Jump to content

Draft:Will Graefe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Will Graefe (born William James Graefe[1][2]) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a member of the band Okkervil River and as the lead guitarist for singer-songwriter Maya Hawke.

Early life

[edit]

Graefe grew up in Massachusetts.[3] He received his first guitar as a Christmas gift when he was nine years old[4] and went on to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in the early 2000s.[5][6]

Career

[edit]

Graefe has worked as a solo artist, collaborator, session guitarist, touring guitarist, record producer, and recording engineer.

Solo

[edit]

In 2017, Graefe released his first solo album North America.[7] In 2021, he released Marine Life on 11A records.[8]

Okkervil River

[edit]

Graefe has been a member of the band Okkervil River since 2015, playing guitar on the band's eighth and ninth studio albums Away and In the Rainbow Rain. Graefe and Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff began writing songs together for the band and continued working together on Sheff's 2022 solo album Nothing Special and on Graefe's 2021 solo album Marine Life.[9]

Maya Hawke

[edit]

Graefe played guitar and co-wrote several songs on singer-songwriter and actress Maya Hawke's first studio album MOSS in 2022 and her second album Chaos Angel in 2024, along with Okkervil River and BB Wisely bandmate Benjamin Lazar Davis.[10][11]

Other bands

[edit]

Graefe writes, records, and performs in several bands based in New York City. He has been a founding member of the Brooklyn-based instrumental duo Star Rover with Jeremy Gustin since 2012.[12] He's the lead guitarist in instrumental band Cosmo with Jesse Harris, Kenny Wolleson, Jeremy Gustin, and James Buckley since 2017.[13]. In 2021, he joined Bridget Kearney and Benjamin Lazar Davis as a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist to form supergroup BB Wisely.[14]

Sessions and touring

[edit]

Graefe is known as a session player and collaborator across many musical styles, recording and touring with artists like Cass McCombs, beabadoobee, Orville Peck, Gaby Moreno, Petra Haden, Jesse Harris, Anais Mitchell, and Eleanor Friedberger.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Personal life

[edit]

Graefe lives in Brooklyn, NY.[21]

Discography

[edit]
Nonexhaustive list of studio album and single contributions[22]
Year Artist Record Label Role(s)
2024 Orville Peck Stampede Warner Records Guitarist
2024 beabadoobee This Is How Tomorrow Moves Dirty Hit Guitarist
2024 Erisy Watt not either or but everything First City Artists Guitarist
2024 Maya Hawke Chaos Angel Mom+Pop Guitarist, songwriter
2024 Joba Russell Boring WORLDSMILE Guitarist, songwriter
2023 COSMO, Jesse Harris Spring Song Secret Sun Recordings Guitarist
2022 Will Sheff Nothing Special ATO Records Guitarist, songwriter
2022 COSMO, Jesse Harris But When? Secret Sun Recordings Guitarist
2022 Maya Hawke Chaos Angel Mom+Pop Guitarist, songwriter
2021 Will Graefe Black Swan 11A Records Guitarist, songwriter, producer, engineer
2021 Will Graefe Marine Life 11A Records Guitarist, songwriter, producer, engineer
2018 Okkervil River In the Rainbow Rain ATO Records Guitarist, songwriter
2018 Okkervil River Away ATO Records Guitarist, songwriter
2017 Will Graefe North America N/A Guitarist, songwriter, producer, engineer

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://www.discogs.com/artist/2629667-Will-Graefe?anv=William%20James%20Graefe&filter_anv=1
  2. ^ https://jaxsta.com/profile/f36c09e2-4834-5f72-8f93-23235897eb47/catalogue?view=tile
  3. ^ https://www.forfolkssake.com/reviews/40079/album-will-graefe-marine-life
  4. ^ https://amandabeland.com/2015/04/13/star-rover/
  5. ^ https://www.theridgefieldpress.com/events-calendar/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/105813688n-bb-wisely
  6. ^ https://www.wickedlocal.com/things-to-do/events/capecodder/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/105813695n-bb-wisely
  7. ^ https://atwoodmagazine.com/north-america-will-graefe-ep-review/
  8. ^ https://www.sonofmarketing.com/2021/04/29/talks-will-graefe/
  9. ^ https://reverb.com/news/from-demo-to-record-with-will-sheff-of-okkervil-river
  10. ^ https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/maya-hawke-chaos-angel-lyrics-recording
  11. ^ https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/maya-hawke/maya-hawke-gets-mythological-on-chaos-angel
  12. ^ https://amandabeland.com/2015/04/13/star-rover/
  13. ^ https://donyc.com/events/2024/9/13/cosmo-jesse-harris-kenny-wollesen-jeremy-gustin-will-graefe-james-buckley-tickets
  14. ^ https://www.teamwass.com/music/bb-wisely/
  15. ^ https://willgraefe.bandcamp.com/album/north-america
  16. ^ https://www.sonofmarketing.com/2021/04/29/talks-will-graefe
  17. ^ https://music.apple.com/gb/song/where-are-we-now/1749379976
  18. ^ https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/beabadoobee/beabadoobee-follows-whip-smart-musical-instincts-this-is-how-tomorrow-moves
  19. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-OCJ0SvLo
  20. ^ https://dangerbirdrecords.com/artists/jesse-harris/
  21. ^ https://riffsandrhymes.com/2021/05/15/marine-life/
  22. ^ https://music.apple.com/gb/song/where-are-we-now/1749379976