It's a TGE Birthday!
logo: Jena Pyle
Hi! It’s me, Lauren, the person who founded this blog! Normally, I’d spend our birthday taking you on a trip down memory lane, but this year I wanted to do something different! The Grey Estates has become way more than just my blog, and with friends, contributors, and supporters all over, I wanted to let you speak for us on our birthday! SO I asked the Internet to share why they love TGE. And, you delivered on some seriously beautiful answers! (I cried, tbqh). Read up below!
P.S. you can also watch a video of me actually talking about our birthday! I put it all the way at the bottom, but it’s on our Facebook.
And of course, I’ve included some music for you to listen to while you read! I picked some of the bands/artists that have been with us since the beginning, and some of the ones I’ve discovered through this site!
It's one of the small cozy corners of the Internet where I remember why I love the Internet. No hate. No cutting down. Just good music, friends who like good music, and love, and Dunkin' Donuts.
To me, TGE means community and inclusivity! TGE is an amazing space where artists of all kinds can express who they are not only through the medium with which they work primarily, but also through their other interests like visual art, makeup, and cartoons!!
Happy 6th, and here's to 6 million more years!!!
I've only recently been made aware of the wonderful site/person known as The Grey Estates so I'm late to the party but let me tell you this is a party I want to attend and would recommend to everyone and anyone. Lauren is one of the hardest working people in the industry and running a indie music website is not easy. Somehow she manages to do it and set up shows and do so much more. Also she's a great podcast guest, seriously have her on your podcast! The site is a huge positive influence on the industry and honestly something that inspires me to keep going. Here's to six more great years!
It is so refreshing to have a site about music that is so positive and upbeat. Sometimes, well most of the time, the internet can be depressing. I love that I can count on The Grey Estates to be the exception. I always look forward to the posts bringing me new music to explore that more often than not I love. I have found some amazing bands through TGE, like The Sonder Bombs, Weakened Friends, and Leggy. These bands have enriched my life with their amazing music and I have you to thank for that. The posts on TGE are always so positive and you can tell they are written by someone passionate about the subject. When I am having a rough day at can count on being cheered up by a TGE post to the blog or on Twitter. Pictures of your adorable dog Panda are always great for a mood booster! I love that TGE has cultivated such a positive community around it as well. When you read the comments on your posts they are not filled with hateful garbage people seem to need to post to strangers all the time. Everyone is kind and respectful. That is a rare thing to find online these days. I am so glad that I have found this amazing music blog and I hope it is around for a long time to come. Please don't stop being the amazing person you are and sharing that with the world. It makes it a brighter place.
I like The Grey Estates because it's the most genuine blog out there.You cover bands of all sizes, whether they are just starting out or have been established for some time. You cover labels, which not too many people do for some reason, I think indie labels are just as cool as the bands they have signed! You cover makeup, you cover whatever the hell you want! Because you cover so many different things, readers get to hear from a wide mix of people instead of the same type of musician over and over. Lastly, I can tell everything you write about is something you truly care about and are excited for. It's refreshing, it draws me in, and I've discovered a couple of really cool acts through TGE because I trust you when you recommend something.
I’ve been reading The Grey Estates for quite sometime. I honestly don’t remember the first time I encountered Lauren’s writing and though I know it’s not been there my entire life, I feel like her writing has been “a friend” for as long as I can remember. I don’t want to assume anything but reading The Grey Estates, I get the sense that the person behind those words is looking for inspiration in life… searching for music to help bring joy and understanding to her world. What she might not have known at the beginning but I hope she knows now, in writing about the music she loves so honestly and with such positivity, she’s inspired me to be more honest with the world about my life, about days that I’m struggling. She inspires me to use positivity to lift up others around you and, in doing so, lifting yourself up on the hardest days. For that, I could never thank her enough.
I completely respect and admire not only the fact that Lauren champions talent from non-male/LGBTQ+ musicians, but also the mindset of positivity. It's much more fulfilling to read something written by someone who enjoys what they're talking about than someone just wasting time being negative. It's a mindset I've made sure I stick to in my other creative endeavors.
The site has also introduced me to a whole world of great bands and artists, too. Anna Burch, Daddy Issues, Dude York and Sidney Gish to name a few.
The Grey Estates was the first music blog I followed when I started wanting to become more involved in the community and Lauren was one of the first people I interacted with who treated me like a human being. I had spent all my teenage years making playlists, alone, in my room on 8tracks, without realizing there are other people like me, who listen to what I listen to, who would wanna talk about said music and go to shows together. I was extremely intimidated by anyone even remotely involved in the scene, but Lauren, right off the bat, was so inclusive and kind. I was shocked how she always would be there to offer advice and support as if we had known each other for years when it had only been a few short months. Lauren has always been a huge cheerleader for Gary and I, always doing her best to make us and every single follower of TGE feel like a friend. Her commitment to kindness, positivity, and inclusivity is something everyone should stride towards. She shares music from good friends of Gary and I's and always introduces us to amazing new bands we instantly fall in love with. The Grey Estates has done so much in six years and I hope Lauren is so proud of the giant, beautiful community she has stitched together all on her own. Without The Grey Estates, I would be lacking a lot of confidence and would be shying away from posting playlists, going to shows, diving into radio, and writing my own interviews and reviews. I owe Lauren so much for giving me the confidence and self-pride to know that everyone in the scene is valid and has something worthy to contribute.
The Grey Estates makes me happy because I learn about cool music, and I see my awesome friends getting recognition, like Whitney and Flying Fish Cove, Versing, Sundae Crush, and Drench Fries :) It makes me really feel good to see the Seattle music scene growing, and seeing these artists get the attention they deserve!!
