New York City is a world-class mecca for independent gay singers, musicians & songwriters. They come here from far and wide to find and express their own unique voices. Of the many gay musical artists I’ve known and worked with over the years here in Manhattan, most possess a style and sound representative of places other than NYC. I’m always fascinated to discover a true, homegrown queer artist with a genuine New York City sound.

Of the many different kinds of openly gay songs on his new CD, Grimaldi says, “I wanted to show a whole person with a vast range of emotions, which is one of the reasons I called it Balance.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Italian-American parents, Grimaldi’s music, lyrics and vocal approach are steeped in the style of his own hometown. With songs uniquely evocative of gay life & love in an urban setting, he carries on a writing tradition much beloved by fans of American popular music. This “big city” sound is characterized by a certain gritty, bluesy, resolute mood, and colored with wistful streetwise reminiscences and feelings.

Through a treasure trove of diverse singer/songwriters such as Frank Sinatra, the Garlands, Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, Harry Warren/Al Durbin, John Kander, Jacques Brel and even the Ramones, this gotham style of song is ever-reinterpreted and kept alive, a testimony to the eternal lure cultural centers like New York City have for us all. They are songs in which quintessential Big Apple backdrops like a busy street-corner, a subway stop, a tenement rooftop, a brownstone stoop, or a dive bar all come to mind as the stage from which the singer delivers his songs.

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