Guitar player Garrett Young likes his tools. The Bayfield-based musician just dropped his second record, and for that sophomore release he’s gone to two of the best tools in his musical toolbox: the Gibson Les Paul and The Fender Stratocaster. For blues and jam-based rock music that hints around indie and country-rock, you couldn’t have two finer pieces of equipment to get the job done.
Young and his band The Garrett Young Collective will celebrate the release of “Get Gone!” with a record-release show Saturday at 11th Street Station.
“I’ve got a Strat that I’ve had for a long time, and it’s just so versatile, it’s impossible not to use,” Young said. “And I’ve got a Les Paul that when you need a little more thickness I’ll go with that one. And I love my classic Fender tube amps, so hard to beat. I have an old Marshall that’s 100 watts, and to get that good tone you’re going to be blasting everybody’s eardrums.”
Young is mainly a self-taught musician. He took a few guitar lessons as a teen but picked up a lot when he put himself smack-dab in the music biz for a time in Los Angeles. But home called, and he left Southern California, admitting the only thing he really misses about the West Coast is the surfing. Once he got back to the Southwest, he started taking online courses through the Berklee College of Music, not in playing and performance, but in music production and recording. He converted a room above the garage at home into a studio, which is where this latest was recorded. It’s a record where Young handled just about every bit of the job.
“I did it all in house. I mixed it, recorded it, produced it, wrote it. So, it’s a lot of work for sure,” he said.
If you go
WHAT: Garrett Young Collective record release show.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave.
TICKETS: No cover.
MORE INFORMATION: Call 422-8482 or visit www.garrettyoungcollective.com.
There’s both an advantage and disadvantage to online courses in music recording. The disadvantage being you don’t have the sophisticated recording equipment that you’d find in one of the top music schools on the planet. The advantage is your recording education teaches you how to get a stellar sound out of what’s at your fingertips.
“I don’t have that million-dollar studio,” Young said. “So, it makes you learn on your equipment and get good with the tools that you have.”
“Get Gone!” is a healthy collection roots rock that dabbles into indie-rock and country. While the title track is bouncy two-stepper complete with Young displaying some chickin’-pickin’ guitar (something he learned from his great-grandfather), the rest of record moves between laid-back groovers to thick rock tunes. “Who’s To Blame” is led by a bluesy and raw rock riff; “Your Fool” is a luscious and lazy country lounge cut; and “Drowning” is a touch of psychedelic blues.
The star of the record is Young’s guitar playing – both technical and touching, he’s a player both fun and fierce, a solid lead player while also being a solid band leader.
The Garrett Young Collective are, in addition to Young, Callie Young on rhythm guitar and vocals; Schyler Healy on bass; and Mike Owens on drums. Saturday’s performance will find the quartet playing the whole record, along with other cuts from their catalog. When played live, the tunes tend to take on a life of their own, as Young admits the adrenaline from playing can dictate changes in the song. They’re a rock band, where aggression ultimately is a good thing.
“The way we play it in the studio is the tempo songs should be,” he said. “But when we go live, it’s fun to go as fast and as hard as you can.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
