"This is the strongest independent CD to come across my desk in a long, long time."
Paul Andrews, The Whistler Question

The Grames Brothers band, consisting of Panos, Johannes, Dinos Grames and Randall Stoll, have successfully melded a lifetime of shared and separate influences into an upbeat hybrid of funk, soul, jazz and world beat. Their new CD Strange Beautiful presents 12 new songs and captures a talented musical family at the height of their abilities.

"There isn't a weak song on the album."
Cory Weeds, CFRO Radio, Vancouver

Since their return in January of 1999 the Grames Brothers have had an outpouring Of new songs, which they have been performing in packed houses in Vancouver (The Gate, Starfish Room) Victoria, Whistler and community halls around the province. The release of their long anticipated debut CD is being well received both critically and by their hard core audience.

"The melodies and funky tracks on Strange Beautiful are kept together by near perfect harmonization and funky breaks that turn on a dime."
Oona Woods, Piqueeeazine Magazine

The band has a strong sense of purpose and wants to get their message out - a refreshing one with quality musicianship, thoughtful writing and intense performances. The Grames Bros. are infamous for the spontaneity, energy and entertainment of their live shows. Jumping from funky grooves to in your face rock, then morphing into psychedelic trance or an audience silencing ballad at the flick of a switch can only be explained by their familial connection. "Mostly, it's just a lot of fun", says Dinos. "We love to bring the audience to a place where they can move both the mind and the behind.

Ah, the world of family bands. It conjures up images of The Jackson's, the Osmonds and the Partridge Family. There are bands from every genre that have two or more siblings in them from Oasis to Canada's own. Not heard from these guys in a while? Johannes has recently returned from living in Boston and New York where he was studying music and collaborating with some modern dance troupes. Panos has been occupied with one of Canada's most successful indie bands, People Playing Music, and Dinos has been playing with various bands and raising a family. Now that they are all back in the same city, they decided to continue the family tradition by getting back at the production of recording and writing tunes.

The result is their ability to record is and back up the product live. The dynamics of the band can be frightening. Back under the auspices of long time associate and music industry guru Frank Weipert, the band is ready and willing to take their music out of Vancouver, where the band and it's members have been an axis of influence on the music scene, and take the next stride into national influence. They are also very focused on developing markets in the U.S. using Johannes' Eastern seaboard connections and exploiting the proximity of Vancouver to the Western U.S. (As Dual Nationals the border is invisible to them ). One thing is for sure...the Grames Brothers are here for good.