We were lucky to catch up with Joe Grah recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joe, thanks for joining us today. Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?
Signing with an agent can be an exciting moment for any struggling artist. After booking well over one thousand shows nationwide, I can vividly remember that moment. It’s like endless weight lifted off your shoulders for the first time. Working with massive agencies like CAA & the Agency Group was a dream come true for a guy in a young, hungry band making it’s way through the perils of the music business. At the same time, looking back, having control over every aspect of my career was the most rewarding and fulfilling time of my life. Don’t get me wrong, working with agencies like CAA affords you those opportunities that would otherwise be next to impossible. However, having both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road is the most crucial attribute for any start-up business.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Looking back, I think it all started when my house burned to the ground with me in it. Fortunately, an unrelenting good samaritan risked their life to save me. Following the fire, my father and I began a seemingly endless journey of moving around the country. The instability of a constant stream of new faces, experiences, and ideologies catapulted me into an unorthodox lifestyle. I had no choice but to develop a unique gravitational center. Not having that solid foundation as a young entity has its downside. I painfully learned that mistakes are the experiences that define, not destroy. Without it, life generally leads to a linear non-experience. Every single thing is cyclical and intertwined if you want it to be. There is no wrong way, only an omnipresent potential for each individual to interpret, reflect, and then manifest destiny. These experiences are the building blocks of life as we know and create. Tenacity, listening to the signs around you, the willingness to take chances, and trusting your instinct will set you on a path. I always find myself returning to this fundamental core value in every imaginable way, both as a human being and a creative-business-minded artist.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In September 2018, I was on tour with my Dallas band Jibe. We were out with Theory Of A Deadman in support of our single “Release,” which was climbing the charts on the verge of breaking the top 40. Jibe had just gotten back together following a tumultuous 11-year split at the height of our career due to drugs and alcohol. We finished that tour with a killer show with Slash at the House Of Blues in Houston, TX. Feeling a bit run down with a few days off before the Candlebox tour began, I flew back to Los Angeles for some R&R.
I woke up one morning, jumped on my motorcycle, and headed down the canyon toward Hollywood. About halfway to Sunset Boulevard, a BMW turned illegally in front of me. The violent impact crushed the left side of my body, shattering my clavicle, breaking multiple bones, causing internal damage, and sending me flying through the air to total black-out.
The subsequent surgeries, months of immobilization, and canceled tours sent me into an unrelenting downward spiral. The weight of everything grinding to a halt was crushing me. I remember waking up one morning with the words “Write your way out” in my head. With my left arm immobile, I utilized my keyboard instead of guitar. I wrote and recorded what turned out to be my therapy and my solo debut, “Who Ya Dyin’ For.”
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
There’s an old saying,” It takes a lifetime to figure things out.” I always had good ideas and the will to realize and drive those visions. Unfortunately, it took me many years to learn how to listen. Immaturity is too busy projecting and creating to step back and hear the Universe unfolding. Someone who can be vigorously resolute while mature enough to let go and absorb, especially at a young age, is the catalyst for a sea change. Vibrational change, ascensional change.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joegrah.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joegrah/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joegrah
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeGrah1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JoeGrah
- Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Grah https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4411156/?ref_=tt_ov_wr https://www.discogs.com/artist/1662414-Joe-Grah
Image Credits
Cherri Bird Jordan Buford Photography James Villa Photography Michelle Annette Photography Charles Salvaggio Anotherfaceinthecrowd