Grooves & Cuts

[Repost from Americana Highways; by John Apice, November 2, 2022]

Kim Ware & The Good Graces – Ready

Sometimes I don’t know if I’m complimenting an artist when I say they sound popish-60s. But that was a glorious time. Hit singles were always melodic, tight, ingenious & catchy. That’s what Kim Ware & The Good Graces’ new CD Ready provides on their September release on (Potluck (CD) / Fort Lowell Records (Digital).

The opener “capital R” is soaked in an expressive pop melody. To me it’s attractive. It’s done well. The air around it is almost like many of the classic girl groups of that era: The Shangri-Las, The Toys & Dixie-Cups if not Marcie Blaine’s little classic “Bobby’s Girl,” & Robin Ward’s unforgettable “Wonderful Summer.” Its sweetness mixed with melancholy. Not easy to do. There’s a girl-group toughness to her vocalizing that’s vulnerable & charming.

It doesn’t sound retro or nostalgic – just a vintage style refreshed, filled with high-octane originality & relatable. “I don’t want to be here, but you’re so inviting…” is so cool. The clean chiming guitars& Kim’s vocal is pure adolescent glee.

The Kim Ware original songs were produced by Jerry Kee (multi-instrumentalist) & the North Carolina recording features Kim (acoustic & electric guitar/lead vocals/whistling), Wyatt Espalin (fiddle on “Palisade Peaches”) & Carrie Shull (oboe on “Ready,” & “So Many Questions”).

There are 13 cuts & that at times Kim starts to sing with a more old-timey country vocal, but she does it with such a reliable sound that it will bring a smile (“Bird In One Hand”). The variety in the tunes is solid without losing focus. I can’t criticize Kim’s moments of humor as being a novelty song, but she does lighten up the repertoire on occasion. There are enough well-developed songs to support the delicate ambiance of the set.

Highlights — “capital R,” “Bird In One Hand,” “Stopped Making Plans,” “Spider Lily Two,” “Odds & Evens,” “Nightmarish,”

Kim Ware and the Good Graces “Overflowing” Strikes a Haunting Vibe (Premiere)

[Repost from PopMatters; by Jonathan Frahm, October 26, 2022]

Kim Ware and the Good Graces premiere the lyric video for their atmospheric indie folk tune, “Overflowing”.

It’s been 16 years since Kim Ware and the Good Graces made a splash in the Atlanta indie scene. The songwriter has since blossomed into an intuitive folk artist, attuned to crafting atmospheric works that have carried her around the country and back to her Georgia and now North Carolina home. Ware recently moved back to her hometown of Kings Mountain, a small town where she first picked up her musical streak through drumming. Alongside the move, Ware teed up for the September release of the Good Graces’ sixth album, Ready, produced by Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo).

“Overflowing” is an ethereal rambler that plays out like an offbeat sum of parts: grungy guitar tones, a neo-western flourish, and some indie folk harmonies. Ware’s straight-shooting vocal delivery brings it all together, casting haunting reflections over the tune. The Good Graces’ accompanying lyric video for the single drives the mood further, complete with washed-out yellows and reds across a smoky landscape.

Ware tells PopMatters, “‘Overflowing’ is one of a few songs on the record that I wrote while I still lived in Atlanta before the pandemic. I was listening to a LOT of Jaimee Harris’ ‘Red Rescue’ during that time; I feel like a bit of her influence may have seeped in. The creation of the song was pretty organic, though, with the lyrics being mostly stream of consciousness, save for a line or two.”

“At the time, we were trying to get our old house ready to put on the market, which turned out to be a huge endeavor. So the line ‘we’ll never make it out of Georgia’ was reflective of how I felt at the time, with the ‘speed trap’ being all the obstacles life was throwing at us. It’s one of the first songs we finished for the album, and I really love all the atmospheric touches Jerry brought to it. Sonically, it’s probably my favorite song on the album.”

Kim Ware & The Good Graces - Ready

[Repost from De krenten uit de pop; by Erwin Zijleman, September 22, 2022]

De Amerikaanse muzikante Kim Ware trok nog niet heel veel aandacht met haar band The Good Graces, maar levert met het onder haar eigen naam uitgebrachte Ready een geweldig album vol zonnestralen af

In een overvolle releaseweek als de afgelopen week krijgt een album helaas niet heel veel tijd om indruk te maken, maar Ready van Kim Ware had gelukkig ook niet veel tijd nodig. Mijn eerste kennismaking met de muziek van de Amerikaanse singer-songwriter was direct raak en levert me een album op dat hier nog heel vaak langs gaat komen. Ready van Kim Ware staat met één been in de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek en met het andere been in de collegerock en folkrock uit de jaren 90. Het levert een origineel geluid op, maar ook een geluid waarvan je alleen maar heel erg vrolijk kunt worden. Kim Ware tovert op Ready het ene na het andere onweerstaanbare popliedje uit de hoge hoed en vertolkt ze op zeer karakteristieke wijze.

Ik kon de afgelopen week kiezen uit een flinke stapel nieuwe albums, waaronder veel albums van vaste waarden of op zijn minst vertrouwde namen, maar er drong zich ook een album op van een tot voor kort voor mij totaal onbekende muzikante: Kim Ware. Als Kim Ware & The Good Graces heeft de Amerikaanse muzikante wat mij betreft een album afgeleverd dat de nazomer glans moet gaan geven en daar voor mij al mee is begonnen. 

Kim Ware werd geboren in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, en dat is sinds kort ook weer haar woonplaats. De afgelopen vijftien jaar maakte Kim Ware als lid van de band The Good Graces muziek vanuit Atlanta, Georgia, maar wist ze de cultstatus niet te ontstijgen en dit ondanks een handvol prima albums, die mij tot deze week overigens nooit zijn opgevallen. Het ontstijgen van de cultstatus zou wat mij betreft moeten gaan gebeuren met Ready, wat een onweerstaanbaar lekker en ook erg goed album is. 

Ready, het eerste album dat Kim Ware onder haar eigen naam uitbrengt, werd gemaakt toen de coronapandemie het openbare leven in de Verenigde Staten lam legde en werd voor het overgrote deel gemaakt door Kim Ware, die tekende voor de songs, de gitaren en de zang, en Jerry Kee die tekende voor het grootste deel van de rest van de instrumentatie en de productie van het album. Hiernaast duikt een keer een viool op en twee keer een hobo, maar dat is het. 

Kim Ware en Jerry Kee hebben lang en in alle rust gewerkt aan het lekker vol klinkende album en dat hoor je. Ready is een ontspannen maar ook mooi klinkend album en het is bovendien een album dat driftig strooit met zonnestralen. Het is een album dat voor een belangrijk deel past in het hokje Amerikaanse rootsmuziek, maar Kim Ware heeft haar muziek ook voorzien van een bijzondere twist en van invloeden uit de indie-folkrock uit de jaren 90. 

Ik moet bij beluistering van Ready meer dan eens denken aan de muziek van 10,000 Maniacs, maar ook de namen van Neko Case en The Cranberries kwamen direct bij mijn eerste beluistering van Ready voorbij en zijn sindsdien blijven hangen. Het betekent overigens niet dat de muziek van Kim Ware heel erg lijkt op die van de genoemde namen, want hoewel Ready op een of andere manier direct bekend in de oren klinkt, kan ik geen vergelijkingsmateriaal bedenken dat echt in de buurt komt van dit album. Ik hou het er maar op dat Kim Ware Amerikaanse rootsmuziek met een jaren 90 twist maakt. 

Het is een geluid dat zowel liefhebbers van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek als liefhebbers van meer richting indierock neigende muziek moet kunnen aanspreken en het is muziek waarvan je alleen maar heel vrolijk kunt worden. Zeker wanneer Ready met flink volume uit de speakers komt vliegen de zonnestralen je om de oren. Deze zonnestralen komen vooral uit de gitaren op het album, al kunnen deze gitaren ook best weemoedig klinken. 

Het past allemaal prachtig bij de opvallende zang van Kim Ware, die heel af en toe en zeker in de wat ruwere tracks wel wat doet denken aan Kirsty MacColl, maar ook beschikt over een stem die is gedrenkt in de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek. Ik had een flinke lijst met kanshebbers voor een plekje op de krenten uit de pop de afgelopen week. Kim Ware stond daar niet tussen, maar is wel een van mijn favorieten van de afgelopen weken of zelfs maanden. Erwin Zijleman

De muziek van Kim Ware is ook verkrijgbaar via de bandcamp pagina van het label van de Amerikaanse muzikante: https://fortlowell.bandcamp.com/album/ready.

Thought provoking words, and dreamy guitar based music that grows on you with a few listens.

[Repost from Americana UK; by Tim Martin, September 22, 2022]

Ready is an album made up of pre-pandemic songs mixed with a few written under Lockdown.. Opening song ‘Capital R’ would perhaps have been better placed further down the running order. The relaxed groove of ‘Like A Bottle’ makes a better introduction to her dream pop inspired guitars and distant vocal. Ware’s voice comes across as a Kirsty MacColl from the Southern States. She’s been described by earlier reviewers as having a warbly Georgia drawl. If that was the case she has lost a lot of the “warble” on these two songs.

She calls ‘U2 (Means to An End)’ a “breakup rocker”, and it is a fairly grungy piece. Following that with the much quieter ‘So Many Questions’, a tribute to her late father is a bit of a sudden gear change, but the Neil Young flavoured song is one of the best on the album. ‘Stopped Making Plans’ is one of the most overt lockdown songs to emerge recently. “I booked a trip to Germany. Late last year, 2019. I should have known it wouldn’t come to pass. I hunkered down and wrote some songs. But they’re too sad, and way too long”. Ware seems to do best on these less rock oriented songs, her voice seems suited to them and the chiming guitars complement it well.

‘Recurring Dream’ is a less obvious pandemic song: “I have this recurring dream, I wish you’d tell me what it means. I’m in a car but there’s no driver, somehow I’m still safe. I think it’s about control or lack thereof, it’s hard to know. I can’t seem to make out the place”. Ware’s lyrics are mostly thoughtful as shown on ‘Odds and Evens’, her response to the events in Washington of 6^th January 2021. “I couldn’t stop thinking, even though I don’t have kids, how the hell do we explain ourselves to our kids?” Ware says.

As is maybe inevitable with songs written over such a long period of time there are a few that are a bit patchy, but the second half of the album is all great tunes and especially lyrics. It’s well worth spending time with this album and getting to know Ware’s songs.

In Conversation with Kim Ware

[Repost from Chunky Glasses; by Kevin Hill, September 17, 2022]

For over a decade, singer/songwriter/Southerner Kim Ware has been crafting indie-folk songs full of heart and twang with her project Kim Ware and the Good Graces. On her latest album Ready, she’s digging deeper inside then ever before. The result is an album overflowing with brutal honesty, (often hilarious) youthful angst, and an emotional core that could melt even the most hardened of hearts. Join us as we sit down with Ware to discuss the new album, making music in isolation, working with producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Polvo, Tift Merritt), and much, much more.  

OUT NOW: Kim Ware and the Good Graces 'Ready' [Digital LP]

Singer, songwriter, and drummer-turned-guitarist Kim Ware of the Good Graces is known for her unique brand of raw, folk-leaning “southern indie” music. Performing with a rotating cast of musicians, Ware has been crafting tracks with both guts and heart since picking up her first guitar in 2006. She’s one of those rare artists whose melodic lines and candid lyrics feel so natural they’re almost unnatural; she’s been praised as a “songwriter’s songwriter” as well as “an Atlanta treasure” by local musicians and press alike.

Ready is Kim Ware and the Good Graces' latest studio album, and it is official out today on all digital platforms.  Click here to order Ready on compact disc, care of our friends at PotLuck Foundation.

Premiere: Kim Ware & the Good Graces spin heartbreak tale with "U2 (Means to an End)"

[Repost from B-Sides & Badlands; by Bee Scott, September 7, 2022]

Kim Ware revisits a heartbreak from long ago.

“I should’ve known it would fade,” groans Kim Ware. “U2 (Means to an End),” premiering today via B-Sides & Badlands, finds Ware and her band the Good Graces untangling heartbreak and finally putting all the pain six-feet deep. “It was fucked up in hindsight how you stood me up in the dorm room that late night,” Ware reopens wounds as an avenue to healing. Part of that process, the letting go, Ware has learned, “means letting you know,” she sings, burning up the past with lyrical wildfire.

In her work, Ware frequents the heartbreak well, including across 2017’s Set Your Sights. When mulling over the past, the singer-songwriter realized that one relationship had never been immortalized in song. So, she set about writing “U2 (Means to an End),” a vivid depiction of pain and “what I learned from it,” Ware says. “But I’m not sure I actually learned all that much — my husband and I were friends first, so…” Ware cheekily references “some friends of mine who had recently become romantically involved,” as well as “anyone that might relate to it, really.”

“Years later, I married, and you followed that jam band around the whole country,” continues Ware, further dismantling the once-bright and hot romance. “Were you thinking I’d follow you too / I bet you still haven’t found something true…” Her words consume in relentless sole-licking flames, accentuated with a “rocking and noisy” arrangement that “made me chuckle,” she shares.

Producer and musician Jerry Kee injects a jangly vibration with his guitar work. “The first time I heard it with Jerry’s guitars, I kind of felt like that guy in the old Maxell ad. That took a little getting used to, but now I really love it,” she continues. “One of the most fun parts of making this album was tracking the backing vocals to this song. I really didn’t have a solid part in mind. I just was sort of trying whatever came to me. If I remember correctly, I did the ‘around the whole country’ part, all the way until the end, in one take. It was so fun, singing harmonies to all the noisy stuff going on in the background, and I felt like the harmonies brought out the country vibe just a bit.”

“U2 (Means to an End)” samples Kim Ware & the Good Graces’ forthcoming Ready, out next Friday (September 16) on Potluck Foundation (CD) and Fort Lowell Records (digital).

Listen to “U2 (Means to an End)” below.

Follow The Good Graces on their socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

Kim Ware; photo by John McNicholas

OUT NOW: "U2 (Means to an End)" by Kim Ware and the Good Graces

The third single from the upcoming album Ready [co-released with PotLuck] by Kim Ware and the Good Graces, titled "U2 (Means to an End)" is out today on all digital platforms!  For fans of Bettie Serveert, Bright Eyes, and The Mountain Goats. 🎸

Hear Kim Ware and the Good Graces' Glittering "Palisade Peaches"

[Repost from The Boot; by Rachel Cholst, September 6, 2022]

Hearty road warriors The Good Graces — a shifting collective lead by Kim Ware — reconcile their past, present, and future on their upcoming album Ready, out Sept. 16 on Fort Lowell Records. The band's new song, "Palisade Peaches," channels grief and nostalgia into a smooth, '90s college radio-style track.

Ware comes by the sound honestly. After making music with the high-caliber talent in the Atlanta indie rock scene for 16 years, decamped to her home state of North Carolina just as the pandemic hit.

Ware chugged through it all, launching the Kimono My House livestream concert series on Facebook with her friend Andy Gish. The series launched a still-active community that spreads across the globe, with almost 8,000 active members. The series made the jump from the virtual world to reality in March 2022 with a four-day festival in Atlanta that featured 60 musicians.

For Ready, Ware turned to producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk), a natural fit for her brand of jangle rock: catchy and crafted with discipline. "Palisade Peach" is no exception.

"I’ve been fortunate to attend Song School in Lyons, Colorado, a few times over the past several years," explains Ware. "When I went in 2019, two months after my dad had passed away, on the last day, I was in a workshop with Cara Luft. We started just sharing stuff, going around the circle, talking about what we had learned that week. The man beside me wanted to share a song he had just finished."

This songwriter's idea sparked Ware's own creativity — and memories.

"The refrain was, 'My baby's eating peaches, and she's growing up too fast,'" Ware explains. "I couldn't believe it because, while my dad was not at all musical (never even listened to the radio), I thought, if my dad were to write a song, this would be it. He was a peach farmer, and I grew up around peaches. So I shared that with the group, and the man sitting directly across from me looked at me, eyes wide, and said, 'Have you ever had a Palisade peach? They get ripe on both sides!' I was like, I'm writing that s--- down!"

According to Ware, the Palisade peach is worth the hype. One of her friends, Barry, ran out and got one for her.

"It was AMAZING. I so wished my Dad could taste it," Ware says. "I thought I knew a lot about peaches. And when I first went to Song School, I thought I knew a lot about songs. No matter what we might think we’re an 'expert' in, there’s still plenty to learn and experience."

Music fans have a few chances to see Kim Ware live before the end of 2022 rolls around. Currently, Ware has performances scheduled in North Carolina and South Carolina through the coming weeks.

You can find a full list of concert dates and ticketing information at Kim Ware and the Good Graces' official website.

Kim Ware; photo by John McNicholas

OUT NOW: "Palisade Peaches" by Kim Ware and the Good Graces

The second single from the forthcoming album Ready [co-released with PotLuck] by Kim Ware and the Good Graces, titled "Palisade Peaches" is out today on all digital platforms!  For fans of Kathleen Edwards, Joni Mitchell, and Gillian Welch. 🍑

Kim Ware and the Good Graces rank #1 with NACC!

For the week of August 23, 2022, Fort Lowell Records' own Kim Ware and the Good Graces ranked #1 with the North American College and Community (NACC) Radio Chart for Folk music with Ware's new full length album, Ready, due out September 16th!

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

LISTEN: Kim Ware and the Good Graces Rock With A “capital R”

[Repost from Rock & Roll Globe; by Ron Hart, August 3, 2022]

New album, Ready, comes out September 16th

Since coming together over 15 years ago, Kim Ware and her band, the Good Graces, have been an active entity touring the country and playing countless festivals alongside a long list of renowned artists including Indigo Girls, Sierra Ferrell, Granville Automatic and The Old Ceremony. 

Their sound has been compared to artists like Neko Case, Drive-By Truckers, Phoebe Bridgers and The Weepies among others. But upon listening to the forthcoming Good Graces album, entitled Ready, it’s clear how Ware and her mates are coming into their own distinctive sound themselves, finding them stepping out of the country/folk trappings and towards a more electric feel reminiscent of celebrated 90s acts like Belly and Juliana Hatfield. 

The album, which is due out on September 16 and produced by former Superchunk multi-instrumentalist Jerry Kee, is filled with songs written both before the COVID-19 outbreak, like the breakup rocker “U2 (Means to an End),” the shimmering “Overflowing,” and a tribute to her late father called “So Many Questions.” Others were written in the throes of the pandemic and subsequent civil unrest that transpired under the Trump Administration, like the self-evident, “Stopped Making Plans” and “Odds and Evens,” written in response to the events of January 6th. 

Then there are songs that are more universal and unbound by time or events like the confessional rocker “capital R,” which Rock & Roll Globe is proud to premiere today on the site.

“This was one of the first songs we finished for the album,” Ware explains. “Instantly it seemed to have a more driving, rocking feel than most of my songs, and we really leaned into that for the production. I was sort of going for a 90s / early 2000s indie-alternative vibe. I came up playing drums in bands in the 90s, so that era — stuff like Liz Phair, The Breeders, and Throwing Muses — will always be a big influence on me, though it isn’t always evident in my writing. I would say this sort of set the tone for the rest of the album, pushing us more in a direction of an indie/alternative production quality (and less country-folk like I expected). It’s one of my favorites to play live, mainly due to the energy, and often some friends will join in with backing vocals and hand claps.”

Lyrically, Ware tells Rock & Roll Globe how “capital R” inspired her to dig deeper into her ability to resolve conflict, something so many of us who’ve lost family and friends to our country’s stark political divide could relate.

“I’ve written a few ‘therapy songs’ over the past couple of years, and I think ‘capital R’ was the first, or at least the first that was an intentional attempt to get some resolution with a situation I was having problems with,” she reveals. “It came out of an assignment from my therapist. I was having a difficult time dealing with what I’ll just refer to as ‘unwanted’ feelings about a couple of my interpersonal relationships; basically, there was a common theme I found in how I was responding to conflict, and I wasn’t very proud of it. My therapist urged me to journal about what the feelings do FOR me. 

“My initial response was that it doesn’t do anything for me; it’s something I’d like to change. But I sat with it a bit and wrote about it. It was really helpful in that it gave me a different perspective and just a better understanding of the conflicts, at least in terms of my responses to them and how they got so problematic in the first place. The whole process was super therapeutic and opened my eyes to a new way of writing.”

Listen to “Capital R” below and pre-order Ready here.

Kim Ware and the Good Graces 'Ready' available now for pre-order

Kim Ware and the Good Graces have a brand new Digital LP coming out in September titled Ready, and it is available now to pre-order!  For fans of Belle & Sebastian, Neko Case, Julee Cruse, Indigo Girls, and Liz Phair.

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER

LISTEN: the Good Graces Craft Colorfully Curious Indie Folk On “capital R”

[Repost from Glide Magazine; September 7, 2021]

Singer, songwriter, and drummer-turned-guitarist Kim Ware of the Good Graces is known for her unique brand of raw, folk-leaning “southern indie” music. Performing with a rotating cast of musicians, Ware has been crafting tracks with both guts and heart since picking up her first guitar in 2006. 

“capital R” is the new impassioned and cathartic single from the Good Graces. Ware’s voice curates a raw vulnerability atop a tried and true indie rock formula recalling the candid flair of Liz Phair. There is a sense of timelessness to the track though it effortlessly defines a generation of 90’s angst with beautiful openness, creativity and sense of self-worth. 

“Compared to most of my other songs, this song came about in a pretty interesting way. It was the result of an assignment from my therapist. I was dealing with some complicated feelings and she urged me to write a letter, to myself, from the feelings. At first I thought, “hmm… what?” But a few days later I was journaling and the letter just came out, and a few days after that the song followed. I recorded my acoustic and vocals at home and Jerry Kee did the rest in his studio in Mebane, NC. This is one of the most fun ones to play with my band, and it’s really cathartic to sing that chorus,” says Ware.

PREMIERE: the Good Graces unveil lyric video for moody new single, "capital R"

[Repost from Immersive Atlanta; by Guillermo Castro, August 27, 2021]

Relationships can be tricky. So many conflicting emotions. So many competing motivations, both acknowledged and unseen. Who can make sense of human behavior? After all, there’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic, right? On new single “capital R,” Kim Ware pulls back the curtain and exposes the tangled knot of contradictions and thorny rationales that often drive our decision-making. “I don’t wanna be here / But you’re so inviting / And this time I think I might stay,” she sings on the softly glowing chorus. Couched in warm hooks and moody atmospherics, it brims with the candid poetics that has informed the Good Graces’ songwriting for well over a decade.

“I’ve always tried to make my songs a very honest reflection of who I am,” Ware says. “But what part of life fits neatly in a box? Life is not a simple thing. So I often end up writing about that non-simplicity.”

After living in Atlanta for sixteen years, Ware recently moved back to her family’s farm in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The transition has helped her connect to her past and deepen her appreciation of home. Since then, she’s been working with NC engineer/producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Polvo) on the Good Graces’ forthcoming sixth full length.

“Capital R” is the first taste of that collaboration and it finds Ware embracing a more rock-centric sound. There are shades of folk-leaning Americana, of course, and the billowing synths help coat the track in a dreamy shimmer. But the driving force remains Ware’s knack for marrying tasteful melodies to piercing observations. Here, it’s the daunting realization that despite someone’s flaws—their domineering attitude and “half-assed optimism”— there is an intractable attraction that can’t be ignored. Why? Who’s to say. Simple truths can be hard to come by. But maybe, just maybe, we like it that way.

Stream the single and lyric video [below].

“capital R” releases this Fri., Aug. 27. Pre-orders are available here.

The Good Graces will perform on Sat., Aug. 28 at the EARL alongside the Preakness and Ben Trickey (full band). Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is $12 in advance or $15 DOS. 21+ to enter. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required. Mask up, y’all.

More Info

Web: thegoodgraces.org

Bandcamp: thegoodgraces.bandcamp.com

Facebook: @thegoodgraces

SoundCloud: @thegoodgraces

Tumblr: thegoodgraces.tumblr.com

Twitter: @theGoodGraces

the Good Graces; photo by John McNicholas

Interview: The Good Graces Get Therapeutic

[Repost from Adobe & Teardrops; by Rachel Cholst, August 30, 2021]

Singer, songwriter, and drummer-turned-guitarist Kim Ware of Adobe & Teardrops fave the Good Graces is known for her unique brand of raw, folk-leaning “southern indie” music. Performing with a rotating cast of musicians, Ware has been crafting tracks with both guts and heart since picking up her first guitar in 2006. She’s one of those rare artists whose melodic lines and candid lyrics feel so natural they’re almost unnatural; she’s been praised as a “songwriter’s songwriter” as well as “an Atlanta treasure” by local musicians and press alike.

Born and raised in a small North Carolina town called Kings Mountain, Ware was a naturally introverted child. Her love of music led her to take up drumming, where she could participate in songs safely from the back of the stage. She got her first drum kit for Christmas at sixteen and taught herself to play, drumming in alt-rock bands (including popular Wilmington, NC act Tex Svengali) throughout her twenties and thirties. Eventually she moved to Atlanta, where she joined two bands whose songwriters (Jeff Evans of Chickens and Pigs and Mary O. Harrison of Virginia Plane) inspired a new appreciation for lyric-driven, narrative songwriting. But it wasn’t until 2006, after finding an old acoustic guitar at the Lakewood Antiques Market, that Ware began writing and singing her own work as the Good Graces.

During the 2020 pandemic, Ware launched two projects designed to connect local artists and friends despite quarantine restrictions: a virtual Facebook venue called “Kimono My House,” which includes members across the world and continues to grow daily, and a podcast called “Quarantuned With the Good Graces,” where she interviewed musicians about their creative processes and the need for artists to stay connected.

After sixteen years in Atlanta, Ware recently moved back to Kings Mountain, where she lives in a farmhouse her family has owned for more than a century. “I’m constantly writing songs that reflect this place, and I’m realizing that maybe I’ve always been writing about home in some way or another.” She’s working with NC engineer/producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Polvo, Kingsbury Manx, Dex Romweber, Shark Quest) on the Good Graces’ sixth full-length album, exploring “the stuff of home” from the farmhouse and her father’s peach orchard next door: the objects, faces, emotions, and natural features that make a familiar place feel confusing and comforting at the same time.

Ware’s new song “capital R” was written for an assignment from my therapist. It’s pretty upbeat and rockin’, with a southern indie style. It was produced by Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Polvo, Kingsbury Manx, Dex Romweber, Shark Quest) at his Duck-Kee studio in Mebane, NC. I played acoustic guitar and sang; Jerry played everything else.

In her interview, Kim digs into her influences, her favorite touring memories, and the best way to support artists in these trying times.

Who are some of your musical influences?

90s stuff – Nirvana, Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield. A little emo, I love Rainer Maria and count them as one of my favorite bands ever. That stuff, combined with some of my favorite Americana/country-ish songwriters like Lucinda Williams, Lydia Loveless, and, more recently, Jaimee Harris – those are probably informing my current writing the most. Early on, I was really drawn to the writing of John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats) as well as his percussive guitar style. The drums were my first instrument so I think I approached (and still do) the acoustic guitar music like a percussion instrument.

Tell us about your favorite show you’ve ever played.

We got to open a handful of dates for Indigo Girls the summer of 2015. The first show happened to be on my birthday, at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the middle of our set, the crowd started singing happy birthday to me. I’ll always remember how amazing that felt! A close second is our last record release at Eddie’s in Decatur GA, in November 2019. The room was packed, the crowd was so appreciative, it was really a perfect night. Hard to believe everything took such a drastic turn just a few months later.

What’s the best way a fan can support you?

I’ve been enjoying sharing content over at my Patreon; it helps keep me accountable and gives me a place to try out new song ideas, release demos, stuff like that. And the monthly patron model is an awesome means of support – patreon.com/kimware

Recent release you cannot stop listening to?

I’ve really been enjoying the most recent Adult Mom album, “Driver.” Really great songs and awesome production.

Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off?

One day I’d really love to tour in Australia.

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the Good Graces; photo by John McNicholas

OUT NOW: the Good Graces "capital R" [Digital Single]

Life is beautiful, and it's amazing how cyclical things can be.  Kim Ware of the Good Graces used to live in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run a record label called Eskimo Kiss Records.  She released music for Fort Lowell Records' owners: James Tritten's band Audio Explorations, as Tracy Shedd herself.  Now, the Good Graces, after recently departing Atlanta, Georgia, have relocated to Shelby, North Carolina. Meanwhile, Fort Lowell Records is based out of Wilmington, North Carolina, and releasing music for the Good Graces these days... 

Including this brand new single for a fantastic pop-gem titled "capital R", which is out today -- Friday, August 27th -- on all digital music download and streaming platforms!  Check it out:

Happy Birthday, Kim Ware of the Good Graces!

[Attention all Sarah Records fans:] Fort Lowell Records is superduperexcited to share with you that on August 27th we will be releasing a brand new song titled "capital R" from North Carolina's own the Good Graces... moniker for our Birthday Girl, Kim Ware!  Let's wish Kim a Happy Birthday today, and stay tuned to hear her sweet new indie pop gem, fitting for a Summer release!

The Good Graces concert announcement

Atlanta, Georgia... The Good Graces will be performing in concert at The Earl on Saturday, August 28th with The Preakness + Ben Trickey [full band]!  Don't miss it!

Fort Lowell Records · the Good Graces "Standing in Line"

The Good Graces hit the road with an amazing new record!

The Good Graces of Atlanta, Georgia are heading to North Carolina next week in the beginning of November to promote their fantastic new album Prose and Consciousness (POTLUCK Records):

Nov. 5 - Chapel Hill NC - Songwriter's Night at Imbibe with Neville's Quarter
Nov. 7 - Kings Mountain NC - The Revolution1
Nov. 8 - Asheville NC - Static Age Records with Matt Southern & Lost Gold and Joshua Carpenter

Listen to "Standing in Line" from The Good Graces 2014 Fort Lowell Records release: