The Grand

The Grand is a Norwegian alternative rock band, formed in Oslo, Norway in 2006. The group consists of former blues guitar wunderkind and lead singer Amund Maarud, his younger brother Henrik Maarud on drums, bassist Per Tobro and keyboardist/percussionist Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen. The Grand gave their first performance in April 2007, before releasing their debut EP (The Grand Recordings/Sonet Records) the same month. Lead singer Amund Maarud is also starring in the forthcoming movie «Norwegian Ninja» (Kommandør Treholt og Ninjatroppen), due August 2010. History Formation By 2006, lead singer and guitarist Amund Maarud had already made a strong name for himself on the Norwegian blues scene, with the release of two albums (Ripped, Stripped and Southern Fried (2003) and Commotion (2004)) the first of which was nominated for the 2004 Norwegian Grammy Awards (Spellemannprisen). After a brief period where bassist Per Tobro and keyboardist Eirik Knutsen joined the Maarud-brothers as a traditional blues band, the group evolved into an alternative rock band, influenced by the early punk sounds of MC5 as well as the psychedelic sound of Cream and 13th Floor Elevators. Debut EP The Grand recorded their four-song debut EP during the first months of 2007, which was released on the group's own independent label, The Grand Recordings/Sonet Records, in April 2007. The EP was recorded and mixed in Athletic Sound Studio in Halden, Norway, engineered by Sven Olsen (Motorpsycho, Madgrugada etc.) and Kai Andersen. The song «Traveling Bound» from the EP was picked up and played extensively by Oslo's independent radio stations.