Openly gay singer Steve Grand made national headlines last year when his video for the song "All American Boy"—which featured him falling for a guy who turned out to be straight ( but understanding )—went viral.
Now, he's in the media spotlight again, as he launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his debut album, augmenting the announcement with appearances on programs such as Larry King Now. However, Grand did something very few people do on Kickstarter, as he reached his goal of $81,000 in only 17 hours. ( In fact, in less than two days, Grand's campaign has become one of only 32 out of 27,000-plus music projects in Kickstarter's history to successfully realize $100,000 or more in funding. He plans to use the extra money to market the CD. )
Grand recently talked with Windy City Times about the campaign and his upcoming album.
Windy City Times: Hey—how are you?
Steve Grand: I'm doing really great. A lot has happened in the past couple of days. A lot of hard work has gone into this, and I'm glad to see things come to fruition. It's really nice.
WCT: Yes; it's not everyone who gets to appear with Larry King.
Steve Grand: I've been very lucky. I'm so grateful, and I realize that I'm very lucky.
WCT: Congratulations on the Kickstarter campaign. I was wondering why you decided to go this route and not with a label.
Steve Grand: I thought this was a great opportunity to show my fans how much I believed in them and that I could stay pure with my message. A lot of times a label, because it's footing the bill, expects certain creative control. When I put "All American Boy" out July 2, I said I wanted to tell honest stories and make honest music that reflects my own life experiences and resonates with fans. I thought having them invest in me would solidify that relationship.
I really do feel that it's brought us all closer. I so genuinely appreciate my fans. Not a second goes by without me feeling so grateful. The relationship I have with them is more sacred than anything.
WCT: You're going your own way.
Steve Grand: I'm stubborn in the sense that I don't like being told what to do. It goes back to being a kid; I didn't like doing group projects because I wanted to do everything or I wanted to do nothing. When something has my name on it and has to do with matters of the heart—music is the business of emotion...
When I put something out there I need to feel right with it on all sorts of levels. There's a lot of pressure. Not only does it need to resonate with [fans], but it needs to sit with me. I want to put my head down every night and feel like what I did was honest and true, and be a genuine reflection of part of who I am.
WCT: I saw a video of your newest song, "Back to California." I'm wondering: Is it about two friends who meet up after a while, is there some other dynamic to the relationship, or is it up to the viewer to decide?
Steve Grand: When I wrote the song and made the video, I set out to tell a story about friends. It's from my own experience, and it's about the dissolution of youth as well—how we have these thoughts, hopes and dreams that we share with our best friends, and how we see ( as early as post-college life ) that life isn't all that we thought it was going to be. It's about coming to terms with that with someone with whom you were dreaming.
If you notice [in the video], the scenes with the kids are warm, vibrant and rich, and the ones of me in my current day are stark and the colors are cooler. Those colors reflect the realities of adulthood.
Lastly, it's another aspect of life that gay people experience. As gay people, we have our opposite-sex friends growing up and as we go through these things—and it's very special. I can speak as someone who was a young gay boy struggling to accept himself; I had a friend who was a girl, and we had a deep bond that was a pure thing. I was also trying to communicate that as well. This is our story, too.
WCT: I want to talk a little about the new album. It's coming out in May?
Steve Grand: The album is coming out in May, and it will be called All American Boy. [I chose the title] because that's where the whole journey started, so I wanted to keep that theme and message. Other songs have to do with what it means to be all-American, and including gay people in that.
When I was young, my dad would brag to our neighbors or other members of the church congregation that my brother and I were "your all-American boys." We played baseball and soccer, built treehouses, were good students and became Eagle Scouts. When I realized I was gay, I felt that I no longer fit what it mean to be all-American—which is another reason I chose that to be my first song. Gay values are American values, and they're family values.
WCT: There will be 12 songs on the album?
Steve Grand: As of right now, yes. I'm going to be breaking my butt to get 12 songs on there.
WCT: Is it whittling what you have down to 12 that's the trouble?
Steve Grand: Eleven of the songs are definite at this point. This is my first time working with a producer who's had some success, and I know what I want—or if I don't know what I want, I know when I'm not happy so I keep searching. Everything has to feel right with me.
I have a big catalog of songs; some were written when I was 18, and some were written just a couple months ago. There are at least 20 other songs.
WCT: It sounds like you could have a double album.
Steve Grand: I could, and I'm so eager to put music out there. In the future, I will release more bodies of work more often, but they'll be smaller. I was going to release an EP but I've been in touch with my fans; social media is a beautiful thing but I don't get a day off. [Laughs] I love talking with them and connecting with them. I'm already thinking about my next release; the day after this album drops, I'll be planning the next few songs and videos. I need to make the most of these years and pent-up energy while I have them.
"All-American Boy" came out almost 10 years to the day when I realized I was attracted to another guy. It's been a tumultuous journey, so there's a lot I have to say.
WCT: It seems like the best part of this, for you, is making music that satisfies you and the fans. Is there any down side to all of it?
Steve Grand: I'm my own harshest critic so nothing someone could say I haven't already said about myself. Everything I've done so far is so overwhelmingly positive. I put a lot of pressure on myself and I don't want to let my fans down.
People can say what they want about me. Especially as a gay person, we are coming to terms with the idea that we're all individuals and that we all don't subscribe to the same value systems. We all think and feel differently. I'm excited for my generation because we won't feel that something a gay person does is representative of the whole community. That's a sign of progress because it shows we're just like everyone else. Being gay is an important piece of you, but it doesn't stop you from doing what you want to do or believing what you want to believe.
See www.SteveGrand.com and www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevegrand/all-american-boy-the-album for more information.
