Scarce

The story of Scarce opened in 1993 when singer and guitarist Chick Graning joined forces with singer and bassist Joyce Raskin. Following the dissolution of his Boston group Anastasia Screamed, Graning relocated to Providence, Rhode Island, to share a home with his then-fiancée Tanya Donnelly of Belly, where he crossed paths with Raskin during her studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. Together they began composing material that quickly earned them audiences across the Northeast and in England through their demanding concert appearances. While contemporary acts favored ordinary street clothes in keeping with the grunge aesthetic, Scarce stood out with Raskin appearing in a prom dress and Graning in either a black suit or gold lamé tuxedo, both leaping energetically across the stage. Major labels soon entered a bidding war for the band, yet contractual disputes stemming from Graning’s earlier affiliation with a U.K. label delayed any deal. In the interim the trio issued three singles that were later compiled on the independently released Red EP, before finally inking with A&M in late 1994, roughly coinciding with the end of Graning and Donnelly’s relationship.

After Ehrbar departed to launch his own project, the Space Needle, the remaining members tracked their first album using Boston session drummer Mike Levesque. The record surfaced in England during June 1995, with an American edition expected soon afterward, until Graning missed a scheduled rehearsal. Raskin and Levesque visited his Providence residence, forced entry, and found him lying unconscious; he was hospitalized after suffering a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. The U.S. release was shelved and the single “Honeysimple” withdrawn while Graning spent the following nine months retraining himself to walk, speak, and eventually play guitar and sing again. Upon recovery he welcomed new drummer Joe Propatier into the lineup and oversaw extensive re-recording of Deadsexy. When the album finally reached American stores a year later, it contained additional tracks performed by Propatier and featured a revised track sequence. The hemorrhage, however, had created both musical and personal distance between Graning and Raskin. Shortly after the domestic appearance of Deadsexy in October 1996, the band dissolved, and Graning eventually embarked on a solo career.