some say Leland profile picture

some say Leland

About Me

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW!
BUY IT AT SHOWS, AT WATERLOO RECORDS, OR AT END OF AN EAR RECORDS. Here are some things that have been said about them.
"Some Say Leland has a gem with their latest full-length, Fifty Miles Into the Main. They’ve assembled a collection of simple, lovely melodies housing tales that strike up a sort of melancholy, a sense of longing that pulls the heart strings mighty hard. But there’s no sentimentality here. These are solid, gorgeous songs, American roots music at its best." - Laurie Gallardo - Austin Music Minute - KUT
"Sad and Sublime Folk" - The Austin Chronicle
"I think myspace is broken, it sounds like two songs are playing at once." - Dan's Mom
"Some Say Leland is one of the most appealing and satisfying live acoustic ensemble performances happening in Austin. In terms of song craft and musicianship, Some Say Leland offer truly top-notch artistry...what we have is simply a beautiful example of original contemporary American music. Many talented artists try sincerely, but fall honorably short of that mark." - Church of the Friendly Ghost
"The hand-numbered sophomore album from local neo-traditionalists Some Say Leland captures a rare combination of devils and dust...Leader Dan Grissom is an impressive vocalist and songwriter that recalls Bowl of Fire-era Andrew Bird." - Austin Powell - The Austin Chronicle
"Reminiscent of dusty field recordings and the kind of primordial folk heard on The Anthology Of American Folk Music, Some Say Leland is earnestly committed to its version of American roots music, singing lyrical tales of wandering troubadours and weepy odes to hunchbacks over a dry creek bed of banjos, accordion, and brass. While it's tempting to relate them to early 20th-century revivalists like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Some Say Leland's antediluvian bent is far from a gimmick: Its palpable affection for the cleansing power of folk should delight fans of fellow modern-day traditionalists like Will Oldham or Andrew Bird." - The Onion
"Some Say Leland began with a mournful, almost sinister blues about flooding in New Orleans. Singer-guitarist Dan Grissom's plain, conversational baritone has a modern quality that contrasted strikingly with stand-up bassist Lindsey Verrill's piquant, old-timey soprano and folk-jazz instrumentation that also included accordion, trombone, drums and violin or cello. All their songs have an otherworldly bent, but a new waltz about a nightmare starring the devil was particularly eerie." - Parry Gettelman - The Austin-American Statesman
They also recorded another album a few years ago with a much simpler setup of guitar, dobro, mandolin and harmony vocals. Here are some nice things that have been written about their first album.

"their wry, almost reserved approach to storytelling lends an captivatingly personal touch to their music." - Kendal Rogers - The Buzz
"Taking vocal and lyrical cues from artists as diverse as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Will Oldham, Grissom and his bandmates have created a fine neo-folk recording that resonates well with simple, tuneful songwriting and instrumental interplay..." - Chris Edwards - The Pine Log
If you like what you hear on the website, you can buy the first album at:
www.cdbaby.com/somesayleland
Or you can download the album through iTunes.
Also, feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think. Thanks.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/05/2005
Band Website: www.somesayleland.com
Band Members: Dan Grissom - vocals, guitar, banjo
Adam Rader - guitar, banjo, toys, backing vocals
Stephen Orsak - electric guitar
Stephen Smith - trombone, fender rhodes, piano
Lindsey Verrill - upright bass, tuba, backing vocals
Cole Roulain - drums, percussion

friends on some of our recordings

Gabe Lit - clarinet, bass clarinet
David Moss - cello
Nick Litterski - piano
Amanda Kitchens - accordian, backing vocals
Katie Rogers - violin

Influences: Field Recordings of any kind, Moondog, Mississippi John Hurt, The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Skip James, Scott Joplin, "Big" Tiny Little, Pete Fountain, Josephine Baker, Hank Williams, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, The Dillards, Django Reinhardt, The Beatles, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Don Mclean, Jeff Buckley, Nick Cave, Ani Difranco, Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bonnie Prince Billy (or any Will Oldham project), Radiohead, Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, M. Ward, Wilco, Phosphorescent, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, Jollie Holland, Yann Tiersen, Paul Cantelon, Jenny Lewis, The Decemberists, Mugison, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kings of Convenience, Rufus Wainwright, Fleet Foxes, Dirty Projectors, Califone, and anything put out by Dust-to-Digital Records (seriously, check that shit out)
Sounds Like: organized sound
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

NEW ALBUM

Hello folks,We have a new album out called "Fifty Miles Into The Main."There is a limited first edition of 400 that are in handmade packaging featuring silkscreen printing and small handmade lyric boo...
Posted by on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:34:00 GMT

DONE!

It's true. We're finally done with our new record. It's been a long time coming. I'll type more later. I'm tired. I've started all these sentences with contractions. That's how tired I'm.
Posted by on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:40:00 GMT

some say Leland in the onion!

Hey everybody, check this out. Somebody at the Onion wrote about us. There's also a little bit about a band that 3 of us recently joined called "Reverend Glasseye." So check them out too if you hav...
Posted by on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:22:00 GMT

the statesman wrote about us in their blog

yeah, what the title says. The Statesman/Austin360 came to the secret show we played at and wrote about it. Awesome. Here it is.Review: Austin Secret Show seriesBy Parry Gettelman | Wednesday, Nove...
Posted by on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:38:00 GMT

new songs, upcoming show and album

This is pretty much exactly what I posted as a bulletin last night, so if you read that, you don't need to read this. Unless you liked the bulletin post so much that you wanted to read it for inspira...
Posted by on Sun, 12 Nov 2006 10:31:00 GMT