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Garrison Starr
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to inspire people," confides singer songwriter guitarist Garrison Starr. "I want my music to reach people, and I want the experience to be positive. I want to show strength and offer hope, and address issues that provide answers - even if that means provoking people. If I try to do these things, maybe I can help someone in some way."
The Memphis-based performer has moved a giant step closer to meeting those goals with Eighteen Over Me (Geffen Records), her impassioned debut album. The disc fully realizes the independence and confidence Garrison has developed over the course of two self-released recordings and years of touring throughout the South. She says of her creative growth: "My songs have become more focused as I've gotten older. I feel more comfortable with the way I express myself now."

Born in Hernando, Miss., Garrison was still in high school when she began performing original material in coffeehouses and clubs around Memphis. She quickly developed a following. "I graduated from high school in 1993," she recounts, "and put out my first tape that year, a cassette of nine songs. It was called Pinwheels. My friend and guitarist Clay Jones produced it.

"By the time of my second release [the 1996 EP Stupid Girl], my writing was becoming more universal. The songs had become just me saying how I feel in a way anyone could understand. I want teenagers and grandmothers - everyone - to be able to relate to my songs."

Thematically, Stupid Girl was a response to Garrison's three semesters at "Ole Miss," the University of Mississippi, where she found herself surrounded by young people whose chief ambition in life seemed to be "fitting in." Her dismay at this conformist mindset - and its consequences - also surfaces on Eighteen Over Me, most notably on the track "Grounded."

Garrison financed her recordings through gigs - she was a veteran of the road by the time she turned 20 - and a job at Ardent Records, the legendary Memphis label and recording studio. "I was a gopher there," she admits. "I ran errands, did mailings, made phone calls. But it was fun, and, of course, I learned a lot about the music business."

As her audiences expanded, one song in particular began to emerge as a crowd favorite. Titled "Superhero," it recalls the innocence of childhood. Garrison likens the joy and freedom she feels onstage to those early days: "We are ten years old/ We are holding our breath under water/ Our eardrums are bursting from the pressure/ I don't ever wanna leave the stage/ I am a superhero/ I don't ever want to leave my age/ I am a superhero."

In 1995, Geffen Records A&R; rep Ray Farrell received Garrison's demo tape in the mail. He remembers: "There was a song on it called 'Superhero' that was amazing. The other songs were basic acoustic guitar recordings, but 'Superhero' was real worked out. A lot of attention had been paid to detail and how it was arranged. The tracks were produced by Clay Jones. I said right away we should keep Clay involved as a producer. He has an unusual flair, and I knew he could translate Garrison's identity to the album."

During discussions with Farrell about the ultimate shape of the record, Garrison's popularity throughout the South continued to swell, and her touring increased apace. "We were playing this list of songs that had never been recorded," she reports. "I was learning how to sing them the way I felt they worked best in preparation for making the album. It was so important to see how they connected with audiences."

The basic tracks for Eighteen Over Me (released Sept. 23, 1997) were recorded in New Orleans at Kingsway Recording. Jones and Dennis Herring (Cracker, Innocence Mission) produced, with Garrison taking a decidedly hands-on approach to the proceedings. Fleshing out her vocals and guitar were Jones, Herring, who plays a variety of instruments, bassist Bob Rupe (Cracker, Sparklehorse), and revered Nashville session drummer Craig Krampf - "He played on 'Bette Davis Eyes,'" Garrison points out. Guests included Wilco's Jay Bennett and former Bangle Vicki Peterson, who's now a member of the Continental Drifters. Overdubbing took place at Sweet Tea, Herring's studio in Oxford, Miss.

Says Garrison: "Our attitude about making the record was, let's let the songs lead the way. Wherever they took us, we went. We didn't want to stay within any pre-determined boundaries."

As a result, the 11 tracks on Eighteen Over Me mark the spot where the energy and warmth of roots rock collide with the sturdy hooks of pure pop and the stark intensity of folk. "These songs are like my children," reveals Garrison. "When I write a song, it's because that's what's inside of me and it means everything to me. I want to make sure I get my point across, that I say exactly what I want to say, the way it should be said. I think songs deserve that."

"And when I'm onstage," she declares, returning to a dearly held topic, "I have to sing my soul out. What affects me most deeply is seeing a performer give all they have, pouring themselves out to the audience. When I'm up there, that's what it's all about. If I didn't play, I think my head would explode."

Garrison Starr: Sounds

Grounded
AU format

Superhero
AU format

Clearer
AU format

Eighteen Over Me
AU format

-- Reprinted from the Official Garrison Starr web site at Geffen Records.

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