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 Simply
put, there is no such thing as a "typical" Fighting Gravity
show or an "average" performance. With a schedule that finds
the band on the road more than 250 nights a year, Fighting
Gravity is a national touring machine, and its energy-drenched
live show is a band trademark. Whether in concert with Aerosmith,
or on an extended jaunt with Cowboy Mouth, or playing a
festival with their old friends Vertical Horizon, there's
no mistaking the hold that Fighting Gravity has on its ever-growing
following who over the years has effortlessly committed
the band's lyrics to memory.
Fighting
Gravity has always embraced its audience with open arms
and remembered its grassroots beginnings. Perhaps that's
why its original fans are still around as the fresh-faced
"all-agers" enter the fold and a street team 1500 strong
heeds the call along with 25,000 e-mail subscribers via
www.fightinggravity.com. From small club gigs and down and
dirty college tours [chronicled in a feature article by
Rolling Stone senior editor David Wild in the magazine's
annual college issue] to summer festivals and sell-out performances
in major metropolitan areas, the members of the band respect
the people that keep them out there as a viable touring
entity year upon year.
 Clearly
indy record sales topping a quarter million units is an
ample calling card. And yet, six studio and three live records
later, Fighting Gravity's catalogue of more than one hundred
original songs is nowhere near complete. Now more than ever,
all five band members are actively engaged in the songwriting
process. Honing their skills as tune- and word-smiths, their
newest material blends (and bends) a variety of musical
genres (rock, punk, reggae…) and reveals the genuine excitement
the band feels today for the unique brand of rock and roll
it is creating. Having worked in the past with such notable
and talented producers as John Alagia (The Dave Matthews
Band) and David Lowery (Counting Crows), and most recently
with Jim Ebert (Marvelous 3, Everything), Fighting Gravity's
musical awareness is flourishing. It's no wonder that their
next release will feature a set of songs that are both melodically
and lyrically the most accessible and accomplished that
the band has ever written.
Not
too long ago, the band embarked on its second USO tour playing
for American troops in the Far East. After visiting Singapore
and performing at the military base, they traveled to the
tiny Micronesian Island of Chuuk for their next show. Buried
deep in these waters is a major shipwreck site from World
War II overgrown with brilliantly colored coral reefs. Some
eight thousand miles away, much like the convergence of
Fighting Gravity's contrasting musical styles, the past
and present collided, and for one moment time stood still.
The native peoples had never seen an "electric" performance
by a band in their lives. And then, Fighting Gravity took
the stage. That's what they do. StarPolish Art Director
J Bills sits down backstage with the captain of the storied
Fighting Gravity boat - lead singer Schiavone McGee - to
dissect the captain's logs over many a battle. A diverse
conversation ensues, with loads of advice for aspiring artists
contained within. Check out the exclusive StarPolish Ask
the Artists' video interview now.
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