Not long before the major-label landscape collapsed in a heap, only to morph into a crud formation of reissue-happy conglomerates, Garrison Starr signed with Geffen. It was 1997, and if ignorance truly is bliss, the 22-year-old singer/songwriter from Hernando, Miss., couldn’t have been happier. Those 15 years feel like a lifetime ago for an older, wiser, slightly more cynical Starr, who’s busy promoting her sixth full-length effort, the self-released, fan-funded Amateur (Radtown Music). It took her some time to come to terms with her sexuality (and others’ opinions of it), and it’s taken her even longer to get comfortable with her creative self. To that end, the angsty-yet-optimistic, stylistically diverse Amateur is a coming out of sorts. Starr will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with her.
Starr: I recently discovered Sara Bareilles. Don’t laugh. I know she had that big hit out there, but I just never really gave her a fair listen. I thought because she was famous and I wasn’t really drawn to that song particularly … well, I pretty much wrote her off. Long story short, we played a gig together over the summer, and not only is she one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, her voice is absolutely the best I’ve ever heard. I instantly became a fan and purchased Once Upon Another Time, an EP she released in May of this year, and I can’t stop listening to it. My favorite song on the record currently is “Bright Lights And Cityscapes.” I have to say that she is the first artist in a very long time who has inspired me on such an emotional level. I’m so grateful to have connected with her music.
