Kara Grainger
| Kara Grainger | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kara Grainger |
| Born | Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Blues rock, soul blues, roots rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Eclecto Groove Records, Craving Records |
| Website | www |
Kara Grainger is a soul blues and roots rock singer/songwriter from Australia, currently based out of Los Angeles in the United States.
Grainger was always singing, and started learning how to play the guitar at age 12, improvising by her mid-teens. Grainger taught herself to play while listening to musicians such as Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Little Feat. She grew up in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, known for its pubs and live music venues that caters to jazz and blues music. She played in several bands during secondary school, and was encouraged by a teacher to perform live, and she took guitar lessons from a local instructor, Mark Williams who had connections to professional musicians, which lead to a regular opportunities to play at one of Sydney's premiere music venue, The Basement.
In 1994, when Grainger was 16 and just out of Balmain High School, she formed the band Papa Lips with her brother Mitch Grainger who had recently left his previous band, the Bondi Cigars. Papa Lips was a Blues & Roots band fronted by the Graingers, but also included Declan Kelly on drums, Rowan Lane on bass, Danny Guerrero on percussion, and Clayton Doley on keyboards.John Brewster managed the band along with Mitch.
Papa Lips recorded and released one EP in 1996, Harmony, and one album in 1998, High Time Now, both distributed by Festival Records. They toured extensively on Australia's east coast, and played major Australian music festivals such as the Byron Bay Blues & Roots Festival, the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival and Woodford Folk Festival. In 1998 Papa Lips were awarded, "Best New Band" at the Australian Blues Music Awards.
In 1998 the band was introduced to the producer Harry Vanda of The Easybeats and AC/DC fame and signed by Albert Productions. The band changed their name to Grainger and were in the studio for a period of two years recording a self-titled EP and an unreleased album. In September 2001 Kara Grainger traveled along with her brother Mitch to New York to meet with American record labels, Atlantic Records, Sony BMG, Virgin Records and Elektra Records. The pair arrived in Manhattan on 9 September and were witness to the 11 September attacks. This brought on a period of reflection and the band was soon to be disbanded with Kara and her brother Mitch deciding to take separate musical paths.
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