Four Shades of Grae

   Before starting a band, Samantha Mishinski was a manager at Hot Topic for a year and seven months before getting let go. From there a series of other retail jobs ensued, like East Meets West and Godiva, until securing a position at UPS. But playing and writing music was always in the back pocket. "A friend nearby had a piano I would fool around with every time we hung out," said Sam "I fell out of music but about a year ago I picked up a guitar and fell in love with music all over again."
   When a photographer tried to set his friends up on a date, Jack, a bassist and guitarist, met singer and guitarist Sam. As a joke, she asked if he wanted to be in a band (again). Little did they know that joke would turn into something real.
   After going out to a support a local show, the duo met Danny, their current drummer. Much like how John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison all went to the same school, Sam, Jack and Danny all hung out with the same crowd; only at separate times and passively mentioned they were starting a band.
   Danny mentioned he was leaving his band and was offered a spot with Sam and Jack. Jack managed to rope his father into playing bass for the band and "BOOM we were a band." The four musicians banded together and formed Grae, a name that too started as a joke. Grae came after Sam wrote her first song which is essentially about having a different perspective than everyone else; seeing everything in grayscale while everyone else sees things in color.
   The band is still fairly new and with that, no full songs as of yet. One is written but the band wants to get out the whole EP together before scheduling a recording date. Sam records a lot on her own "just vocals and stuff and things we can try out but nothing solid."  Every song has a story behind it. John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus" to stop people from overanalyzing Beatles songs. Bob Dylan wrote "Hurricane" about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. One of the songs the band is working on is inspired by family. "Sometimes they don't agree with your decisions" Sam wrote.
   Sam's family is supportive in their own way. "It was more of a shock to them than anything. I had always wanted to get into singing but never really pursued it mostly because I didn't have the connections." Now she has connections and a band so we'll see where it goes. But what is the ultimate direction for Grae? It's paradoxical; making it "big" would be nice but its satirical, but the music-making process and song-writing are stressful and serious.
   Each member brings their own things to rehearsals, new chords and tunes that plays off one another. Sam writes the lyrics herself and constantly thinks "this is the rawest version of me. Do I want people to hear this side of me? Do I want them to know what is going on inside my head?"
    Yes and no. The writing is the real Sam; but it also isn't. "But that's what it means to be an artist in any field: expressing YOUR truth how you see it and hoping people can accept it."
   When it rains it pours. Sam foresees potential setbacks in the future, one of which may just be the music itself. "We all have different tastes that influences and interests that change the way we play but vibe well together so I hope it will help us put the potential disagreements aside."
   For now, the band just wants to enjoy themselves. Play good music for good people. "Basically if it happens, it happens."