Originally from Martin, Tennessee, he was the lead singer in a high school band whose other members (Carl Bell and Jeff Abercrombie) would become the hard rock outfit Fuel.
He attended Wesleyan University (B.A., Music, 1993), Berklee College of Music (1991–92, 1993), and Washington State University (M.A., Jazz Studies, 1996) and moved to San Francisco, where he lived from 1996 to 2003, working with Norah Jones sidemen Lee Alexander and Rob Burger, as well as current The Decemberists members Jenny Conlee and Nate Query.
[1] Graves has performed with Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Kid Rock, Modern Jazz Quartet bassist Percy Heath, Late Show drummer Anton Fig, Flaco Jimenez, Steve Berlin, and many others.
[3] Crazy Italians included the cut "Princess Grace," which was featured on the Performing Songwriter magazine 1999 CD sampler showcasing their picks for the top 12 unsigned independent releases.
Critic Russell Hall of Performing Songwriter called Crazy Italians "consistently fresh and inventive," and "intelligent pop music--tightly crafted songs that lend themselves well to improvisation in a live setting.