(Written long time ago for the old site) Chick Graning has one of those bizarre rock’n’roll biographies which make your head spin. He started in Boston and hung out there with all the great underground names in the late eighties. Then he formed his own band Anastasia Screamed that recorded a couple of singles and one lp (Laughing Down The Limehouse) in the season 1991/92. It was the time of grunge, and Anastasia Screamed was one of the best representatives of its softer, more contemplative side, the one that was coming from Boston area.

The band enjoyed a moderate success in Europe and England, but in the USA nobody paid too much attention. Nevertheless, Anastasia’s groves were some of the most interesting and most progressive tunes at the time. The sound was very emotional and the lyrics were clever. Chick Graning even made it to the pages of cheap magazines as husband of the rock’n’roll beauty Tanya Donnelly of The Throwing Muses and Belly.

The marriage was fine initially, but Chick met Joyce Rasin. He artistically got along with her much better than with Tanya so his marriage soon fell apart. He formed a new band with Joyce – Scarce.

Major distributors were very interested in Scarce. Their sound was very much nineties, complex and catchy. After a few singles, A&M signed them and they started working on their first album Deadsexy. Just before they finished it, Graning got a brain hemorrhage which not only postponed and jeopardized the release of Deadsexy, but it also caused amnesia to his memory. He had to relearn everything in life, starting with his own name to how to play guitar. Needless to mention, band stopped its existence.

Recent news are that Chick Graning is back as a solo artist. The new demos are very promising.