Gavin Degraw Week – Day 1

If I’d found someone like Gavin Degraw in high school, I might not have thought playing the piano was dorky. Sure, I had Barry Manilow, whom I loved with my whole heart, and Billy Joel, who was neither cute nor sexy. And when I was 12, they seemed OLD. I liked their music a lot, but let’s be honest here… they weren’t exactly cool. Talented. Successful. But cool? Even I knew they were too earnest and hard working.

Going to the record store wasn’t part of my life when I was a kid. We went to Renninger’s Farmers’ Market every weekend, and there was a stand there that sold LPs for pretty cheap. The were layed out flat on a splintered and warped wooden table, glossy in their plastic sleeves. Once in a while, I could convince my mom I really, really needed something: The Sugarhill Gang 8th Wonder. Rick Springfield Working Class Dog.

I got the Billy Joel LP Glass Houses at the farmers’ market and listened to it over and over, sitting on the scratchy orange-and-yellow shag carpet in my bedroom.

“It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me” was the big hit, but I liked “Sometimes a Fantasy” and “All for Leyna,” and — braces, no makeup, still wearing outfits that matched whatever my mom was wearing because NO ONE was prettier or more elegant than my mom — I thought I was cool because my favorite songs weren’t the ones you could hear on the radio.

“All for Leyna”

But I didn’t like like Billy Joel. He was not crush-worthy.

If only there’d been a Gavin Degraw. He writes catchy songs, he can play the hell out of the piano, and he’s easy on the eyes.
Dave and I are going to see GD in Dallas on Friday night. And in honor of the occasion, it will officially be GAVIN DEGRAW WEEK right here on The Clothes Make the Girl.

I know… exciting, right?!

I wanted to embed the video for his recent single “I’m in Love With a Girl” but the music overlords won’t allow it. You can follow this link to watch the video on YouTube — or hear the song with this clip (no visuals, I’m afraid):

Your assignment: put an LP on the turntable, sit on the floor, do nothing but listen. Flip. Repeat.