got back on his feet and then went on to perform in 9 other contries performing more and more of his original music. In 2006 Shaun performed on a USO tour for the soldiers in Sarajevo and Bosnia. In 2007, he recorded "In My Room" on a used 8 track, and won "Best Modern Rock Album" out of 36,000 international submissions by Just Plain Folks. In 2008, Shaun’s "Music For Life" won the same award yet again. In 2009 Shaun booked his own West Coast tour playing alongside The Eels, Regina Specktor, DJ Shadow, Ernie Halter, Chaka Khan & his songwriting idol Stevie Wonder. Recently signing with newly formed label, JMD Records, Shaun is upping the ante on his new release "Grey Area" and is looking forward to hitting the pavement once again in 2010 and beyond.
 
      Thanks to new discoveries in modern medicine and his native tribe The Chickasaw Nation who lent a helping hand when the American government wouldn't, Shaun looks forward to many more years of performing, writing, and producing. This second chance by science has inspired him to include fresh new technology in with his live show in a never before seen innovative style. Open your mind and make some time for the music of Shaun DeGraff.  He hasn't given up on you... And he'll never give up on the power of music. - Rachel Delo