Calum Graham
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE
Music
Press
If you're a fan of contemporary acoustic guitar, you certainly know Don Ross' musical reputation. He is the gentle giant, the great Canadian handler of that wooden neck and six metal strings, whose many albums have inspired a couple of generations of fans and musicians around the world since the 70s ...
Calum Graham, the young Alberta composer and talented guitarist, whose first solo album I also mentioned here a couple of years back, is one of Don Ross' "anonymous disciples," having listened to recordings, imitating Don's style and technique alone in his room since a very young age. It was at the 2011 Canadian Guitar Festival in Kingston where he finally met his virtual mentor after winning the annual competition of the prestigious event, having out-performed thirty guitarists of all backgrounds. It should also be noted that Don Ross, Antoine Dufour, Tony McManus and I were the judges of the competition. I remember well Don's stunned smile listening to this young guitarist identified only by a number…we couldn't see the competitors because we were sequestered with two speakers in a trailer behind the stage!
A beautiful friendship was begun, peppered here and there with several duo concerts while Calum honed his art. Calum let Don hear some of his new material, and Ross' instinctive reaction was, "Calum is one of those musicians one can't help but like immediately. His compositions are energetic, infectious, and show an unusual musical maturity for such a young guitarist. What can I say other than that I'm a huge fan of Calum Graham!".
Completing the circle, the two friends undertook the project of recording "12:34" for Candyrat Records, the American record label that is also a major sponsor of the Canadian Guitar Festival. The result: ten brilliant and superbly executed tunes: six written by Calum, three different and even daring reinterpretations of the well-known tunes of Don's, and a masterful cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya"! Recorded in Mississauga and Montreal and mixed by Don Ross himself, "12:34" never fails to satisfy, surprise and fascinate on every listen. Who knows, maybe one of you budding guitarists out there might very well be influenced by this example of musical and human collaboration between "master and pupil." Maybe one day you'll end up at that famous competition and Don and Calum might be members of the jury...because, after all, nothing's impossible, right? - MAGAZINE SON & IMAGE
Check Guitar Player's website in the next few weeks (not avail. at the time of this upload) - GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Calum Graham is
poised to be setting the bar for guitar grooviness for many years to
come. His tunes are energetic, infectious, and show a compositional
maturity well beyond what I would normally expect to hear from such a
young player. What can I say, Im a fan!
-Don Ross
Calum is a very
talented young man with a great musical sense and a mature playing
technique and feel on his instrument. His music writing is very
interesting, his melodies are moving and can really grab the listeners
attention. Keep an eye (and ears!) on that Calum Graham! I wish him
great success, cause he deserves it!
-Antoine Dufour
The older I get,
the less Im inclined to believe in talent. The lack of it is so often
the excuse for not trying. Its no accident that the best players are,
without exception, the ones who worked the hardest, so its always
inspiring when you hear a guitar player of Calums youth who has already
demonstrated the huge commitment it requires to approach a real mastery
of the instrument.
-Keith Smith
Calum Graham can play the guitar like only few can on the planet.
Thats not an overstatement. It goes without saying that success and
fame are imminent for this bright-eyed, blond haired, 22-year-old
Alberta native, as the newfangled sound that he has made his own is at
the forefront of a new generation in music and is certain to gain
interest from across the world.
Calum signed to one of the biggest acoustic guitar labels worldwide
CandyRat Records in the summer of 2013. The first album Calum signed
with them was a duet album with the legendary guitarist, Don Ross called
12:34. A solo album Phoenix Rising was the follow-up record only 4
months later featuring Calum in a live one guitar setting which has
also been garnering rave reviews throughout the world.
Born in British Columbia, and raised in the small town of High River,
Alberta, Calum started playing the guitar nine years ago. He
attributes growing up in a talented family and always being surrounded
by different forms of musical and artistic expression, in further
influencing the development of his unique style of music. But Calums
first foray into his own individual expression was not a result of his
classically trained guitar work, it was teaching himself how to play
finger-style guitar; a decision from which he never looked back.
Along with a select list of other musicians, Calum was invited to be a
representative of Alberta music for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in
Vancouver as well as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. In the
summer of 2010, he won the first place title at the Canadian Guitar
Festival a feat that no other teenager has accomplished in the
Festivals history.
Since his move to Toronto, Calum has already been making a buzz on
the music scene. Aside from performing at venues such as The Horseshoe
Tavern, and The Rivoli, Calum has also performed between Colin James and
K-Os with other headlines, Sloan, Serena Ryder and Ron Sexsmith playing
at the 8th Annual Any Kim Christmas Concert at The Mod Club.
His second studio album, Indivisibility, features Calum on both
lead vocals and guitar. The songs provide a combination of his
exemplary guitar work and mellow vocals with a rhythmic undercurrent
that bears testament to his impassioned playing, and punctuated
throughout with elements of jazz, pop and acoustic blues.
Calum continues to write, record, and perform full-time and is
currently working on his singing & songwriting abilities to
showcasing them along with his fingerstyle prowess on his next album. He
is also planning on recording a full-band CD featuring Calum on
electric guitar & lead vocals sometime in the near future.
Band Members
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