Granian is an acoustic/electric rock band led by Garen Gueyikian.

Granian was founded in 1995 in Holmdel Township, New Jersey

Holmdel Township, New Jersey

Holmdel Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,773. Holmdel Township was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1857, from portions of Raritan Township .Holmdel is a suburb of...

, where Gueyikian initially used the name Grane but changed to Granian over possible copyright concerns. Gueyikian's initial lineup consisted of George Schultz on bass and backing vocals, Chris Nicoletti on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and Anthony Fazioli on drums. Fazioli left in 1996 and was replaced by Tim Shahady; Nicoletti left in 1998, after which the group worked as a trio.

In 2000, Schultz left the group, and Adam Braun and Tony Maceli both did stints in the group on bass. Shahady departed soon after, and Graycon Legere took over on drums, while Nathan Fox took over on bass. Gueyikian later performed by himself as Granian, for the 2002 release Live Sessions through 2005. He used the name interchangeably for solo shows and for those with a backing band of available musicians. The group played a benefit concert for Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n victims of genocide

Genocide

Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

 in 2004. In 2006 Gueyikian began a new project, Kill the Alarm

Kill the Alarm

Kill the Alarm is a rock band from New York City that is led by singer/songwriter Garen Gueyikian.Gueyikian had previously fronted the band Granian, a name he had also used for solo work until he adopted the new name Kill the Alarm in 2006. They sold out a string of New York city shows including a...

.

The group released four albums and one EP (2004's My Voice), and toured with Matchbox 20, Guster

Guster

Guster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1991, the group is known for its live performances and humor, founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel came about to begin practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford,...

, Dispatch

Dispatch (band)

Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....

, Howie Day

Howie Day

Howard Kern "Howie" Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself...

, Pat McGee Band

Pat McGee Band

The Pat McGee Band is a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed by frontman Pat McGee, who attended Longwood University in Farmville, VA. On the heels of his solo release From the Wood in 1995, the Pat McGee Band signed with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Giant Records in 1999...

 and O.A.R, among others. SPIN called the group "the country's best unsigned band" early in its career.

Granian's third studio album, "On My Own Two Feet", was produced by Mike Shimshack, and features Nir Z (John Mayer

John Mayer

John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

, Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz

Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...

, Genesis

Genesis (band)

Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...

) on drums. It received generally positive reviews. The album reached #1 on both CDBaby.com and Awarestore.com and the group's five independently released albums have sold over 28,000 copies to date.

Garen has since recorded under the new band, Kill the Alarm

Discography

• Without Change, 1996
• Hang Around, 2000
• Live Sessions, 2003
• My Voice (EP), 2004
• On My Own Two Feet, 2004
• Alternate Mixes, 2006

External links

• Granian official webpage
• Granian collection at the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  's live music archive