Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Grand Ole Party

Sound description

Gypsy, big beat, club funk, with storytelling lyrics.

RIYL

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Karen O, the Gossip, Beth Ditto

Inception

San Diego , 2005

Influences

Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Benedictum, Karen O, the Gossip, Beth Ditto, the Prayers, UV Tigers, Louis XIV, Billie Holiday, Patti Smith, Aretha Franklin, Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, Muddy Waters, James Brown, Ray Charles.

Discography

Sponsored

A trio with a penchant for skinny headbands and a fiercely rockin’ front-woman, Grand Ole Party originally formed around riot grrrl vocals by drummer Kristin Gundred, a Castro Valley native who played a 1969 Slingerland drum kit and studied classical and jazz voice. Gundred sang in choirs during high school and college, and holds a degree in modern literary studies.

Guitarist John Paul Labno plays a Telecaster and came to San Diego by way of San Francisco. Bassist Mike Krechnyak graduated San Pasqual High in Escondido in 1998, later earning a college degree in philosophy. The trio met while attending UC Santa Cruz.

The band’s first public gig was opening for the UV Tigers at a sold-out Casbah show. They’re gathering serious buzz as one of the hottest new local bands, so much so that they've quit their day jobs (Gundred worked at a second-hand clothes shop, Labno at a coffee shop, and Krechnyak was employed by a plumbing company).

In 2005, Grand Ole Party was signed to the management company 3D, which also manages Interpol and Coldplay. The group was nominated for “Best New Artist” at the 2006 San Diego Music Awards. In August 2007, singer/drummer Kristin Gundred joined Rilo Kiley to sing backup vocals on their European tour, and also appeared with that band on Conan O’Brian’s TV show.

The band’s September 2007 album Humanimals, produced by Blake Sennett (of Rilo Kiley and the Elected), was recorded over a five-day stretch. With cover art by local illustrator Kelsey Brookes, the album was released exclusively on iTunes with the bonus track “Shot in the Alley”; the band also sells the CDs at their concerts.

On February 7, 2008, the group was the “Artist of the Day” on Spin magazine’s website. The group has appeared at showcases such as South by Southwest, Bonnaroo, and Coachella. In September '08, Humanimals, won Best Alternative Album at the San Diego Music Awards, where many in the audience were seen sporting their own skinny headbands, marking an emerging local fashion trend that the band will someday be either lauded or cursed for.

2009 found the band touring with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and recording a sophomore album with Gnarls Barkley producer Ben H. Allen. However, as of September 2009, it appears the band has split, with John Paul Labno now in a new band called the Hot Moon.

Kristin Gundred - who is married to Brandon Welchez of the Crocodiles - moved to L.A. in early 2009, where she co-founded the Dum Dum Girls.

In 2011, their unreleased second album Under Our Skin was finally made available from DH Records. Recorded in 2009, before the band split, a free download of the song “All Night” was posted at grandolepartymusic.com.

Sponsored

Upcoming Local Shows

No shows scheduled

Post a show View show history
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader