His audition: Jonny Gray, 29, of Austin, Texas, performed “All These Things That I’ve Done” by the Killers and turned in easily one of the impressive male vocals from the first week of auditions, prompting Adam Levine to proclaim “damn” within the first couple of notes. He turned around and so did Cee Lo, who said he heard both Stevie Nicks and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam in Jonny’s voice.
Jonny Gray of Team Cee Lo on The Voice. (NBC Photo)
Background: Jonny’s mom was a single parent, but his uncle taught him “the basics of rock-and-roll,” including how to play a guitar, when he was about 10. At 18, Jonny joined the Air Force and was deployed to the Middle East within six months. “I saw a lot of bad stuff happen,” he says. “I don’t talk about it too much. It’s just kind of locked away in a time far, far away. Anytime I feel stressed, I just pick up a guitar and try to write a song.” He now performs in the Austin area; the city even gave him his own day.
On picking Cee Lo: In his pre-audition clip, Jonny said he was hoping Adam would spin his chair. He did, but Jonny still joined Team Cee Lo. “I wanted to go with Adam just based on musical preference. I love his music,” Jonny said in a conference call interview the next day. “But when I was on stage talking to both of them, I just felt like Cee Lo knew me a little bit better, like he just kind of understood who I was. And that meant a lot.”
What the show didn’t show: Jonny left the military in 2006 and immediately decided he wanted to pursue music as a career. A native of El Paso, he collaborated, performed and toured with bands in the San Antonio area for about two years, according to his website, before heading to Austin. In 2011, he released a 5-track EP called “Sail It Away.” You can stream the entire EP from his website. I’ve embedded two of the songs below. On Facebook, where Jonny lists Pearl Jam, The Killers, Jeff Buckley and Dave Matthews as his musical influences, there’s also mention of forming a full band and working on a full-length album in the near future.
Quote: “I’m a full-time musician. That’s how I pay all my bills. But I would love to be a musician on a grander scale.”
On iTunes: The aforementioned EP plus his Voice performance.
Keeping up with Jonny: Twitter: @jonnygraymusic — Facebook — Website — YouTube
Jonny Gray, “Sail It Away,” from his 2011 EP
Jonny Gray, “Leaver of Men,” from his 2011 EP
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9 Comments
Jonny – Love your sound and picture you ..All in black – hair tied back singing a crazy Gray version of Folsom Prison Blues. You do know they’ll be sayin ‘ Gray is the new money’ ! The best to you and thank you for protecting us and our country. Valerie
Jonny Gray is all about rock&roll he has star quality. I have been listening to him from the star of the Voice and Hats off to Jonny he is a star and the his voice is unbelivable. I can’t wait to hear him sing!!
Love your music. I am soooo bummed I will not hear you sing on the voice. You should have won. I will definitely download your music. Best of luck. You seem to be a real sweetheart,and you deserve a break!