Grey Race: A Kinks-ian slice of the swinging 60s

By Emily Hulme | ehulme@am-ny.com

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The Grey Race is a Brooklyn-based band that grew out of friendship and happenstance.

The members of this Kinks-ian, retro-happy trio have known each other for years and they've all been professional working musicians for much of their adult lives. The three of them had had a vague intention to work together sometime, but the band's debut album, "Give it Love," didn't come together until last summer.

Drummer Ethan Eubanks said that he and bassist Jeff Hill were on retainer to tour with another band. "But they were having a hard time getting together," Eubanks said. "So we found ourselves at home, on salary, and that's why we started making this record with Jon [Darling, vox and guitar]."

Out of this happy accident, the trio got an EP, an LP and a new band.

While the guys are still working on other projects to make ends meet, there are plans to make The Grey Race a full-time gig. Meanwhile, New Yorkers can see them fairly often, as they perform anytime the three of them are all in town.

The Grey Race has a dark pop sound that is straight out of the British Invasion. Creating that sound was a collaborative process.

When Eubanks and Hill approached Darling about working together, Darling, who had been performing solo after leaving his band Miami Relatives, had a good-sized catalog of songs at the ready. The guys took those into Hill's bedroom studio. Once the parts were recorded, Eubanks and Hill retooled the songs.

"A lot of singers are pretty sensitive about that, but John was just like, 'Yeah man, whatever,' " Eubanks said.

Though there's nothing dated about the album, it could pass for an authentic product of the London scene of the swinging '60s, which is a bit unexpected from a group of guys in their mid-30s. But after a life on tour playing other people's music, "that's the music we still listen to," Eubanks said.

"I have to learn a lot of music for work," Eubanks said. "If I have time to chill, I don't have time to experiment [with new CDs]. I find myself reaching for the same 30 records that are gonna work."

The Grey Race is at Mercury Lounge tomorrow. Time: 7:30 p.m.; Tickets: $10; 217 E Houston St.; 212-260-4700