Steve Grand to make West Coast performance debut

Every once in a while, YouTube delivers unto the world a bona fide star. So it did again less than four weeks ago when more than a million people watched Steve Grand’s music video, “All-American Boy,” having been seduced by the 23-year-old’s sublimely earnest eyes, his persuasive voice, and his all-out, highly emotive performance of his original song of the same title.

Since then, nearly two million have watched the video.

But according to Grand, who will make his West Coast performance debut at San Diego IndieFest 8 Aug. 17, the video is secondary to the music – to the song – which, he says, tells the tale of his lifelong susceptibility to aching crushes on unavailable straight men.

“I’m a singer-songwriter,” he told San Diego LGBT Weekly during a recent phone interview, which he was kind enough to grant at a time when media outlets from around the globe were, and continue to be clamoring, to speak with Steve Grand to find out why the world has become so infatuated with him.

“Music is a natural outlet for me to express how I feel,” he said. “I think feelings have to come out one way or another.”

Grand says songwriting is a simple and familiar, yet cathartic process for him.

“First, I come up with a basic melody,” he said. “Then, I write a skeleton or structure of the song on piano or guitar.”

Although Grand has been better known on the Chicago music scene and previously on the Internet as a cover act called Steve Starchild for some time, a rich trove of already-written, but yet-to-be recorded (much less released) original songs may soon reach millions of ears as tracks by Steve Grand.

Judging by the results of a decidedly unscientific Facebook poll this reporter took recently, there is a large enough pool of welled-up market demand for those songs that when they are released, a watershed of sales should inundate iTunes or any other retail venue Steve Grand chooses to use to make his music available to the public.

In fact, “All-American Boy” is still only available for viewing and listening on YouTube. Fans can’t yet (at least as of this writing) buy it on iTunes.

“All American Boy,” the song and the video, portrays an age-old story. It is a story that every red-blooded, gay American boy will recognize and relate to immediately:

Gay boy becomes infatuated with irresistible straight boy. Irresistible straight boy (unwittingly?) sends confused gay boy mixed signals. Gay boy finally works up the courage to make his move. Straight boy is stunned; he rebuffs gay boy.

In the case of Steve Grand’s rampantly viral-video version of the classic story of irresistible inaccessibility, the straight boy in “All-American Boy” ultimately says, in gestures rather than words, “It’s OK, bro. I know you want me; but I dig chicks. But what the hell dude, we can still hang out; and you can go on pining after me while I make out with my girlfriend. Here, have some booze!”

Good times that remind yours truly of Palm Springs High School and a boy named Leon, circa 1986. Gosh, was Leon dreamy.

“Those experiences were so real for me growing up and have been throughout my life,” says Grand. “There’s an aching feeling that comes with being that infatuated with someone –sometimes it’s so much that it actually hurts. I felt compelled to write this song. I think that’s why so many people relate to it.”

So who was Steve Grand’s All-American boy? Whom did he have in mind when he wrote the song? He’s not saying.

“I didn’t have any particular person in mind,” he said. “The character is kind of a composite of several people.”

Similarly, to readers who want to know if Steve Grand is single or in a relationship, he’s pleading the fifth on that question too.

“I’m pretty protective about that part of my life,” he said. “I’ve made a decision not to answer that question.”

In fact, Grand is more contemplative about love, life and music than one might expect a 23-year-old to be – especially one who has found fame and potential fortune landed upon his doorstep in a matter of days.

Honesty and authenticity are his guiding principles. Grand trusts they will, as they always have, continue to lead him down the best path to success in career and in life more generally.

“I’m unfailingly honest,” Grand said. “I know that the song and the video have reached people and it’s touched them because it’s honest and authentic. People have been overwhelmingly positive in their response to the video. It’s not so much about me being a gay artist. It’s more about me just being myself. I think that’s why people have responded the way they have.”

Grand says he is part of the gay community; but never set out to be a role model. He’ll take on that mantel, he says – if it will serve a useful purpose.

“If being a role model is how it’s characterized when I’m honest about who I am, and that helps others be who they are and not feel shame, I can handle that. But, I’m not perfect and I hope I don’t let anyone down.”

If Grand has any trepidation about being a role model or letting people down, that may stem from some criticism he says he has received for singing in churches that may not always have expressed support for LGBT equality.

“That’s how I’ve made my living as a singer,” he said. “But the congregations at the four churches I’ve sung at know who I am and have always been supportive of me as a singer and a person. I think we can do a lot to change hearts and minds by being in people’s lives – by being present.”

“All-American Boy” has been described as a country-western song. In fact, much of the buzz around the YouTube video, the production of which Grand financed to the tune of $7,000 by maxing out his credit cards, has centered around his being described (erroneously, he says) as country’s first openly gay star.

“Even if I were a country artist, I wouldn’t be the first openly gay one by a long shot,” he said.

Actually, Steve Grand’s influences lean more toward classic rock than country.

“It’s more raw than a lot of the music we hear today,” Grand says. “I love artists like Neil Young, Eric Clapton and The Beatles.”

Those artists inspire him to use electronic music-making sparingly.

“I find myself going with live instruments to make the sound organic,” he said. “I’ve been inspired by the music I grew up with, the music my dad played and that I love.”

Grand refuses to pin his art to a specific genre or label. In fact, for the time being he is not planning to jump onto a record label or into a record deal.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t sign a record deal,” he told LGBT Weekly. “But, so far, with the Internet, I don’t see any reason to do that. I haven’t needed one so far.”

Speaking about his West Coast performance debut at San Diego IndieFest 8 Grand said,

“I was really honored and impressed that San Diego IndieFest decided to reach out to me and I’m really excited and really looking forward to it.”

Things are happening very fast for this young, gay, out artist. Be sure to catch him at San Diego IndieFest 8, Sat., Aug. 17 on the Craig Yerkes Stage. San Diego IndieFest 8 is Aug. 16-18. Visit sandiegoindiefest.com for more information.