Radar Report

By the Light of the Moon

On Full Moon Cigarette, singer-songwriter GRAN BEL FISHER steps into the musical limelight

For Gran Bel Fisher, aka Jesse Littleton, writing music is an evolutionary process – a soul-searching journey to understand and express himself. On his debut full length, Full Moon Cigarette, he explores the joys and pains of life, love and death. "When you get to make a record, it's a complete impression," he said. "Musically and lyrically, this album has everything that I want to say to the world on my first time out."

Gran Bel creates music that utilizes Jim Morrison-like vocals and lush instrumentation with both piano and guitar. "It's fun for me to have two instruments to bounce back and forth between," he said. "It keeps it fresh." He gathered a luminary group to work on the album – bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen and drummer Joey Waronker from Beck's band and guitarist-producer Dave Bassett, who also co-wrote songs on the CD.

Recently, Gran Bel took some time to talk with Playback about his new album, his evolution as a songwriter and performer and life on the road playing festivals like Bonnaroo and touring with singersongwriter Brandi Carlile.

The headline on your MySpace page says, "To create is to evolve." How do you think you have evolved since performing at ASCAP's Quiet on the Set showcase at SXSW in 2003?
When I played that SXSW showcase, there was a long road ahead of me, and I'm still on it. This is just the beginning. I write about everyday realizations of life. So every day since that showcase has been an evolution. Finding new music that comes into my life might affect me a little bit – or just growing with my instruments or growing with my voice. For me, writing is therapy. My goal is to learn from what I write, and that's a really hard thing to do.

Your real name is Jesse Littleton but you named your musical self after your great-great grandfather. What does Gran Bel Fisher mean to you?
That was part of my evolution. Throughout my life, I've been writing music, but never knew if I wanted to be a songwriter. Eventually, one summer I just realized that this is what I wanted to do. I literally disciplined myself to find myself in my music. I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing that. A few years ago, I figured out that the music was becoming something other than myself. People were relating to it, and people were inspired by it. I realized it is bigger than me. It's something else. That's why I wanted to give it a name. That's when I became Gran Bel Fisher.

How did you hook up with Dave Bassett?
I met Dave through some friends at ASCAP. I had been looking for producers and met him at ASCAP's Lovefest out in Los Angeles a few years ago. I didn't have a demo or anything. I just played him a little song that night, and we met at his house the next morning. I started playing a song, and he starting playing a little guitar with me. We just hit it off from the start. I stopped playing and said, "You're the guy." It's a rare thing to find that one person that you have musical chemistry with.

You've also played one of the biggest U.S. music festivals around today – Bonnaroo. How does it feel to play alongside such great artists like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Radiohead, Beck and Elvis Costello?
It's inspiring because you realize, "Wow, look at what they do." It's about putting yourself in front of people and playing live. Opening for Brandi Carlile, I see that her fans are just true, true fans. She's so worthy of that, but for me to witness that just shows me that's what I want. And then on the other end, it is very humbling because I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

There are so many diverse artists coming out these days. How do you think you fit into today's musical landscape?
I just hope people dig my music. I love songwriting. I love rocking out. When I have a full band, it's not just a singer-songwriter, guy-and-a-guitar thing. It's really a rock and roll show. I feel like the face of music right now is just changing. Rock and roll is definitely coming back in a big way, and I think people are looking for honesty. It's not about being cool. It's about being honest, telling great stories and laying down really good grooves.
— Jin Moon

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