{"id":829,"date":"2011-06-28T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=829"},"modified":"2015-01-12T09:31:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T17:31:53","slug":"whyd-you-name-your-band-that-grand-lakes-oakland-connection-is-as-plain-as-a-50-foot-2800-bulb-sign-towering-over-the-freeway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2011\/06\/whyd-you-name-your-band-that-grand-lakes-oakland-connection-is-as-plain-as-a-50-foot-2800-bulb-sign-towering-over-the-freeway\/","title":{"rendered":"Why’d You Name Your Band That?: Grand Lake’s Oakland connection is as plain as a 50-foot, 2,800-bulb sign towering over the freeway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Grand Lake likes indie rock and moody lighting. (via Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You need only take a look at the banner on this blog to see why featuring Grand Lake<\/a> with a “Why’d You Name Your Band That?<\/a>” entry has been a goal of mine since I dreamed up this little feature. (Well, you need only take a look and<\/em> be able to read backwards.)<\/p>\n

I live in Oakland’s Grand Lake district<\/a>, and so did Caleb Nichols in 2008 when he was trying to come up with a name for his new art-rock band. He has since relocated to Los Osos, about halfway between here and Los Angeles, but those Oakland ties are still there.<\/p>\n

Founded with his longtime friend\u00a0Jameson Swanagon, the band’s one constant has been Nichols’ songwriting, which is heavily influenced by what he called “the cannon of indie rock.” (That would include everything from Radiohead to Bright Eyes.) With contributions from a varying group of collaborators, Grand Lake’s sound has shifted with each release. The band’s new EP, Leaves Ellipse<\/a>,<\/em> is a more acoustic, relaxed and pastoral than the muscular pop that defined\u00a0much of last year’s full-length debut,\u00a0Blood Sea Dream<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n