Sandy Graviette

Meet Sandy Graviette from Yelm, Washington.

I love the band because they are a blend that's kind of hard to describe in a word or two or three. I love Gerry's songs because they speak to the romatic side of me. I read somewhere where he was described as a hopeless romantic... we all know what that means... I could be described as that... most people could... some people try marriage more than once and then others choose not to marry - knowing that that person before them isn't the one and are willing to hold out. But I really don't like the term "hopeless romantic". I think it should be "a romantic that still has hope".

I love Dewey's songs because he has a way with words that paint a scene in your mind. If he was a novelist, he'd probably be up there with Tolkien. I think the reason we all love them after all these years is their songs make us happy. Their early tunes (for many of us) take us back to a time when we were very happy and our dreams and the world was ours for the taking. We were making known the unknown. The energy of the '60's and '70's - I'm very thankful to have been growing up in that era. I was too young to be a hippie at Woodstock, but I was very influenced by the music and words - I was like a sponge - and a lot of what I am now is because of that. That's one of the reasons I'm so different than my older siblings, they we're into "the King". I've seen America at Red Rocks so many times I've lost count. If they were there two days, I went both days. Saw them at Rainbow in Denver and once in Irvine, CA when Carl Wilson joined them. The last time I saw them was at Two Rivers Park in Glenwood Springs, CO about 10 years ago. At the end of the concert, Gerry invited everyone to the Holiday Inn to celebrate Willie's birthday and we're all like "yeah, right..." - so we (my friend, Patty, and my nephew, Danny) went bar-hopping downtown (yes, we hit all three bars... in one night even). Near the end of the night, we decided what the heck - and we went to the Holiday, got there in time for last call and lo and behold - just as we were leaving - Patty and I met Dewey (Danny had gone to call Tipsy Taxi). We talked for a short while but Danny was outside waiting for us in the taxi, so... Still haven't met Gerry.

Anyway, I have been out of touch with the "America scene" for awhile. The most current CD I have is "Hourglass". I'm pleased to find they are still creating and am looking forward to hearing their "NOW" material. I heard about the concert in Tacoma and it seems like a good place to be on my birthday. I'm sure I won't be disappointed with them... they haven't disappointed me yet! One thing I am a bit confused about - in Glenwood, Gerry said it was Willie's birthday, but in the bios - Willie's birthday is March 31. In Colorado, we don't have outdoor concerts in March... not comfortable. Is that a typo or... hmmm... Gerry, you weren't teasing us, we're you?

Feel free to send your comments or questions to Sandy.