Chick Graning

Chick Graning (born October 28, 1966) is an American musician and record producer associated with the Boston alternative rock scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Graning was the vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the bands Anastasia Screamed and Scarce.

Early life Graning was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and graduated from South-Doyle High School in 1985. He played in punk bands around the area before moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend the Berklee College of Music.

Career In 1987, Graning joined the alternative rock band Anastasia Screamed after meeting the band's members on a bus. Mike Gunderloy of Factsheet Five described the band as "a dental drill of noise, heavy on momentum...post-hardcore meets rockabilly". Anastasia Screamed folded in 1992.

By 1992, he regrouped in New England and played slide guitar and E-bow on Hey Babe, the debut album of Juliana Hatfield. The next year, Graning joined with Joyce Raskin and Jud Ehrbar in Providence, Rhode Island to form Scarce. Graning also performed on Belly's first album Star, contributing slide guitar, vocals, and guitar on three tracks. Scarce recorded their first EP, Red, which contained five songs written by Graning. By 1994, the group obtained a following in Europe and were frequently compared to R.E.M., Nirvana, and David Bowie. The band played with Juliana Hatfield, Pavement, Fugazi, Grant Lee Buffalo, Echobelly, Madder Rose, Shudder to Think, and Helium and gained notoriety for their live performances. The band supported Hole on a European tour while A&M Records signed the band and aimed to release their debut album DeadSexy, produced by Graning and Kevin Salem, in July 1995.

In June 1995, Graning suffered a brain aneurysm while on his way to a rehearsal. Raskin and Scarce's newly appointed drummer Joseph Propatier played acoustic shows in the interim. A&M delayed the release of the album until February. Graning spent an extra two months in the hospital after waking up and had to relearn how to walk, talk, and play guitar. However, the remainder of the band's tour was "miserable" for all involved. Graning described himself as "an emotional flatline", which heavily strained his relationship with Raskin, leading to Scarce's dissolution in 1997. Graning recorded new songs with Pete Donnelly and played shows with Delta Clutch as his backing band. M.T., Graning's first solo record, released in 2001 from Wald & Wiesen Tonträger and featured appearances from Donnelly, Nate Leavitt, Delissa Santos, Paul Myers, Quentin Jennings of The Dylans, and Christopher Cugini of Anastasia Screamed. In support of M.T., Graning toured Germany.

By 2007, Graning, Raskin, and Propatier reformed Scarce. The band's third full-length album, The Fall And Rise Of Circus Boy Blue, was released in 2011 and served as a companion album to Raskin's book of the same name. In 2013, Graning played solo shows in Tennessee and considered releasing a second solo record.

Personal life Graning currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.

He was engaged to musician Tanya Donelly. The track "Low Red Moon" on Star was written about Graning, while Graning wrote "Glamorizing Cigarettes" about Donelly.

Discography Solo M.T. (2001)

Anastasia Screamed Laughing Down the Limehouse (1990) Moontime (1991)

Scarce DeadSexy (1996) Tattoos and Parades, and Yesterdays (2008) The Fall and Rise of Circus Boy Blue (2011)