Shaun DeGraff Named August “Best Vocalist Of The Month” With His Song, “Everything To Me”
Shaun DeGraff
Shaun Degraff, an acoustic soul/rock singer/songwriter/pianist based in Las Vegas, NV, has won the August SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition, for his performance of his song "Everything To Me”. This song is included on DeGraff's 12-song solo album, Grey Area, which he released independently in February (2010).
“Everything To Me” is a driving, dynamic pop/rock tune which is influenced by the piano-based, classic style of Billy Joel, with a touch of Meat Loaf's dramatic flair. The song starts at a high energy level, and steadily builds momentum. "Everything To Me" provides a fine showcase for DeGraff's clear, passionate vocals, particularly in the choruses. Impressively, DeGraff produced this recording, and he played all the instruments (keyboards, drum tracks and programming) on this cut.
DeGraff grew up in the small town of Kingman, which is in southern Arizona. He learned to play piano when he was 14, and began writing songs soon after. DeGraff was inspired by listening to such artists as Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Otis Redding.
Following high school, DeGraff attended college briefly, but he then decided to pursue his music career fulltime. "I wanted to perform and tour internationally," recalled DeGraff. "I auditioned for a band that was going to Japan and needed a keyboard player. For the next three years I toured extensively - we played in China, Korea, and we did a USO tour in Bosnia, Sarajevo and Macedonia."
Shaun DeGraff
While on the road, DeGraff found time to write songs, and he subsequently recorded two albums, In My Room and Music For Life. These two CDs were released under his band's name, Brother Luke. Notably, In My Room was named Best Modern Rock CD of 2004 by Just Plain Folks, and DeGraff performed at their awards show in Los Angeles.
Then in 2009, DeGraff began recording his latest album Grey Area, which consisted of songs he had written during the past five years. "I played all instruments on this album, which was recorded in my home studio," said DeGraff. "On my previous albums, I tried to be more experimental. But on this album, I'm focusing on more [mainstream] pop and rock songs."
Currently, DeGraff is promoting Grey Area, and the songs have received airplay on FM college radio and on internet radio. In addition, he is developing his solo live show, and he regularly plays gigs in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. "I'm fortunate to make a living as a professional musician, and I'm looking forward to building my solo artist career and toruing more."
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