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| Gavin DeGraw |
In the early hours of
Monday, August 8, 2011, Singer-Songwriter
Gavin DeGraw was heading home after a night out in New York City's
East Village.
DeGraw at the time been gearing-up to promote his third release through
RCA Records (Sony Music Canada) -
Sweeter - with a scheduled stop-off here at Toronto's
Molson Amphitheatre on
August 22, opening for
Maroon 5.
Nobody could have foreseen what would transpire that night - an unprovoked attack by several unknown individuals, resulting in DeGraw being listed under stable condition at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. He suffered a broken nose, a concussion, two black eyes and lacerations to his face. In addendum to the Assault, he had also been struck by a Taxi moments after. Now less than two-months later, he is back and ready to give it his all with the Album which he says, "shook him up".
DeGraw calls me from St. Louis, mine being among the first batch of Interviews he has done to promote
Sweeter since his Recovery. Noting how quick his Comeback has taken flight, he tells me "I've been so focused on performing Music I want to play and that's what's carried me through this.". Known best for some of his earlier Hits like
I Don't Want to Be and
Chariot, he had been torn between making a Pop Album and the Album he truly wanted to make after two years of over-thinking. "My Record Label finally told me, 'fuck everything and just make the Album you want to make and we'll champion it'", bringing him a great sigh of relief. "
Sweeter is far better than anything I could've done by myself. It feels like a real collaborative effort because I'd never co-written before it", he admits.
