Profile: Chris Garver

I'm not really sure why Chris Garver isn't at least five times more popular than he already is, and I'm not even the kind of person that would typically listen to the kind of music he plays. In fact, singer-songwriters (particularly local ones) are almost always a pretty hard pill to swallow for me, considering the sheer volume of cheese that is typically involved in their horribly "personal" lyrics and guitar strumming that is often overly derivative of shit I can't stand anyway. All the "feelings" and country boy posturing and lame sophomore lit major chicks that eat it up might be partially to blame for my hostility, but usually the music that these Urban Outfitted James Taylors produce is bad enough to warrant outright rejection on its own. In fact, singer-songwriters are already the butts of so many jokes that its pretty cliche to even mention it. I only feel compelled to do so in order to drive home a point: even people that share my sentiments will likely enjoy Chris Garver's brand of lonely folk. Of course, I wouldn't lump him in with all the starbucks charlatans anyway, but I know that people are often skeptical of a guy from Denton with an acoustic guitar.

Chris Garver has been in various bands since the age of 12 (including a noise/ punk/ Sabbathesque band called Sockday that once got some airplay on Mike Watt's radio show), but has been focusing on writing, recording and performing his solo material since he was 17. His major influences include Bob Dylan, Captain Beefheart and Daniel Johnston among others, and he believes that the practice of songwriting is often modeled (sometimes poorly, he hints) after a pattern he sees in Catcher In the Rye: at least one word in every sentence (or line) is or should be written to stick out, meant to draw a reader (or in this case a listener) in repeatedly. And its good that he talked to us about his lyrics, because unlike the vast majority of songwriters in Denton and Dallas, he actually knows how to write them. You won't find any jokey Beck lines here, nor any mimicked Dave Berman sarcasm (that can really only be pulled of by Dave Berman) or crybaby suburban emo. Instead, his lyrics are dark, literate and often a bit sad without being too much to chew. He paints impressionistic portraits in his songs that are often emotional, sometimes humorous and always a bit nervous, maintaining a lightness and unpredictability that will surely keep most listeners interested. In other words, there is a lot to draw you in.

His music, vocals and recording style also separate him a good deal from his peers. On the MP3s below, you'll hear many of the traditional elements of country influenced front porch folk, with vibrant, textured picking and bits of mean fucking harmonica tossed in. You'll also hear a clear Freewheelin' influence and a voice that quivers like Jeff Tweedy and cracks like Daniel Johnston but retains a healthy range, demonstrating that the Chris Garver's unique vocal quirks are an effective stylistic choice rather than a shortcoming. And while we're not sure whether his lo-fi recording style is a product of choice or necessity, we're leaning more towards the former, as the portable 4-track in the bathroom echoes add to the sense of mystery that is present throughout the songs that we've listened to. Rarely in the local scene do we encounter a folk singer that we can even tolerate, much less enjoy. But Chris Garver's songs are warm, dark and strange enough to get our attention and warrant repeat listens. And with his scheduled performances with Current Leaves and Strategies of Beauty coming up, we think he might be able to draw you in too.


Below are links to 3 MP3s from Chris' website, including "The Southfork Luncheon Blues," which he has dedicated to us. See how inspiring we can be?

http://chrisgarver.com/mpthrees/Chris_Garver-00-Wasp_in_the_House.mp3

http://chrisgarver.com/mpthrees/Chris-Garver-00-The_Southfork_Luncheon_Blues.mp3

http://chrisgarver.com/mpthrees/Chris_Garver-07-Little_Bijou.mp3