Grayscale: At The Roxy On The Sunset Strip

Collin Walsh of Grayscale at The Roxy

Grayscale: At The Roxy On The Sunset Strip

Grayscale is an up-and-coming collective from Philadelphia who are ready to take on the nation with their vibrantly emotional pop rocking anthems.  The band recently completely a cross country tour with As It Is and Roam in support of their Fearless Records debut entitled Adornment.  Prior to their explosive set at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip, we caught up with vocalist Collin Walsh to find out more about their amazing new album, life on the recently concluded Okay USA tour, Boston Creme donuts, and a whole lot more!  Read on…

Introduce yourself and tell everyone what you do in Grayscale.
Hi everyone, I’m Collin from Grayscale. I am the vocalist.

How has this tour been going and what have been some of the highlights so far?
It’s been going well. We had a really good time on the East Coast in the beginning and then the middle of the country was really cool because we saw a lot of places we’d never been to before and that was really awesome. Yeah, overall, it’s been going great. A lot of people know the words and it’s been really kind of above our expectations.

What are you looking forward to the most about playing the legendary Roxy Theater?
It’s just amazing!  The music I listened to and grew up on and play – all of it’s influenced from bands that played this kind of venue, this venue specifically. I’m really like, honored and excited. It’s, you know, more of like a. I feel kind of like a little rite of passage in a way.

Is this your first time playing Hollywood?
It is. Yes.

What do you think of Hollywood overall?
Ah, we’ve been to Hollywood when we recorded. We recorded in North Hollywood. It’s really cool. It’s different, obviously. A lot different from the East Coast. We’re from Philadelphia, so much different than Philly, but yeah, I mean I love it. Weather’s beautiful, the hills are beautiful. It’s awesome.

Collin Walsh of Grayscale and Patty Walters of As It Is perform Come Undone at The Roxy

Is there any overall story or concept on the album title Adornment?
Adornment is really hard to explain, but in laymen’s terms, basically Adornment is a record that’s comprised of stories from my life and throughout the songs and all of the stories, there’s these references to these elements like lightning bugs and rain and stuff like that. Those things are, for me, you know when you smell something and it brings you back to a certain point in time? Those elements that are weaved throughout the songs are the equivalent of that phenomenon, they’re the catalyst of that phenomenon for me. So, it’s kind of bringing that phenomenon and my lyrics bringing together to make the stories authentic and real as it can possibly me.

Select any two songs, what inspired the lyrics for you?
I’ll pick “Slept,” which is the second from last song, and that song was one of my favorites because it kind of reflects my – I’m an insomniac, I have a really hard time sleeping and it reflects my insomnia and how it’s affecting me throughout everything – and that song kind of ties the lyrical content all together from the record. Second song would probably be, I’d say, Slipping Away. That’s because instrumentally, obviously lyrically it’s deep meaning. It’s about someone I had a relationship with, very close to, but instrumentally, it was kind of different for us. It was kind of just, a little out of our comfort zone, and I think that’s what I like about it most. It came out feeling like a Grayscale song and sounding like a Grayscale song but when we first started it, it was different-feeling.

Was there any stress or pressure with this being your second album in regard to the “sophomore slump”?
No. We were just really excited to get it out, honestly. We didn’t feel any pressure. We write the songs as best we can and if people like them, then great. Obviously we want people to enjoy them, but you know, when you pour your blood sweat and tears into something, it comes to a point where it fills a void and you’re really proud of it. Kind of regardless of what people think, you’re satisfied with it. So, although it’s very ecstatic that people enjoy the record, a lot of it is just therapeutic for me, and regardless of what people thought of it, I was just proud of it.

Adornment by Grayscale (Fearless Records)

What was it like working with producer Kyle Black on Adornment?
It was cool. Kyle is a really good dude. He really pushed us and he loves trying all kinds of alternate versions of things. He really likes pushing us and testing the waters out in all kinds of weird ways, so working with Kyle was great. I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a band and we learned how we work with that kind of producer a lot. So, overall really enjoyable.

Any strange or scary happenings while on the road or at a show?
No. But, our van, on this tour, we’ve been late to a few dates, we had to play acoustically in Reno because, our van, when it goes up hills, there’s something wrong with the transmission and the vacuum, the inhalation of the engine processing the oxygen. So we’re not able to go more than 20 miles an hour going up hills on this tour because of our van. Out west here, it takes us a long time sometimes because the hills are so steep. That’s really the only hiccup we’ve had. That’s about it. Other than that’s it’s been smooth sailing.

Been to San Francisco yet?
We have not. We’ve been been to Oakland. That’s it. Didn’t get to do San Fran this tour, but maybe next time.

The hills would have been fun for your van…
Oh, that would been terrible. I don’t think we’d even had made it. Would have rolled back.

If Grayscale could open for any band either now or from the past, who and why?
For me, it’d be Third Eye Blind. For me, that band is one of the biggest lyrical and musical influences on me ever. They are the biggest one. I look up to them as musicians, that’d be my number one. Third Eye Blind.

If your music was a donut, what kind would it be and why?
Boston Creme Donut because you have the initial cake element. You have the chocolate and the custard in the middle. I feel like there’s a little bit for everybody on our record. It’s pretty diverse and broad in terms of the genre. It’s not one specific genre, there’s a lot going on. There’s acoustic songs, there’s all kinds of stuff. I think a Boston Creme, because it has three elements. I can’t think of a donut that has four, but I guess if you put sprinkles on…

What’s up next for you guys after this tour?
We have another tour in the fall and then a third tour in the winter, but I can’t say who with. But we’re very excited about both of them. It’ll be announced sooner or later, but it’ll be out soon enough.

Any messages for your fans who are reading this right now?
Thank you. We would not be doing this.  I feel like bands, as they grow, and obviously we’re a young band, but we’ve already started to see a lot of support for people at shows – buying merch. I feel like we’re the kind of band, where no matter what ,we’re never going to forget that we’d be nothing without our fans. So, thank you so much. We literally would not be here without you.

Grayscale is:
Andrew Kyne – Guitar
Collin Walsh – Vocals
Dallas Molster – Guitar/Vocals
Nick Veno – Drums
Nick Ventimiglia – Bass

(Interview by Ken Morton – Live Photos by Jack Lue)

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