Major Works
- The Forgotten Street (2014)
- ReLive (2010)
- Among the Ash & Oak 2009
- The Girl That Killed September 2007
- The Sound of You and Me 2006
- Airstreams & Satellites 2004
- Songs From Take off to Landing 2002
- 24-7 1999
- Eighteen Over Me 1997
- Stupid Girl 1996
- Pinwheels 1993
Biography of Garrison Starr
By Leslie Denson (SHS)
Leslie Denson (SHS Researcher)
Garrison Starr was born in Hernando, Mississippi, in 1975. At the age of seven Starr began singing, and at thirteen she took up the guitar. (Summer Lights 1997) While in high school this performer was singing original music in coffee houses and clubs in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1993, the same year she graduated from high school, she recorded her first album. This recording, called Pinwheels, contained nine songs. (Geffen Records) She was able to pay for this recording and a later recording with money made by doing gigs. (Jeremy Lance) Garrison says, “I started writing material I was really happy with by the time I was eighteen or nineteen,” (Summer Lights 1997). Starr attended college at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, for three semesters. (Geffen Records) While living in Oxford, Mississippi, she played drums in the local band This Living Hand (Summer Lights 1997). After leaving Ole Miss, Starr got a job working at Ardent Records in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a veteran of the road by the age of twenty.
“By the time of my second release, my writing was becoming more universal,” says Starr. The second release mentioned by Starr was her 1996 EP Stupid Girl. (Jeremy Lance) In 1995, Geffen Records A & R representative Ray Farrell received Garrison Starr’s demo tape in the mail. Ferrell recalls, “There was a song on it called ‘Superhero’ that was amazing. ” During discussions with Farrell, Starr’s popularity skyrocketed.
On September 23, 1997, Eighteen Over Me was released. This album was recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana, at Kingsway Recording with the overdubbing done at an Oxford studio named Sweet Tea. “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 predetermined boundaries.” says Starr. (Geffen Records) Garrison Starr lists some of her influence as The Bangels, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, Red House Painers, and Big Star. (Summer Lights 1997).
As a solo artist, Starr has recorded seven full-length albums, as well as two EPs and one live album. She is currently a member of Among The Oak & Ash.
Timeline
- 1975 – Julia Garrison Starr is born in Hernando, Mississippi
- 1993 – Starr graduates from high school, moves to Oxford, and releases her first album Pinwheels
- 1995 – Geffen Records A&R representative Ray Farrell receives Starr’s demo tape in the mail
- 1994 Plays drums in This Living Hand, where she meets Neilson Hubbard and Clay Jones her frequent collaborators
- 1996 – Starr releases her second album Stupid Girl
- 1997 – Starr releases her third album Eighteen Over Me, Single Superhero featured on CMJ compilation along with Live at the World Café. Also featured during ABC’s coverage of 1999 Women’s World Cup.
- 1999 – Second single Grounded released, Plays Lillith Fair tour
- 2002 – Songs from Takeoff to Landing released
- 2004 – Dropped by Geffen, signs to Vanguard, releases Airstreams & Satellites, comes out as lesbian on record
- 2005 – moves back to Nashville
- 2006 – releases The Sound of You and Me on Vanguard
- 2007 – Signs to Media Creatures, releases The Girl That Killed September
- 2008 – forms new band with Josh Joplin, their self-titled debut comes next year
- 2009- -Self-releases new band’s self-titled Among the Oak & Ash
Websites
Bibliography
- Geffen Records. “Garrison Starr Biography”. Online. World Wide Web. 6 November 1998. Available. http://www.geffen.com/garrisonstarr/bio/index.html
- Lance, Jeremy. “Garrison Starr Biography”. Online. World Wide Web. 25 November 1998. Available. http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/9460.html
- Starr, Garrison. Eighteen Over Me. Geffen Records, 1998
- Summer Lights 1997. “Garrison Starr”. Online. World Wide Web. 29 November 1998. Available. http://www.summerlights.org/artists/starr.htm
- Yahoo!. “Rock and Pop Music”. Online. World Wide Web. 29 November 1998. Available. http://musicfinder.yahoo.com/sho?d=c&id=261954&cf=0