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Homey touches
Country singer Gracin shows what he is about on his latest release
By SANDYE VOIGHT TH staff writer
The reason that country singer Josh Gracin's "We Weren't Crazy -- Personal Memories" video has that homey photo album look is because he put it together himself on the computer.
It's a digital slide show that includes snapshots from his childhood and that of wife, Ann Marie.
Just a couple kids a couple years Ago
Now we gotta couple kids of our Own
We turn out right -- proved them Wrong
Look at us goin' strong
It includes photos of their three young children (ages 6, 3 and 2). He and his wife are expecting their fourth child in November.
"I wanted to show everybody what I wrote about," Gracin, 27, said of the hit single, in a phone interview from his home in Nashville. He's on the road most of the summer, on a "We Weren't Crazy" tour that takes him from Rhinelander, Wis., to Cincinnati and Brownsville, Ore., before his stop at the Dubuque County Fair, Friday, July 25.
Six years ago, Gracin was just a nice kid from the suburbs of Detroit. He enlisted in News You Can Use
What: Grandstand concert, country music Who: Josh Gracin and Phil Vassar When: Friday, July 25; grandstand opens at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Where: Dubuque County Fair Cost: $40, $30 and $20
the U.S. Marines after taking a few classes at Western Michigan University News You Can Use
What: Grandstand concert, country music Who: Josh Gracin and Phil Vassar When: Friday, July 25; grandstand opens at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Where: Dubuque County Fair Cost: $40, $30 and $20
and
before 9/11.
"I was actually on the firing range when that all happened," he said.
He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego. And while he was in the Marines, he auditioned for Fox TV's "American Idol," where he placed fourth in the show's second season. He was the first country singer to make it on the show. And, his status as an active Marine added to his personal profile.
It was the first of several firsts. After winning a recording contract with Disney's Lyric Street Records in Nashville, Gracin became one of three solo country artists in recent years to release a debut album with three consecutive Top 5 country hits: No. 1 hit "Nothin' to Lose," as well as "I Want to Live" and "Stay with Me."
He is one of three male country singers introduced in the past three years to earn a gold album.
Gracin said he sang a lot as a kid, performing in his high school choir. But his love for country music began at age 11.
"That's when I first saw Garth Brooks," he said, his voice dropping in reverence.
He said he's always written a little bit of music. But now that he's lived in Nashville for more than five years and rubbed elbows with top musicians, he's dabbling in it more, when he has the time. But he's touring a lot this summer.
The show, he said, is definitely "very high energy. I'm running back and forth and having a good time. It's definitely for the fan. I have
T-shirts and stuff to throw from the stage."
The 20 songs are a mix of music he's recorded, with three or four covers thrown in.
His speaking voice is more Upper Midwest-Michigan than the Southern drawl of country music. He occasionally takes a little flak for not being a Southern boy.
"But the longer I live here, the more it goes away," he said.
Ellie
Homey touches
Country singer Gracin shows what he is about on his latest release
By SANDYE VOIGHT TH staff writer
The reason that country singer Josh Gracin's "We Weren't Crazy -- Personal Memories" video has that homey photo album look is because he put it together himself on the computer.
It's a digital slide show that includes snapshots from his childhood and that of wife, Ann Marie.
Just a couple kids a couple years Ago
Now we gotta couple kids of our Own
We turn out right -- proved them Wrong
Look at us goin' strong
It includes photos of their three young children (ages 6, 3 and 2). He and his wife are expecting their fourth child in November.
"I wanted to show everybody what I wrote about," Gracin, 27, said of the hit single, in a phone interview from his home in Nashville. He's on the road most of the summer, on a "We Weren't Crazy" tour that takes him from Rhinelander, Wis., to Cincinnati and Brownsville, Ore., before his stop at the Dubuque County Fair, Friday, July 25.
Six years ago, Gracin was just a nice kid from the suburbs of Detroit. He enlisted in News You Can Use
What: Grandstand concert, country music Who: Josh Gracin and Phil Vassar When: Friday, July 25; grandstand opens at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Where: Dubuque County Fair Cost: $40, $30 and $20
the U.S. Marines after taking a few classes at Western Michigan University News You Can Use
What: Grandstand concert, country music Who: Josh Gracin and Phil Vassar When: Friday, July 25; grandstand opens at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Where: Dubuque County Fair Cost: $40, $30 and $20
and
before 9/11.
"I was actually on the firing range when that all happened," he said.
He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego. And while he was in the Marines, he auditioned for Fox TV's "American Idol," where he placed fourth in the show's second season. He was the first country singer to make it on the show. And, his status as an active Marine added to his personal profile.
It was the first of several firsts. After winning a recording contract with Disney's Lyric Street Records in Nashville, Gracin became one of three solo country artists in recent years to release a debut album with three consecutive Top 5 country hits: No. 1 hit "Nothin' to Lose," as well as "I Want to Live" and "Stay with Me."
He is one of three male country singers introduced in the past three years to earn a gold album.
Gracin said he sang a lot as a kid, performing in his high school choir. But his love for country music began at age 11.
"That's when I first saw Garth Brooks," he said, his voice dropping in reverence.
He said he's always written a little bit of music. But now that he's lived in Nashville for more than five years and rubbed elbows with top musicians, he's dabbling in it more, when he has the time. But he's touring a lot this summer.
The show, he said, is definitely "very high energy. I'm running back and forth and having a good time. It's definitely for the fan. I have
T-shirts and stuff to throw from the stage."
The 20 songs are a mix of music he's recorded, with three or four covers thrown in.
His speaking voice is more Upper Midwest-Michigan than the Southern drawl of country music. He occasionally takes a little flak for not being a Southern boy.
"But the longer I live here, the more it goes away," he said.
Ellie