Photo by Judith Levitt

Recorded live at Piano's and Rockwood over the past year, Silent as a Movie is a collection of material that has won over fans and peers. Showcasing a plethora of emotions and Grubbs' emotive piano playing, Silent is a stunning release. The songs were written at various times over the past few years. Astonishingly, six of them were penned in a single sitting in the wake of an extremely trying month. One can only imagine what it must have felt like to cook up so many amazing tales in one night. Two of them, "Car Crash" and "Take It Like a Man," are among the strongest Wakey!Wakey! compositions. The former uses incredibly vivid imagery to spin a beautiful metaphor for the maddening contradictions that accompany a romantic separation. "At least you were thrown clear / I'm still stuck in here / I kick off my shoes / I let the flames crawl up and burn right through me" are painful lines, distinct in the picture they paint yet universal in the frustrations they express. "Take It Like A Man" pairs a classic chord progression in the chorus with verses that can be described as a destructive tango from hell. The title/refrain can be given a figurative or literal interpretation: the singer could be empathetic, accusatory or self-flagellating (perhaps all three at once). It may not be Clive Davis' idea of a single, but it's an incredibly volatile and complex song, where the character threatens to drop his dignity and lash out mercilessly. "Take It Like A Man" ultimately captures the essence of Wakey!Wakey!'s more personal material.

"LGA" (La Guardia) can also be found on the new CD and for beginners it's a good instruction to Grubbs' material. It is also the tune that catapulted this songwriter into the finals during the 4th Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition back in November. While "Take It Like A Man" will never be able to sit benignly in a scene of, say, Grey's Anatomy, "LGA" seems born to accompany a wide screen camera shot of a sprinting John Cusack trying to reach Gate 45 before his lover boards that plane to Madagascar. Compositionally, it has all the Wakey!Wakey! trademarks; suspended 4ths and 5ths are Grubbs' personal "Steely Dan Chords" and he introduces his choruses with the same pounding, grandiose delivery that Townshend made famous on Tommy.

	Photo by Judith Levitt

On paper, many of these compositions could fit side by side with a number of emotional piano ballads; the "Wakey!Wakey!" sound is what makes this act so special. Grubbs has a distinct vocal delivery: vulnerable, lashing, operatic, and ultimately charming. Or as he describes it: "like a kitty cat, but if you pet it wrong it'll scratch the heck out of you!" Grubbs recently debuted a cover of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and established fans could have predicted what the Wakey-ized version would sound like. This distinct sound has taken a while to develop (the artist smiles recalling the Black Crowes-style jam rock once played). The past several years were a turning point in his musical identity and the change seemed to solidify with that all-night songwriting marathon. After debuting the new material at Rockwood, owner Ken Rockwood came down from the soundbooth and asked the performer flat-out: "what in the world happened to you?"

The change has been for the better... the best, in fact. Grubbs has decried 2008 to be the year that Wakey!Wakey! aims for "world domination." In the wake of his newfound popularity, greater opportunities have been knocking at the office door. Grubbs is remaining patient, preferring to enter the larger spotlight on his own terms. This involves the continued nurturing of relationships that he has made in the Lower East Side scene, evidence of which can be found in the talented cast of characters who frequently contribute to his live arrangements. Currently tending bar in order to pay the rent, Grubbs is dead set on making a living with his greatest passion.