THE GRAPE ESCAPE

Late in 1965, Chris Bonett and Brian Godden (both ex-Green Hill Singers) had decided that they weren’t being challenged enough. Pulling in jazz drummer Laurie Kennedy and singer/songwriter Norma Stoneman they embarked on a new project they called The Grape Escape. The Grape Escape signed to RCA Records and released a couple of singles in 1967, ''The Easy Life'' which charted and ''Is Your Soul Drip Dry''. Both releases were written by Chris Bonett.

Godden recalls ''That was a good band. We did, you know, a lot of compound times—7/4 and 5/4. It was a jazz-rock kind of an outfit. It was a really good adventure in trying to do something that was bound to be unpopular with the dance crowds because we were working in 7/4 and 5/4 and playing Lydian scales and really working hard on producing material that was on the edge of jazz.''

The group embraced the musical theories postulated in George Russell’s 1953 book The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organisation and built their entire catalogue on its principles. Sadly, the group’s management didn’t understand exactly what the band was trying to do or where they wanted to go. After a disastrous season playing dance venues down in Lorne, they decided they couldn’t do it anymore. The solution was a trip to the Pacific. In 1967 the members of the Grape Escape, though not using that name, took a job in Noumea playing to the holiday crowds.

''We played pasadoble and tangos because being a French country they love those sort of tunes. Then we’d play some jazz tunes and then we’d do some rock and roll. We had a good time over there.''-Brian Godden. The band called it a day on return. Norma Stoneman died in 2019.

Members

Chris Bonett (bass), Brian Godden (guitar), Laurie Kennedy (drums), Norma Stoneman (vocals/keyboards)

SINGLES

''The Easy Life (#66) / Night Plane'' 1967 RCA
''Is Your Soul Drip Dry / Happier The Day'' 1967 RCA

References

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/