George Stanford

Debut album- Big Drop- out June 3rd. The EP- currently available on iTunes.



Dark and rich timbre--it could have been a good title for Stanford’s debut album, Big Drop, an eleven-song collection of classic pop rock: “classic” because Stanford can evoke a mood with the dexterity of his Hall of Fame influence list; “pop” because he dresses up his songs with imaginative-but-fitting arrangements that employ a variety of instruments playing the optimum (not too many, not too few) number of notes that all march in the service of the aforementioned moods; and “rock” because it rocks. Think Paul McCartney circa “Penny Lane.” Think Hank Williams’ story lines salted down with the occasional dash of Randy Newman irony.

Graduating from high school in 1999, Stanford enrolled at University of the Arts in his hometown of Philadelphia with the intent of getting a degree in jazz performance. He lasted a year and a half until one day the teacher in his ensemble class started berating one of the student musicians. His reaction resulted in expulsion- mutually agreed upon with the dean.

Stanford switched from classrooms to clubs to continue his education in performance, playing regularly with his band Townhall around Philadelphia and irregularly up and down the East Coast. After a couple of years in the van, the romance of the road wore off and some of his band members weren’t seeing the new direction his song writing was taking, so they parted on friendly terms. Stanford holed up in his apartment above a laundromat where he also worked. Discovering the joy of the computer and Pro Tools, he wrote songs as the driers rumbled below.

Spending much of his advance upgrading his own recording equipment, Stanford did most of the album in his own little bungalow in Los Angeles with the aid of his computer, old friend Dave Tozer, and producers John Alagia and Brian Malouf. Eric Ivan Rosse did additional production work and joined Stanford for the mixing.

George is currently reaching people on the road, opening for such diverse acts as Babyface, Sara Bareilles & Big Head Todd and the Monsters. He’s got a drummer and a bassist, and he’s playing guitar, bass, keyboards and--his "gateway instrument"--the trombone.