Tomo Nakayama - vocals, piano, guitar
Jeramy Koepping - electric guitar
Alina To - violin
Jaclyn Shumate - violin
Joel Harmon - drums, bells, vocals
Kevin Large - bass, vocals
Chris Zasche - pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, piano
with the recording/live help of our dear friends:
Erik Neumann - bass
Bob Roberts - drums
Luke Bergman - upright bass
Esther Shin - cello, piano
Kevin Barrans - accordion
Melissa Sharkey - piano
Rachel Bowman - cello
Jane Lee - violin
Nina Speak - oboe
Sonnet Bingham - vocals
Influences
arai yumi. sigur ros. joanna newsom. joe hisaishi. john lennon. stanley kubrick. nina simone. bjork. steve reich. nhhmbase! david berman. david gordon green. aiko shimada. neil young. carson cistulli. mark berger. neptune bike club.
Sounds Like
"Yes is the Answer" (2007) CD - $10.99 order from CD Baby.com produced by Jeramy Koepping 12 page booklet with artwork by PCP and Lacey Carnahan
digital download from
"We Flew Ephemera" (2008) CD EP - $5.99 order from CD Baby.com
digital download from
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PRESS:
""The finest, most exquisite craftsmanship has the power to turn ordinary objects into works of art. In the case of Grand Hallway's Yes is the Answer, it is this sort of craft that elevates Tomo Nakayama's songs--gorgeous, orchestral pop pieces that balance intricate arrangements of piano, strings, and countless other subtleties--to a higher plane of beauty." - Seattle Sound Magazine
"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.” - 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
We are working on a new album. Things sound really good so far. She's due in early 2009!
Bio:
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 Shearwater, Damien Jurado, Noah and the Whale, Aquaduct, Dead Science, and Laura Gibson. In the fall of 2007 they completed a tour of Japan with Arthur & Yu and Shugo Tokumaru. In May of 2008 they performed at the Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre featuring the likes of REM, the Cure, Flaming Lips, and Modest Mouse.
Oct 23rd in Seattle....HUGE THANK YOU! That was one of the best shows i've experienced. i truly hope we can continue a long friendship! -cameron(of the Devil Whale)
Thank you for playing your music for everyone last night. It was such luck when the airplane quietly rumbled overhead... and the seagull drifted by, squawking as to softly accompany you both.
![We Flew Ephemera [EP]](http://www.tunecore.com/images/buttons/badgeitunes61x15dark.gif){kind=small}
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