Bill Whitten formed Grand Mal after the dissolution of his former group, St. Johnny. Still smarting from being dropped by DGC in 1995, following the release of St. Johnny’s flawed, self-indulgent yet occasionally dazzling Let it Come Down, Bill Whitten decided to begin again, like Orpheus emerging into the bright NYC light, leaving St. Johnny behind in the underworld. Every rock musician is a historian, every note played comes with an identifiable genealogy and as such, all rock music is palimpsest. The Grand Mal EP is no different – it’s been redrawn with a faltering hand on the scratched-over copies of Aladdin Sane, LAMF, Too Much Too Soon, Exile on Main Street, Coney Island Baby, Fear. Music the color of black hair, recorded on two-inch tape (the correct analogy would be to the Catholic mass conducted in Latin) made under conditions of destitution, the cadaverous presence of NYC hovering over the songs like smoke. By the time of 1999's Maledictions album, Grand Mal had solidified around Whitten, deVries, bassist Steve Borgerding, drummer Parker Kindred and keyboard player Jonathan Toubin. The group released the glam-heavy masterpiece Bad Timing (2003). Love is The Best Con in Town (2006), Congratulations You’ve Re-Joined the Human Race (2007) and Clandestine Songs (2010) followed. December 2023 saw a plethora of Grand Mal releases. From a live album, a re: mastered first ep, to a deep cut of last/lost songs.