With the release of his melodically infectious, lyrically insightful new full length album Grayling, Stephen Winston brings a fresh updated twist on the classic 70’s singer-songwriter vibe to a contemporary culture sorely in need of his kind of heartfelt and emotional musical storytelling. Titled for the middle name of Dan Fogelberg, longtime idol of Winston, the ambitious collection was produced by award winning composer, engineer and producer Joel Jaffe at Studio D recording in Sausalito, California. Jaffe, the famed facility’s owner, has recorded with Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Huey Lewis & The News and many others. The core band helping bring the Southern California based Winston’s compelling set of insights, moments and visions to life is Jaffe (guitars and backing vocals), longtime Santana drummer Billy Johnson and bassist Steve Evans (Manzarek, Bob Weir, Eric Gale). Other contributors include longtime Tower of Power member Mic Gillette, renowned Irish born keyboardist and Hammond B-3 ace Eamonn Flynn and background vocalist Omega Rae. Winston himself contributes piano, guitars and vocals. In an era where indie artists often choose to release a short EP, the generous 13 tracks of Grayling unfold in a powerful way to allow first time listeners to share in a multitude of stories and snapshots from a diverse array of life experiences. “Somebody’s Child” was inspired by seeing a homeless person every time he would exit a highway – and wondering how he ended up in that place. “High Mountain Dream” is Winston’s ode to his love of fly-fishing, which he does in Idaho and Montana; the horn splashed “Trains in Utah” is also a song written for his uncle, a lifelong railroad man. The very literary “The Tender Bar” is an ode to Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and journalist J.R. Moehringer, whose memoir is also called “The Tender Bar.” As for the title track “Grayling,” the “haunting” from Dan Fogelberg was too powerful and strange not to chronicle. Grayling also features a revamped version of the high energy, piano driven pop/rocker “King of Circumstance” and the anthem-like ballad “Shine A Light,” from earlier Winston releases The Overlook Sessions and Gradient Nights. “My goal was never to be a rock star. I make music because I love it. I just want people to hear and enjoy it. My friends and other special people in my life have enjoyed it and I thought if they’re into it, maybe there’s a broader market for the music.”