Following his self-funded, viral music video "All-American Boy," OUT100 Honoree Steve Grand is set to release his first album on March 24th, which he successfully raised over $325,000 for on Kickstarter (the 3rd most funded music project in Kickstarter history!).
Grand is an openly gay singer who's certainly country-inspired, but does not self-identify as a country artist. "Music is subjective," Grand says, "The lines of life are blurring. We are seeing that in music as in sexuality and gender identity...There's nothing different about my music just because I'm gay. I sing about things that I go through, but they are things that we all go through, regardless of sexual orientation."
The singer-songwriter pulls inspiration from classic rock stars like The Beatles and Billy Joel to pop queen Lady Gaga. To say he's just a country singer isn't the most inclusive title.
A full-length album has also allowed Grand to follow an arc or storyline. "Each song needed to function as a plot point on that arc. A lot of things in life follow that trajectory, where there's a beginning, middle, and end. Relationship do that, growing up does that, life does that." Every number, Grand adds, "explores some kind of relationship, whether it be a relationship with a romantic partner, a relationship with a friend, a relationship with the past, a relationship with something destructive, a relationship with a community."
All-American Boy is set to release March 24th. To hold you over, watch a live piano performance of the title song below:
