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It's not so easy to introduce Nick Gravenites because the man has done so many things that one can easily write a book or build a web site only dedicated to Gravenites who is singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer in one person. Subsequently everything found on this page concerning Nick can only be described as incomplete. Nevertheless let's start with a short introduction Taxim Records added to one of their Bay Area Blues Sampler 'More Bay Area Blues' which contains the song 'Hard Thing' by Nick. |
| 'Nick Gravenites grew up on the southside of Chicago
hanging out in the mid-50's with a coterie of misfit white kids -
Elvin Bishop, Paul Butterfield, Michael Bloomfield - who went on to
form that protean powerhouse of watershed white blues, The Paul Butterfield
Blues Band. Learning their lessons first-hand from the southside greats
- Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Otis Rush - Gravenites
& Co. burst open the seams of the scene with a feverish intensity
and undeniable authenticity, redefining the blues with as much impact
as the introduction of electric instrumentation had 15 years earlier.
From the late 50's through the mid 60's, Gravenites gravitated between
Chicago and San Francisco, establishing himself in the Bay Area in
1965. In addition to authoring the classic "Born In Chicago" and the
groundbreaking "East West" for Butterfield, Gravenites scribed hits
for Janis Joplin and has his songs recorded by Big Brother and the
Holding Company, Michael Bloomfield, the Electric Flag (of which Gravenites
was a founding member), Pure Prairie League, Tracy Nelson, Roy Buchana,
Jimmy Witherspoon as well as blues giants Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush,
and James Cotton. He has a couple of solo albums and has scored and
played on the soundtracks for "The Trip", "Medium Cool", and "Steelyard
Blues". He has appeared on some 40 albums as singer, songwriter, guitarist,
and producer. For more info write to him at: P.O.Box 564, Occidental, CA 95465' |
Other bands: He formed the short lived Blue Gravy and joined Big Brother And The Holding Company early in 1969 staying until early 1972. He was involved with the Taj Mahal/Mike Bloomfield live album, and again in 1973 with "Steelyard Blues". He also formed the Nick Gravenites Band which became Nick Gravenites Blues in 1978 and in the summer of ‘78 he joined Huey Lewis' Monday Nite Live sessions but by the end of the year that too had disbanded.
| Nick also worked a lot with John Cipollina, a connection that started with Nick producing the first Quicksilver Messenger Service albums. Later they built the Nick Gravenites-John Cipollina Band which toured a lot in Europe and their record label Line being based in Germany. One of the band's drummers was former Clover drummer Marcus David - who later recorded his solo album 'Greates Hits' on Line Records in 1980. Nick Gravenites himself recorded 'Bluestar' which was also released on Line in 1980 as a solo album but it already had John Cipollina on guitar. Harmonica player on this blues album was Huey Lewis - at that time being something of a session cat who, after Clover's demise, played harp also on albums by Phil Lynott, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and City Boy. |  John and Nick |
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The next album "Monkey Medicine" was recorded
in Germany after Nick and John finished their European tour in Germany.
Under very primitive conditions but with a lot of heart they recorded
this album in Hamburg accompanied by Marcus David on drums and Al
Staehely on bass/vocals.
In late 1984 Gravenites was again a member of one of John Cipollina's many projects - Thunder and Lightning - in San Francisco. |
During the last few years Gravenites regularly played the psychedelic blues in a small club called the Bodega Bay Grange, Marin County - joined by Doug Kilmer (bass), Mark Adams (harp) and Roy Blumenfeld (drums). The German Taxim label released one of these concerts (rec. Jan. 1994) on CD in 1996.
1999 saw the release of yet another Gravenites' solo album on which Huey Lewis plays harmonica again.
Nick Gravenites Discography:
1969 My Labours (Columbia 9899)
1973 Steelyard Blues OST (with Bloomfield; Warner)
1980 Bluestar (with H. Lewis, J. Cipollina; Line LLP5039)
1981 Funkyard In Malibu (Line 6 24264)
1982 Monkey Medicine (with J. Cipollina; Line/Legend 1994)
1991 Live In Athens At The Rodon (M.B.I. 40421)
1996 Don't Feed The Animals (Taxim TX 1020-2 TA))
1999 Kill My Brain (2Burn1 5001)
Further Links:
Bad
Talkin' Bluesman
Nick Gravenites autobiographical column from Blues Revue
magazine!
Interview
with Nick Gravenites
Interview with Nick from 1994