now is as good a time as any

You Guys! Check out this awesome promo video @PJPacifico made. He is the shiz. So excited to be out on tour with him!

Hello people out in the world. Just as I’m settling back into life after a tour, I’m leaving again for another tour on Friday! I suppose that keeps me on my toes. 

Over the next week or so, I’ll be posting some photos of my last tour in Holland and Germany. So keep an eye out and hope you like them. 

One thing I enjoy about going overseas, especially to Holland, is that there seems to be a different energy around everyday life than we have here. Money is a constant conversation in our country. We either don’t have as much as we want or we have more than we could ever ask for. I really don’t know many people who are just super content and in the middle. Speaking personally, I feel I’ve become a slave to money in some ways. Granted, my profession and its inconsistency in terms of finances doesn’t help to find balance, but there has to be a way to be happy where Ia am, money aside. 

In amsterdam,Ii stumbled into a bar one day after eating some REAL space cake, and I got to talking to the bartender who happened to also be the owner. Somehow we got on the subject of working, and he said “It seems you Americans live to work. Here, we work to live, mostly”. That really stuck with me, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. 

One thing that I’ve started noticing as well about living here in the United States is the “every man for himself” mentality. I wish we could tweak that somewhat as a community. Well, I suppose in my own community we are all very conscious of helping each other and working together, but as a whole country, we suck at that. I’m also aware that the grass is always greener somewhere- we live in a pretty special place where we have the freedom to create whatever we can dream. That doesn’t exist everywhere, and I know a lot of people come here to find their place and to create opportunity. I just like the idea of being a citizen of the world, and I think other countries make that more of a priority than we do. 

Europe has a cool energy in some places. I like it. I look forward to going back and learning more. 

I’m really grateful today, and my goal is to focus and work hard, Trusting that as I’m doing my part, the other parts are gonna fall into place. They always do. 

Have a great week, and I’ll see you out there on the road

Garrison

Hello Friends, 

I’m playing in your area soon and I want to see all of you there! If you don’t see a ticket link, keep an eye out…they’re coming. 

See you there!

-Garrison

Mar 9, 2013 - Evanston, IL @ S.P.A.C.E. - Buy Tickets
Mar 10, 2013 - Louisville, KY @ Uncle Slayton’s w/ PJ Pacifico
Mar 14, 2013 - Birmingham, AL @ The Red Cat
Mar 15, 2013 - Nashville, TN @ The Bluebird Cafe w/ PJ Pacifico
Mar 16, 2013 - Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic w/ PJ Pacifico - Buy Tickets
Mar 20, 2013 - Asheville, NC @ Altamont Theatre w/ PJ Pacifico - Buy Tickets
Mar 22, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel w/ PJ Pacifico - Buy Tickets
Mar 23, 2013 - Bridgeport, CT @ Acoustic Cafe w/ PJ Pacifico
Mar 24, 2013 - New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall w/ PJ Pacifico

My girlfriend makes me watch “the secret.” I get so irritated, but I humor her because what could it hurt? 

there is a woman in that movie who literally looks like sunshine. she has perfectly round hair that shoots out like sunbeams, and her smile takes up her whole face. she talks about telling the universe what you want and “letting it happen”. i wanna reach through the TV and take her out at the knees she makes me so mad. with her giant smile and all the things she wants gifted from the universe. who are these people and what reality are they living in???? i did not grow up with this free flowing philosophy. it sounds like such a relief to me-don’t get me wrong. i think that’s why I’m skeptical. i grew up with the plan already laid out, see-predestination stuff. absolutes. and it certainly never mattered how i felt about any of it. manifestation would have been wasted energy in the religious equation of my youth.  

maybe what frustrates me about “the secret” is that they all seem so content and confident in their successes. they speak so easily and freely about it. “just do this and you can have what i have!!!”. (i will admit that part of my problem is the story of the book of Job in the old testament. that book has scarred me for life.)

so this got me thinking about how i define success for myself. i have to be honest-what i came up with is totally depressing, so I’m gonna spare you the trip down that rabbit hole. instead what I’ll say is i think I’ve been asking myself the wrong questions. following the call of your heart is hard. it can be terrifying, lonely and hopeless. it can also be the most exciting life ever. and maybe even achieving the life of your dreams, i.e. doing exactly what you want and love to do, is success. why does there have to be more? what is the “more” to be strived for? 

What continues to resonate with me is to keep working. I am an artist-that is who I am. I have been rejected as much as I have been praised and sought after since I’ve been making records. Actually, probably more rejected since I’ve become a true independent artist from an industry standpoint. I keep working toward the light that drives me. 

Speaking of successes and failures, I wanna mention the “Slow Crawl” video YouTube debacle that stripped us of almost 100,000 legitimate views. apparently, YouTube was using some of the marketing money they were being paid-legitimately-to promote videos, like mine, and in trying to cut some corners, they used a bot that raised a flag within their own system!!!! so a ton of artists got fucked, and they refuse to make it right or even have conversations with anybody about it. that’s a corporation for you-behind the iron door. 

I bring it up not to put a bad vibe out there-i want y’all to know we did nothing wrong, and now we are determined to get all those views back for the video and more, without any help from YouTube. we are having a Jerry Maguire moment here, friends-“these fish have manners! These fish are coming with me. Who else is coming with me?”. 

I am intensely proud of the record I made last year called “amateur.” This is the best work I have done as an artist, and it’s the first record out of 7 that I have released completely independent of a label or any other financial backer. Those of you who contributed financially to the pledge campaign know that it was and is completely fan funded. I’m still excited about the work we have done together, and I hope you will all continue to spread the word about this project you helped to create. When I say “you are my team,” that’s the God’s honest truth. 

Here’s to the process, and thanks for letting me share. 

Garrison

when did we stop being human?  11.1.12

i’ve been trying to write this blog for 2 weeks. today, i’m doing it, and it’ll be what it’ll be.

first off, my heart goes out to all on the east coast who have suffered loss in the storm. it’s a sobering reminder that the forces of nature have no prejudice and that life is fragile and precious.

2 weeks ago, my partner’s dad died suddenly. it was a sunday afternoon in la, early evening in iowa, where he was rushed to the emergency room and died of an aortic aneurism while waiting for the surgeon to arrive. very tragic, and very unexpected. suffice to say, not what anybody was planning. my partner was, for all intents and purposes, george clooney’s character in “up in the air”. she flew 100,000 miles this year to achieve 1K status on United Airlines. she has her own 1K line, where somebody asks her by name what they can help her with. loyalty. or is it? i called that number and started explaining what had happened, expecting her to say “whatever you need, i’m so sorry”. instead, what she asked was “who are you to her” and “you realize the 5% bereavement fee will not apply to you”. “we’ll need you to send the death certificate when it’s available”, blah blah blah. 5% discount for the loss of her father. and we were on hold for 1 hour and a half making these arrangements. when did we as a society stop being human? think about it. when did we stop answering the phone to avoid dealing with our responsibilities and the uncomfortable feelings that arise when we encounter conflict? when did we opt for email over face to face communication? when did this happen?

did you ever hear the story of the frog in the boiling water? that’s right. because the frog jumped the fuck out of the boiling water. frogs aren’t stupid, just as humans aren’t stupid. but did you hear the story about the frog that climbed into the pot of lukewarm water? ooh it felt so good, just like a warm bath. then before he knew it, he boiled to death. gradually the water got hotter until it was too late to get out of it. subtle decline to sudden death. that’s where we are in our society. our government knows how to manipulate us, corporations know how to manipulate us. it is time to say no, i believe, to being taken advantage of by people who deem themselves powerful because they are rich. the only way any of this will change is if we start saying no. stop buying gas at stations that hike up their prices. stop paying for extra bags on airlines. write letters and express our disdain. stop giving people permission to treat us like crap.

my point is, i think, that we seem to think as a whole about taking care of ourselves instead of taking care of each other. i think it’s important to secure your own mask before securing your child’s mask- i get what that means. we need to be in a good place to give to others, but i think a big part of the problem in our society is the “every man for himself” mentality and the inherent fear that we don’t have enough to give because there’s not enough to go around. i used to live by that fear myself, in my own career. i used to begrudge my friends for having success because i thought i deserved what they were getting. that it wasn’t right or fair for somebody else to get something that i wanted. a friend of mine reminded me of how dangerous that mindset is. i have experienced the sadness and numbness that comes with living in that energy. it’s toxic, and i’m grateful to my friend for calling me out. i’m grateful to God for gently leading me back to a place of grace and thankfulness; of humility. let me tell you- those lessons do not come easy, and i know i have so much more to learn there. we all do, hopefully, until we have no breath. at least, i believe that’s my purpose here- to learn and grow so i can give and keep giving.

i guess what i want to convey today is that we need to think. we need to think about what our purpose is and how we can be the very best we can for each other. i want us all to come together and create a society that is community rather than a contest to see who can accumulate the most shit.

watch “a bugs life” if you haven’t seen it. i love how the ants don’t realize how much they can accomplish until they start working together as a community and discover how many more of them there are than the grasshoppers. what a powerful message! they became free by acknowledging their worth and strength. they stepped into their own shoes in such a beautiful and inspiring way. we can do the same thing. we can stop being silent out of fear and start taking some extraordinary actions out of love and selflessness because it’s the right thing to do.

have a great week, and thanks for letting me share.

garrison.

In order to better prepare for my upcoming Stage It! show…… I’m watching Halloween. How that helps me get ready for my show, I have no clue. 

But this movie is AWESOME!

Stageit show! Bitly.com/gsslowcrawlvid

exactly.