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Shimmying with a classy slickness that in the wrong hands translates to the smooth soullessness of David Gray and the like, Drayton Michaels is an artist side-stepping that particular pothole and emerging more in a league with people like Damien Rice and Rufus Wainwright. As the warm guitar tones and acoustic brushes that permeate proceedings on album opener THIEVERY suggest, this is a record that oozes quality songwriting and definite musical maturity. Aside from his obvious talents as a songwriter, Drayton Michaels also possesses a voice that grabs you from the first, subtly drawing you in with warmth and compassion, soothing in the quieter moments and hitting a Geddy Lee like squeal at his more excitable.
Grooving along in a much more pop oriented direction, ANYWAY, has an immediacy and bounce to it that's somewhere near a clash between Rush, The Posies and Dave Matthews, and with a chorus to die for. BACK ON THE GROUND, following in much the same direction of gentle pop melodies on the back of smoothly flowing guitar lines, gradually evolves into a Stevie Wonder-esque groove. Laughing in the face of anyone who says all the best tunes have already been written, EVERYBODY, bristles with a sense of immediateness and unbelievable catchiness that's breathtaking. With a song someone like Rufus Wainwright would probably kill for, this comes across like a slice of classic pop that you can easily picture blasting from radios world-wide over the coming year, a pitch perfect blend between Oasis, Scissor Sisters and Damien Rice - this could well be Drayton Michaels trump card in world domination.
While its always going to be a problem following a song that good, this is a record that still has a few tricks up its sleeve - although AT LEAST and WHAT YA THINK OF THAT do unfortunately struggle to hit anything near the same highs, settling more into a gentle groove of mid tempo jazz-pop that's nice rather than great.
Hitting his stride again on, GHOSTS OF MANHATTAN, a song that changes tack into lush orchestral swells and minimalistic fingerpicked guitars, Drayton Michaels reminds you of why he's an artist to believe in as he sings in a more subdued and introspective vocal that adds the right amount of pathos and drama.
LOW STRESS IN THE DEEP END is an album of definite promise and highs, representing the emergence of a singer/songwriter with a genuine talent and bright future. A song like EVERYBODY or GHOSTS OF MANHATTAN, almost floors you with its greatness sounding like the work of someone with the presence to be a global star. Its the conflict between the really great songs on offer here and the more average sounding middle of the road material though, that presents something of a problem - and while never delivering anything terrible, the blend of great and average lends the album as a whole, something of an uneven quality that in the end lets things down. So, what could have been a truly amazing mini album ends up as a pretty decent full album, with a few quality control issues, but still one with enough genuine musical gems to proclaim Drayton Michaels as someone likely to be making massive musical waves very soon.

Transplanted from New York City, singer/songwriter Drayton Michaels is now based in Seattle where he recently recorded his debut CD, LOW STRESS IN THE DEEP END. Drayton's diverse pop songs have a classic yet modern feel with choruses that will dance in the listeners' ears for months.
Having played music his entire life (professionally since the age of 12), Drayton had a running start that led him to the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles where he studied with jazz legends Joe Pass and Joe Diorio. While attending the Institute, he took in extra study time with bass and vocal luminary Tim Bogart and voice instructors Mark Baxter, Roger Love and Jim Dawson alos mentoring along the way.
Drayton's travels led him to Boston, NYC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Germany and Amsterdam. His experiences in these cities broadened his approach to songwriting and the creative process. He has played in a dizzying array of musical formats and styles, hung out with a crazy cast of characters from all walks of life - some known, some unknown, all infamous in their own right. The common denominator is all of Drayton's musical ventures has been solid songwriting and the pursuit of originality. Be it as a side player or frontman, Drayton's goal is to create something identifiable.
Highly influenced by pop, soul and rock music, Drayton's CD, LOW STRESS IN THE DEEP END, is sure to uplift, unite and inspire. It has a solid foundation of acoustic guitar and voice complimented by intelligent lyrics of love, friendship and other facets of the human condition. The result is timeless songs with classic elements that truly capture Drayton's love of songwriting. It's an alternative to the alternatives. The music is catchy and pop, but not slick or pompous.
Recorded at Electrokitty Recording Studios (whose list of producers includes Bob Power and Joe Chiccarelli) during the Summer/Fall of 2004, the 11 songs on LOW STRESS IN THE DEEP END are culled from 4 years of writing material and playing solo acoustic shows on the West Coast. Co-produced and engineered by Gary Reynolds, Low Stress features tracks mixed by Robbie Adams (U2, Smashing Pumpkins) and was mastered by Ron Boustead at Precision Mastering in LA. Drayton enlited "A list" musicians from the thriving Seattle music scene including Dale Fanning (Living Daylights), Mike Mussberger (Posies), Keith Lowe (Fiona Apple, David Sylvian) and Kevin Hunter (Tuatura). Piano and Rhodes were executed by Wayne Horvitz, a household name to the fans of his many collaborations in the jazz and avant-garde scenes. Up and coming muscians, Christina Orbe and David Miller (Beehive), also made guest appeareances on the CD, helping to round out the vibe of the sound.
Live shows over the past few years have been done solo acoustic. The search for a live backing band is being conducted with as much care as the choice of players for the recording sessions.

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