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Kiyoshi and band playing "Chase", Los Angeles 2006
Kiyoshi Graves has the spirit of a poet and the heart of a rock musician. With a unique lyricism that ranges from uplifting and full of hope to questioning
and full of doubt, Kiyoshi delivers an uncommon passion and honesty in every line of his songs. As the son of a second-generation Japanese American mother and a father of mixed French/German descent, Kiyoshi is a rising artist who straddles the line of his bi-racial identity and combines a diverse set of influences from Paul Simon to Radiohead to The Who, resulting in a unique sound that seamlessly blends elements of Classic Rock, Modern Rock and Americana.
Kiyoshi has built a strong and loyal following by playing in front of tens of thousands of fans at clubs, coffee houses, bookstores and festivals including B.B. King's, Borders Books & Music, Little Tokyo Live with 102.7 KIIS FM and HOT 92 JAMZ in Los Angeles, VC FILMFEST, the LA Tofu Festival and the KSCI Harvest Moon Festival. "With whatever energy, passion and charisma I have," Graves says, "I want the audience to know that I am really grateful to be playing music for them and that rock music is something that should agitate, invigorate and motivate. It should be a give and take between the audience and the artist where, together, we go someplace we couldn't have individually. I'm not sure where we go but when things work, it's somewhere not on this Earth and I absolutely love that."
Kiyoshi has also performed on KSCI-LA 18's television show "LA Living" and has done on-air performances and interviews on Los Angeles' Pacifica Radio Station, 90.7 FM KPFK. Kiyoshi also performed at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Conference in 2004 and on radio and television stations 93 FM KQID and KALB Channel 5 in Alexandria, Louisiana while on a brief tour with former a band.
His first full-length album Chase (jd8 Records, 2006) is a collection of 10 original songs by Kiyoshi featuring stories of journey and discovery. The songs range from high-energy and adventurous as on the title track "Chase" to atmospheric and introspective as on the track "Finish Line." The album also features the tracks "Everything," an angst-ridden response to those who doubt your pursuit of your dreams, "Reckoning," a song that pays tribute to the soldiers who fight our wars but still questions the purpose of those wars, "So Much More," a teenage crush anthem, and "Line," a reflection on how each of us can make a difference in the world by starting on an interpersonal level.
The Chase LP was produced by Evan Frankfort (The Wallflowers, Pete Yorn, Orson, The Bangles, etc.) and features the organ playing of Rami Jaffee of The Wallflowers throughout the album. "Chase is the beginning of my journey into realizing what I am capable of, what is possible and how I might realize my true potential. It's a statement that we don't have to settle - that we can pursue our dreams and ambitions without compromise. People may try to tear us down, either consciously or unconsciously, but we can rise above that. The album is a collection of songs that I want to inspire action and give hope to those that hear it."
Born and raised in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, Kiyoshi dropped out of high school amid personal struggles with his identity and purpose. "The music of The Who carried me through high school, dropping out and being completely adrift. Their songs gave me the strength and courage to keep going and not give up. I want to inspire others the way they inspired me. The connection I most seek with people is synergy," Graves says, "that place where our collective energies add up to something much bigger than our sum as individuals."
At one point, Kiyoshi was studying to become an architectural engineer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before the death of his grandfather made him realize that life is short and that death awaits us all (as tattooed on his left arm). He re-examined what really mattered to him and determined then that his music is his life's passion and purpose. He went back to school at Sonoma State University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a special emphasis in jazz and chorus. After graduating in 2001, he moved back to Los Angeles to begin pursuing music as a career and writing and recording the songs that would eventually become his first EP "Past, by its waters" (2004) and now his debut full-length album Chase.
Through his many trials and tribulations, Kiyoshi Graves has emerged as a rising artist who is hard-driving, sensitive and determined to make it to the top.
