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Track Listings
| 1. Almost Everything |
| 2. The Oh Song |
| 3. Twenty two |
| 4. Square Peg, Round Hole |
| 5. Dance So good |
| 6. 1876 |
| 7. Feral Love |
| 8. Got it Wrong |
| 9. Light Outside |
| 10. Car Crash |
| 11. Take It Like A Man |
Editorial Reviews
I was a scrawny, dopey kid the worst athlete on the face of the planet, says Wakey!Wakey! frontman Mike Grubbs. You know tee ball? I got to first base one time.
Good thing Grubbs had a burgundy baby grand to wail on instead, the centerpiece of a Partridge-like music room that also housed a French horn, clarinet, violin and autoharp. Grubbs started climbing scales and chords here when he was 5. Back then, his mother, a longtime piano teacher and choir director, would ask the kids to sight read songs before they could even think of eating cereal. And homework, why, that was something you did simply to score more bench time.
For every subject done, he says, I could play the piano for an hour. It was almost like video games for me. The games got a bit more complicated in high school, as Grubbs stumbled upon the songbooks of Billy Joel and Elton John. Not to mention the arena-ready anthems of Led Zeppelin. That unholy trinity, combined with the three B's Bach, Beethoven and Brahms was enough to steer Grubbs away from the church music he was forced to focus on from an early age.
One of my main influences now is the fact that I didn't have someone teach me proper jazz or rock playing explains Grubbs. I had no idea how to put a song together; no one telling me, Hey, you should check out Gershwin, but it was all so fascinating to me. So I found my own style by experimenting with what works and what doesn't.
Before Grubbs could tap his true voice through a string of buzz-stirring Wakey!Wakey! releases on Family Records (two live LPs, a free collection of covers and last spring s War Sweater EP), the following dues were paid: a totally 90s bar gig aimed at pint-slamming college kids; a rock band best described by its beard quotient and Black Crowes nods (Satellite Kid); and two touring musicals (Brigadoon, Camelot). I'm a tall, skinny straight guy who can sing, says Grubbs. That's basically gold in the musical theater business because there's none of us.
Speaking of standing out, Wakey!Wakey! made their presence known over the past couple years by finding a perfect balance between crowd-pleasing pop and art-damaged indie rock. It's something Grubbs learned from New York's anti-folk scene and its founding father, Lach. (The Lower East Side icon mentored Grubbs, which isn't a surprise, Lach shunned the piano the second he heard the Sex Pistols.) To come from such a repressed musical environment and then hear someone like Regina Spektor perform with such abandon shouting and hitting her stool with a drum stick was priceless.
Nowadays, Grubbs is the crazy one, slapping his piano around and singing like his life depends on it while conducting a rich backdrop of sweeping strings, heavenly harmonies, and enough delicate details to make Wakey!Wakey!'s first proper LP feel like an Oscar-nominated film soundtrack. Which is ironic to say the least. After all, One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn loved a Wakey!Wakey! set so much he tapped their sun-stroked War Sweater track for season 6's finale and recruited Grubbs for a recurring role. That'd be the tale of a bartender/musician named, err, Grubbs a strangely familiar life story hinted at in such standout Wakey!Wakey! songs as Almost Everything, Twenty-Two, and Got It All Wrong.
We set out to make an album this time, explains Grubbs. And music will always be my thing, first and foremost. Although I've got to say, it's nice hearing, 'Mr. Grubbs, what do you want for breakfast today?' from time to time. It kinda makes up for all the nights I had to play Dave Matthews Band for drunk college kids.
Good thing Grubbs had a burgundy baby grand to wail on instead, the centerpiece of a Partridge-like music room that also housed a French horn, clarinet, violin and autoharp. Grubbs started climbing scales and chords here when he was 5. Back then, his mother, a longtime piano teacher and choir director, would ask the kids to sight read songs before they could even think of eating cereal. And homework, why, that was something you did simply to score more bench time.
For every subject done, he says, I could play the piano for an hour. It was almost like video games for me. The games got a bit more complicated in high school, as Grubbs stumbled upon the songbooks of Billy Joel and Elton John. Not to mention the arena-ready anthems of Led Zeppelin. That unholy trinity, combined with the three B's Bach, Beethoven and Brahms was enough to steer Grubbs away from the church music he was forced to focus on from an early age.
One of my main influences now is the fact that I didn't have someone teach me proper jazz or rock playing explains Grubbs. I had no idea how to put a song together; no one telling me, Hey, you should check out Gershwin, but it was all so fascinating to me. So I found my own style by experimenting with what works and what doesn't.
Before Grubbs could tap his true voice through a string of buzz-stirring Wakey!Wakey! releases on Family Records (two live LPs, a free collection of covers and last spring s War Sweater EP), the following dues were paid: a totally 90s bar gig aimed at pint-slamming college kids; a rock band best described by its beard quotient and Black Crowes nods (Satellite Kid); and two touring musicals (Brigadoon, Camelot). I'm a tall, skinny straight guy who can sing, says Grubbs. That's basically gold in the musical theater business because there's none of us.
Speaking of standing out, Wakey!Wakey! made their presence known over the past couple years by finding a perfect balance between crowd-pleasing pop and art-damaged indie rock. It's something Grubbs learned from New York's anti-folk scene and its founding father, Lach. (The Lower East Side icon mentored Grubbs, which isn't a surprise, Lach shunned the piano the second he heard the Sex Pistols.) To come from such a repressed musical environment and then hear someone like Regina Spektor perform with such abandon shouting and hitting her stool with a drum stick was priceless.
Nowadays, Grubbs is the crazy one, slapping his piano around and singing like his life depends on it while conducting a rich backdrop of sweeping strings, heavenly harmonies, and enough delicate details to make Wakey!Wakey!'s first proper LP feel like an Oscar-nominated film soundtrack. Which is ironic to say the least. After all, One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn loved a Wakey!Wakey! set so much he tapped their sun-stroked War Sweater track for season 6's finale and recruited Grubbs for a recurring role. That'd be the tale of a bartender/musician named, err, Grubbs a strangely familiar life story hinted at in such standout Wakey!Wakey! songs as Almost Everything, Twenty-Two, and Got It All Wrong.
We set out to make an album this time, explains Grubbs. And music will always be my thing, first and foremost. Although I've got to say, it's nice hearing, 'Mr. Grubbs, what do you want for breakfast today?' from time to time. It kinda makes up for all the nights I had to play Dave Matthews Band for drunk college kids.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Rovianne
Format:Audio CD
I'm not really a music reviewer, but I'm enjoying this CD so much that I wanted to write something about it. When I first heard Michael Grubbs perform on the hit show One Tree Hill I was totally blown away, both by the awesome piano playing he does and by his strong vocal style. I was very excited to hear that his group - Wakey! Wakey! - was producing a full length studio album and "Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You" didn't disappoint me.
Folks have already used words like passionate, tender, sensitive and romantic to describe songs on this CD. I think those words are incredibly accurate, but they don't address what, to me, are the most relevant elements of this new work. I have to add reflective, sincere, fun and fresh to the list. It is the kind of music that makes you feel when you listen to it. The different tracks are so unique, and because of this they inspire a wide range of emotions: gratitude, empathy, hope, sadness, joy... Listening to the entire CD is quite a ride. It takes you on an emotional journey and for me, that's the point.
Folks have already used words like passionate, tender, sensitive and romantic to describe songs on this CD. I think those words are incredibly accurate, but they don't address what, to me, are the most relevant elements of this new work. I have to add reflective, sincere, fun and fresh to the list. It is the kind of music that makes you feel when you listen to it. The different tracks are so unique, and because of this they inspire a wide range of emotions: gratitude, empathy, hope, sadness, joy... Listening to the entire CD is quite a ride. It takes you on an emotional journey and for me, that's the point.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Thuyen Le
Format:Audio CD
I just want to say Thank you one tree hill, the TV show, that has introduced me to many talented artists such as Wakey Wakey. He sings his soul into his songs and that is why this is such a beautiful album. PLEASE SUPPORT HIM! that is all I have to say.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By J. Gates
Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase
I discovered Wakey! Wakey! on One Tree Hill and fell in love. This album is perfect, and the lead singer's voice is nice.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Album Ever!
I got this album because I heard a song on One Tree Hill. Never heard of them before. I have not been able to stop listening to them since it came!!! So good!
Published 1 month ago by April S. Horton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing album
It's Grubs from One Tree Hill! Of course he was a musician before that show, and a fine one. I really love this album, it is very different than a lot of mainstream music. Read more
Published 3 months ago by casn79
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soul-stirring piano- and vocal-based rock.
This will grab you from the title track with it's bright piano intro and stirring chorus: "It feels bad now, but it's gonna get better!" Wakey!Wakey! Read more
Published 17 months ago by Barry Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful lyrics performed with raw emotion
'Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said The Last Time I Saw You' may be a mouthful, but it's the perfect title for an album that covers the many complexities of a relationship and it's... Read more
Published 22 months ago by texas00
5.0 out of 5 stars
Music Of Today
Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said The Last Time I Saw You- Wakey!Wakey!
This album made me fall in love with music all over again. Read more
This album made me fall in love with music all over again. Read more
Published 22 months ago by eoin o sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional
I am a very picky person when it comes to music. I don't play into anything that's considered popular, I feel it lacks feeling and a true connection with the audience. Read more
Published on May 22, 2011 by Lauren
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful sexy melodic music! Every song is quality...
Most of the music I hear on One Tree Hill isn't my style, but the first time they played one of these songs I knew I had to find this music. Read more
Published on May 13, 2011 by Carrie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ahh, yes
This album provides a breath of fresh air to my music liking. I share this sound with as many people as possible. Read more
Published on January 10, 2011 by K
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great music
I love the CD! Wakey, Wakey has a fun and refreshing sound! I'm glad I heard their music on One Tree Hill!
Published on January 1, 2011 by monarch96
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wakey!Wakey!
The CD came perfectly packaged and as advertised. It was delivered before the deadline. I would order from them again.
Published on November 13, 2010 by rjnodine
Listmania!
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