Wakey!Wakey!

Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said the Last Time I Saw You (Family)

By Megan Martin
Published: February 26th, 2010 | 1:55pm

You might see a tall, lanky redhead mixing cocktails and swooning tipsy women on any given night at one of Keith McNally’s noted downtown New York restaurants. Mike Grubbs snagged one of the most coveted bartending shifts on the Lower East Side; and then he went and did it again getting cast as the resident bartender/musician on the television show One Tree Hill.

Despite how you feel about the show, the lead singer of the bombastically musical Wakey!Wakey! did manage a huge break by combining his skills and his day/night jobs and extending his talent hybrid on his debut full length, Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said the Last Time I Saw You. With strong theatrical elements coating the music, the album as a whole provides a soundtrack to something — be it a puppet rock opera, a primetime soap opera, or a tumultuous relationship. Look out for playlist–worthy songs like “War Sweater” and “Got It All Wrong,” a snappy but sentimental number. Looks like Grubbs won’t have to quit either job anytime soon, but bravo to him for making it work. And who are we kidding? The tips must be great.

Wakey!Wakey! official site

Wakey!Wakey! MySpace

Family Records