G R A N D . H A L L W A Y :
Hailing from Seattle, Washington,
Grand Hallway is a mini-orchestra of sorts (a typical live show features up to 9 musicians on stage). The troupe's intricate and melodic songs reflect the diverse backgrounds of each of its members. An immigrant of Japanese and Vietnamese descent and raised in the US, frontman Tomo Nakayama's sprawling songs are imbued with the traditions of his native lands, as filtered through the influence of the various Western artists to whom he grew up listening. Possessing a clear (and, at times, genderless) tenor voice, Nakayama weaves seamless pop melodies over his piano and guitar. Add to the mix the Brit-rock and Motown influenced riffs of guitarist Jeramy Koepping (Voyager One), the upright bass tones of Erik Neumann, the post-rock drumming of Joel Harmon (Sleepy Eyes of Death), the country/western flavors of Chris Zasche's (The Maldives) pedal steel, and a classically trained string section of Alina To, Jaclyn Shumate, and Esther Shin, and the result is an undeniably unique experience. The seemingly incongruous parts come together to form a whole: an instantly familiar and inviting sound that nonetheless refuses to be defined by any single genre of music.
Grand Hallway's debut album, “Yes Is The Answer†was released in 2007 in Japan on
Sideout Records (home to Bright Eyes, Cursive, Two Gallants, The Velvet Teen), and self-released by the band in the United States. The follow up EP, "We Flew Ephemera", was released in early 2008.
Locally, Grand Hallway has performed with such artists as Damien Jurado (Secretly Canadian Records), Dead Science (Absolutely Kosher), and Laura Gibson (HUSH). In the fall of 2007 they completed a tour of Japan with Arthur & Yu (Sub Pop/Hardly Art Records) and Shugo Tokumaru (P-Vine). In May of 2008 they took part in the Sasquatch Festival, a three day event at the Gorge Amphitheatre featuring the likes of REM, the Cure, Flaming Lips, and Modest Mouse.
Booking and Information: [email protected]
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PRESS:
"Grand Hallway ringleader Tomo Nakayama's voice has been called "genderless," as soft and expressive as a ballet dancer's feet. Anything rougher would break the fragile arrangements of this Seattle-based eight-piece, which could just as easily be the Radar Brothers after a little helium and several months in the Orient. The sum of Nakayama's airy, fluttering lyrics and the band's dependence on strings equals butterflies for the listener. Put your hands in your pockets, they're gonna sweat."
- Willamette Week
"Young Ones - 2007" - The Stranger Top 10 emerging bands in Seattle
"
We Flew Ephemera could be summed up in one word: beautiful. Although all the songs come across as love songs, their beauty is of the heartbreaking type... When the singing begins, you will swear they brought Sufjan Stevens on as a guest. Singer Tomo Nakayama's voice carries the same softness as the Midwesterner's, but with the slight oddness akin to Devendra Banhart's or Tom Brosseau's."
- KEXP
"
Yes Is the Answer glows brightly with warm, delicate orchestration and thoughtful song structures. Smooth piano and swooning strings only slightly take the spotlight over Tomo Nakayama's tender crooning. The songs are sometimes sad ("Seward Park"), sometimes loving, and at times even playful ("Piano Room"). Slide guitar gives a light country flare to the otherwise poppy "Minimum Wage," while wind instruments and layers of plunking piano, violin, and guitar bring a slight Japanese folk sound to "Darling, Wife."
- The Stranger
"One of the most intriguing voices in Seattle..."
- Seattle Times
"I know of no singer that has a better voice than Tomo Nakayama. I also don't know of a more gorgeous record to be released in 2007, locally or otherwise."
- Threeimaginarygirls.com
Voted 20th on by the editors of Threeimaginarygirls'
Best NW Releases of 2007, and 21st on the Readers' Poll.
"Grand Hallway joins the departed Seldom and The Prom in the area's pantheon of talented, young, piano-based pop bands. Led by singer and songwriter Tomo Nakayama, the group has created an album of orchestrated chamber pop that manages to be simultaneously lush and delicate, all while maintaining Nakayama's personal and idiosyncratic vision"
- WC Performer
"Just when you think you've settled into the gaunt beauty of drums and piano, a profusion of strings, pedal steel, and vibraphone slide, and then burst out of the seams of this recording, leaving their colorful trails over the tape until they disappear from earshot again...It's a nostalgia-inducing tearjerker of a record that makes you feel a little better for having heard it… and felt it."
- CDBaby.com
“I am mesmerized by the music of Tomo Nakayama and his troupe of Seattle musicians making up the experimental pop slash classic Japanese group Grand Hallway. Light piano and orchestral strings blend well with Nakayama’s cultured vocals, carrying a slight vibrato slightly reminiscent of Vells frontman Tristan Marcum, but less verbose and without added distortion.â€
- FensePost
"This release from Grand Hallway is great for the little things, the tiny and intricate details that permeate this quirky and wonderful pop album. Singer and all-around musician Tomo Nakayama possesses these tunes with his gentle and heartfelt singing, while a melange of acoustic instruments weave in and out of the background."
- Mish Mash Music
