Formed in New Jersey during the early 1990s, the folk-rock outfit Grey Eye Glances drew inspiration from earlier acts such as Fairport Convention and Renaissance. Vocalist and guitarist Jennifer Nobel, keyboardist and vocalist Dwayne Keith, and bassist Eric O'Dell anchored the project, whose name derived from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “To One in Paradise,” underscoring its literary leanings. Rather than typical club venues, the band chose to appear at a local Borders Book Store for select performances. On their independent JED Records label, the three-piece issued the eight-track mini-LP Songs of Leaving in May 1993 for sale at gigs, then issued Further On... the following year. After mounting a trek that visited more than fifty Borders outlets across the Middle Atlantic region, Grey Eye Glances secured a deal with Parachute/Mercury, added Echolyn drummer Paul Ramsey and guitarist Brett Kull to the lineup, and delivered their first major-label album, Eventide, in 1997. Painted Pictures appeared the next year.
