Andy Grammer stays busy on the road through summer's end
Pop star Andy Grammer said he has one job to do when he performs live -- to make people happy. And he's confident he can pull it off.
"I like to beatbox a lot," Grammer said on his last day with the Colbie Caillat/ Gavin DeGraw tour. "I like to make sure everybody gets involved. I like to throw a couple interesting covers in a mix. I think you'll be entertained. If you leave not entertained, then I haven't do my job. I bet that won't happen though."
Fans will have a chance to judge for themselves when, on Aug. 4, Grammer, Mat Kearney and Train embark on a tour together. It promises to be just another great tour that Grammer is using to promote his 2011 self-titled debut. The collection spawned the hits "Keep Your Head Up" and "Fine By Me." The third single, "Miss Me," is due for release soon.
"I'm kind of surprised [by the album's success]," he said. "You hope for the best. I'm in the middle of totally amazed and humble and thankful. That's what you hope for, you know."
It took three years for Grammer to write and record the album. He said it was easy to write songs for "Andy Grammer," but hard to "write great songs."
"I took the best songs from those three years and put them on the album," Grammer said. "There are a lot of songs that I've written, but you take the cream of the crop. A lot of the first album is figuring out what your sound is and trying a lot of different things to see what it is you want to bring to the music community. That first album is really cool."
Grammer learned that his forte is rap-inspired numbers that are uplifting, a sentiment that he is feeling these days.
"I learned what actually makes people happy," he said. "That's the whole goal -- which songs they love and which songs they don't connect with as much. You take a step back and see how everything sounds: What kind of genre you're actually in. I just learned a lot. I'm excited to go back and make another record.
The Los Angeles native hasn't begun recording a new album, but he is writing songs.
"I've been writing a lot," he said. "I'm really excited to eventually go in the studio. Right now I'm pretty much writing. I'm writing as much as I can on tour. When I have free time, I write. But it's a difficult process to write on the road."
4 - Indianapolis, IN - Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indiana State Fair/Train)
5 - Whites Creek, TN - The Woods at Fontanel (with Train)
7 - Rochester, MI - Meadow Brook Music Festival (with Train)
8 - Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion at Riverbend (with Train)
14 - Toledo, OH - Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre (with Train)
15 - Springfield, IL - Illinois State Fair Grandstand (Illinois State Fair with Train)
16 - Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica (with Train)
19 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena (with Train)
24 - Canandaigua, NY - Constellation Brands - Marvin Sands PAC (CMAC) (with Train)
26 - Gilford, NH - Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion (with Train)
31 - Lenox, MA - Tanglewood/Seiji Ozawa Hall (with Train)
September 2012
1 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa/Event Center (with Train)
2 - Virginia Beach, VA - Virginia Beach Oceanfront (American Music Festival)
5 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheatre (with Train)
11 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Tuscaloosa Amphitheater (with Train)
12 - Memphis, TN - Mud Island Amphitheatre (with Train)
13 - Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma City Amphitheatre (with Train)
14 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with Train)
15 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie (with Train)
19 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with Train)
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Gallivan Center (with Train)
22 - Troutdale, OR - McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater (with Train)
23 - Puyallup, WA - Western Washington Fairgrounds (Puyallup Fair with Train)
26 - Eugene, OR - Cuthbert Amphitheater (with Train)
27 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center (with Train)
28 - Berkeley, CA - Green Theatre (with Train)
29 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre L.A. Live (with Train)
30 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre (with Train)
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