Nolan Garrett
Tacoma, Washington, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF
Music
Press
Guitarist | Singer | Songwriter | Bandleader
GENRE: ROCK
Raised on a steady diet of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Alice In Chains and The Black
Keys, Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett is just as accomplished as a fiery axe-slinger as he is
an ambitious songwriter. A mere moment’s scan of his unique artistic amalgamation
suggests an artist on the verge of something extraordinary as personified in his
gutsy blend of timeless rock n’ roll, sophisticated pop, elements of grunge and
garage rock, doused with just the right amount of blues on the fire.
PAST AND PRESENT ACTIVITIES:
Released Debut Album “All the Time”
in June 2013
Released First Music Video “Don’t Criticize Me”
in June 2013
Direct support for Chris Isaak at Chateau Ste Michelle
July 2014
Signed to London Tone Music Label
June 2014
Opened for Jonny Lang
January 2014
Currently releasing six new singles under the
SINGLES SCAVENGER HUNT campaign.
Currently touring in the Northwest area of the USA
}Not only a talented guitarist, Garrett is also
an ambitious songwriter who combines elements
of Texas blues, rock, and pop into his music.
Greg Roth and Jennifer Austin
~ Seattle Music Insider
}Meet A Rising Star
Craig Sailor ~ The News Tribune
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: www.nolangarrett.net | ALL LINKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE FOUND ON WEBSITE
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NolanGarrettMusic | Twitter: twitter.com/NolskiGarrett Youtube: www.youtube.
com/user/NolanGarrettChannel | Instagram: http://instagram.com/nolangarrett
CONTACT INFO:
Manager Email: ray@nolangarrett.net | Manager Phone: 1.253.273.1979
Contact Danno Rankin to book Nolan. Booking Email: booking@nolangarrett.net
Physical Address: Tacoma, WA
}Opening the show was extraordinary, 16-yearold
Tacoma singer-songwriter and guitarist Nolan
Garrett, who is talented beyond his years. Growing
up on the music of Jimi Hendrix, Alice in Chains
and The Black Keys, Garrett recently signed his
first recording contract with London Tone Music
Group. Garrett is a natural showman who easily
won over Chris Isaak fans with his tasty guitar licks.
Gene Stout~ Pop Music Critic
MESSAGE TO LISTENERS:
}I think people who like any genre of
music will find something they like in
mine.
Nolan Garrett - Nolan Garrett
Nolan Garrett just signed a deal with The Acoustic Guitar Project!
HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:
A musician is selected by The Acoustic Guitar Project and is provided an acoustic guitar and a handheld recorder.
That musician has one week to record an original song using only the equipment provided. No editing is allowed.
When the musician is finished, they sign the guitar and pass it on to the next musician. When we reach a pre-selected number of musicians, that guitar is retired and there is a concert.
THE MISSION
The Acoustic Guitar Project was created to help musicians reconnect to the original moment that inspired them to be singer-songwriters. Back to a time when it was just them and their guitar. Focused. Challenged. Creative. Most likely self-exiled to an isolated space. And definitely completely lost in the moment. By giving musicians a platform with simple restrictions, we hope that The Project will inspire them.
Since beginning in April 2012, The Acoustic Guitar Project has evolved, and it continues to be redefined everyday, but the mission will always remain the same:
• Inspire artists to take action.
• Tell stories from a truthful, meaningful point of view.
• Strive to give people something to believe in.
Like any good song — in the process of being written — there’s no way of knowing where this project will go. That’s for the music to decide. We can only sit back, listen and enjoy. -
Nolan releases his first album. - Tacoma News Tribune
The sweetest things in life come from putting yourself out there, recognizing unexpected opportunities, and being brave enough to reach for them – a lesson learned early by Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett.
Last year, then 14-year-old Garrett and his mom went to LA for the Grammy awards. Sitting poolside at the Hollywood Sunset Marquis hotel with Jeff Kossack from Other Hand Recording Studios and Cyndi Lauper, the three struck up a conversation about – you guessed it – music.
Like many young guitarists, Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett was inspired by likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughn, as well as contemporary artists John Mayer and The Black Keys. Not only a talented guitarist, Garrett is is also an ambitious songwriter who combines elements of Texas blues, rock, and pop into his music.
Kossack must have checked out Garrett’s music, because soon after their initial meeting, Garrett was invited to fly back to down to LA to work on Kossack’s new record at Other Hand. While he was there, Garrett also met a representative from Robot Film Company, who coordinated a showcase for him.
The show was at West Hollywood’s Room 5, which just happens to be the former site of the famous Swanee Inn, where in 1937, budding jazz musician Nathaniel Cole (Nat King Cole) would play one of his first gigs. Chris Robinson, head of Robot Film, was there.
Garrett, in his typical style, stepped up to the challenge of playing the legendary room and captivated the intimate crowd right off the top of the set with his skill and intensity – and in the process, broke a string on the first number. (Check out some of the photos from his performance below…)
On January 28th, the story continues, as the guitar prodigy represents the South Sound Blues Association in Memphis, Tennessee at the International Blues Challenge in the solo category. We wish him the best of luck – although we doubt he’ll need it! - Seattle Music Insider
The sweetest things in life come from putting yourself out there, recognizing unexpected opportunities, and being brave enough to reach for them – a lesson learned early by Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett.
Last year, then 14-year-old Garrett and his mom went to LA for the Grammy awards. Sitting poolside at the Hollywood Sunset Marquis hotel with Jeff Kossack from Other Hand Recording Studios and Cyndi Lauper, the three struck up a conversation about – you guessed it – music.
Like many young guitarists, Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett was inspired by likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughn, as well as contemporary artists John Mayer and The Black Keys. Not only a talented guitarist, Garrett is is also an ambitious songwriter who combines elements of Texas blues, rock, and pop into his music.
Kossack must have checked out Garrett’s music, because soon after their initial meeting, Garrett was invited to fly back to down to LA to work on Kossack’s new record at Other Hand. While he was there, Garrett also met a representative from Robot Film Company, who coordinated a showcase for him.
The show was at West Hollywood’s Room 5, which just happens to be the former site of the famous Swanee Inn, where in 1937, budding jazz musician Nathaniel Cole (Nat King Cole) would play one of his first gigs. Chris Robinson, head of Robot Film, was there.
Garrett, in his typical style, stepped up to the challenge of playing the legendary room and captivated the intimate crowd right off the top of the set with his skill and intensity – and in the process, broke a string on the first number. (Check out some of the photos from his performance below…)
On January 28th, the story continues, as the guitar prodigy represents the South Sound Blues Association in Memphis, Tennessee at the International Blues Challenge in the solo category. We wish him the best of luck – although we doubt he’ll need it! - Seattle Music Insider
Raised on a steady diet of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Alice In Chains and The Black Keys, Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett is an accomplished guitar player, singer and songwriter. His music incorporates a gutsy blend of timeless rock n’ roll, sophisticated pop, elements of grunge and garage rock, doused with just the right of amount of blues. At just 15, Nolan Garrett is already a veteran of sorts who first started playing at age 8, took to the professional stage a year later and is currently criss-crossing the country touring as a weekend warrior while maintaining a straight A average at the highly coveted Tacoma School of the Arts. Nolan has shared the stage with blues legends, performed at major venues from L.A. to Seattle and earned praise from fans as diverse as the always eclectic Cyndi Lauper. For more information and to sample music, please visit http://www.nolangarrett.net.
Prize: 1 T-shirt
Sponsor: Nashville Publicity Group
Location: USA
Canada
# of Winners: 10
Start/End Dates: 2/1/2013 - 2/28/2013 - The Celebrity Cafe.com
Video interview and performance - My Fox Memphis
Lincoln High School is preparing to celebrate its 100th birthday, and to help raise money for scholarships to herald the occasion, Tacoma guitar prodigy Nolan Garrett offered to help out by rocking the stage at The Swiss for a fundraiser on March 3. On March 16, he will also give an all-ages acoustic performance at Forza in University Place (7-9 p.m.), then on March 22, he plays Freeman High School in Spokane and on May 7, he plays at Tacoma’s City of Destiny Awards event.
Yes, Garrett gets around among all kinds of various audiences and venues, and this 15-year-old Tacoma native, and straight “A” student at School of the Arts, loves it.
“It’s nice that I’m able to get not just an older fan base, but also kids my age coming to my shows and relating to the music,” he said. Older music fans seem to like Garrett’s “old soul” when he’s playing classic blues, and younger fans like the way he incorporates a variety of genres into his playing, from grunge to pop to rock ‘n’ roll. His ability to blend and represent a breadth of musical styles is nothing short of amazing. In fact, anytime Nolan is playing, people pay attention. Even the legendary Cyndi Lauper was attracted to his playing when Garrett was poolside last year at the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles during Grammy Awards season.
“I was just sitting there working on my practice routines in my own little space. I did that for about eight hours. I didn’t know who (Lauper) was when she first came up, and she said, ‘You’ve been playing that guitar all day. Have you finally learned to play a song?’” Garrett then played his song “Don’t Criticize Me” for Lauper and her friend, who turned out to be producer Jeff Kossack of San Fernando Valley’s Other Hand Recording. Kossack and Garrett hit it off and are now working together on Garrett’s first CD, which is slated for release this summer. The CD will be all of Garrett’s original material, as these tunes get lots of audience responses more than his killer renditions of cover songs.
“I have quite a few solid tunes that are originals and always in the set list. I just throw in covers when I have to,” he said, like “Ballad of John Henry” and “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked.”
“I like putting my own twist on them because if I’m going to play covers, I don’t want to do them note for note. I want to put my own spin on them and something original. If I come up with a riff I use it and I don’t really care what style it is because it’s me.”
On Garrett’s website bio (www.nolangarrett.net), Kossack says, “Working with Nolan in the studio only confirms my original belief that he will be a guitar role model for his generation and his music will someday be heard worldwide, with all the accompanying recognition. He's a true artist, unaffected by vanity. His musical instincts and studio chops are amazing given his youth. I only look for big things from him in the future. ‘People get ready...There’s a train a-comin.’”
There are many reasons why Garrett is so popular (he can fill Jazzbones on a Wednesday night, for example), and all of it has to do with his gifted musical talents and that he’s just an all-round cool guy. Seasoned area musicians have invited him for gigs too, like world-renowned Hendrix emulator Randy Hansen, Grammy Award winning Zydeco great Chubby Carrier, plus local favorites like House of Bourbon, Rafael Tranquilino and The Randy Oxford Band. Tacoma-based photographer, and Tacoma Weekly contributor, Bill Bungard has become Garrett’s official photographer and often travels with him. Bungard said he was taken with Garrett from the start. “I walked in to Louie G.’s and saw this kid playing his guitar behind his back,” Bungard said. “People vie for positioning to go hang out with Nolan on the road.”
Garrett’s most recent honor was going to Memphis this past January for the International Blues Challenge after having won in the solo category at the Back to Beale Street Blues Competition presented by the South Sound Blues Association. He was the youngest player in the “adult” category. He came back to Tacoma happy that he went, and with more confidence in following his own path. When asked if he’d do it again, he replied: “I don’t know. I don’t think my style is quite what they’re looking for. A lot of those guys are old school (Robert Johnson/Delta blues) and what I have is more progressive. I don’t know if it’s quite up my alley, but it was definitely a great experience and a lot of fun.”
Add to this his sweeping of “Kids Got Talent 2010” where he scored Best Solo Artist, Best Band and Audience Favorite. He wowed them at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre.
Not bad for a boy who wasn’t all that interested in playing the guitar at first. After trying out for sports, Garrett says he just didn’t click with athletics, so his mom suggested he take up a musical instrument when he was around 8 years old. A year later he was playing onstage and the rest is, as they say, history. He gives a lot of credit to - Tacoma Weekly
Tacoma guitar sensation Nolan Garrett is getting ready to release his first full-length CD much to the delight of the throngs of fans the 15-year-old has attracted over the years. On June 21, he’ll unveil the CD at an all-ages release party at Jazzbones, 8 p.m., $10 cover.
Titled “All the Time,” this CD is sure to not only satisfy those who already love Garrett and his music, but also open up a whole new world of listeners for him as he continues to stretch and grow as an artist yet always anchored in his lead and rhythm guitar work that makes just about anyone who hears him play to sit up and take notice. This is what happened last year at the Back to Beale Street Blues Challenge in Tacoma. Garrett, a member of the South Sound Blues Association, ended up winning that competition in the solo category and represented the association at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
“It feels good,” Garrett told Tacoma Weekly about finally having the CD completed. “It’s been a year in the making…one of those things where I can’t believe it’s done. A lot of hard work went into it, and I’m ready for it to come out.”
Rock/funk quartet Vividal, a young Port Orchard band with their own solid following, will be opening Garrett’s CD release party. Garrett will perform and sign CDs, which will be for sale at the event for $10. Afterward, “All the Time” will be available for $15 at http://www.nolangarrett.net. Tracks will also be available on iTunes.
“It’s just going to be fun. My goal is to pack Jazzbones downstairs and upstairs,” Garrett said. Two members of Tacoma band Monsters in the Dark will be joining him onstage – keyboardist Ray Hayden and sax player Paul Sawtell.
'All the Time' to be released to the public on June 21
"When I was given the opportunity to play in Nolan's band, my immediate answer was a resounding yes,” Hayden said. “I truly believe in his music, talent and vision as a young artist. Performing live with Nolan shaves, oh, about 20 years off my life. Come see this kid before he hits the road – you won't regret it. It’s going to be a great show!"
Featuring 11 original tracks written or co-written by Garrett, “All the Time” was produced in Los Angeles by Jeff Kossack of Other Hand Recording. Garrett, who was staying at the famed Sunset Marquis hotel during the weekend of 2012’s Grammy Awards, was practicing his guitar poolside when he was approached by Kossack and the legendary Cyndi Lauper, who was particularly intrigued by his playing.
“I was just sitting there working on my practice routines in my own little space,” Garrett recalled. “I did that for about eight hours. I didn’t know who (Lauper) was when she first came up, and she said, ‘You’ve been playing that guitar all day. Have you finally learned to play a song?’” Garrett then played his song “Don’t Criticize Me” (which he included on “All the Time”) for Lauper and Kossack and things took off from there. Garrett returned to L.A. five times to record “All the Time” with Kossack.
“It’s so professional down there. It was a real learning experience,” Garrett said, and the same held true during shooting of his soon-to-be-released music video for “Don’t Criticize Me” created by Robot Sound, Cannon Boys and Robot Film Company in LA.
The variety of music on “All the Time” reveals just how diverse and talented this straight-A School of the Arts (SOTA) student is. A mixture of funk, blues, rock and slow songs, the CD includes an eclectic blend of musical genres, which has become Garrett’s trademark. His biggest influences include Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney and John Mayer, and his music reflects elements of each of these artists’ styles coupled with his own twist and flair. “People say, ‘he’s in all these genres,’ but I just write what I feel,” Garrett said.
While songs like “Don’t Criticize Me” give the CD a certain amount of bluesy swagger, it’s Garrett’s slower songs that bring out his heart and soul in the most wonderful ways. His voice sounds youthful and vulnerable when he sings the slow stuff, and when he’s singing harder/funkier tunes his voice takes on a harder and more forceful tone that perfectly suits the music.
The lyrics to his music also matter, as the words reflect the young man’s life experiences that he shares with listeners. For example, on the title track he sings a chorus to just be yourself: “My picture ain’t perfect in your mind/ and neither are you and that’s all right/ I wouldn’t even start to try/ just worry about living your life/ through all this I hope you see/ no one should tell you how to be/ I wouldn’t even start to try/ we don’t gotta be perfect all the time.”
In April, Garrett performed at the celebrated Whiskey A Go-Go in West Hollywood and has been invited back for a second show on June 22. Here in Tacoma, be sure to catch him next month at the Old Town Blues Festival on July 13 and Art on the Ave on July 14. - Tacoma Weekly
Nolan Garrett is 12 years old and plays classic rock and dirty blues. - BIg Fun Magazine
Nolan will be performing:
8/31 at Safeco field to promote a food drive for Operation: Sack Lunch www.Mariners.SingForFood.com
9/10-9/24 - 6 Dates with Puget Sound Music for Youth Association at the Puyallup Fair Community Stage and Showplace Stage- check www.thefair.com for details after 8/23
9/25 at Music on the Mountain Festival in Mineral, WA http://www.oxfordentertainment.com/ http://www.minerallakeeventcenter.com/
CD's are available for sale at all the events or you can email: doublenickelmanagement@gmail.com
Nolan's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/pages/Nolan-Garrett/116910088343522?ref=ts
- KingTV 5
Nolan Garrett, 12, of Tacoma has been involved with the association since March. He plays acoustic, electric and fingerstyle guitar and sings, and has been doing so for four years.
“I eventually want to get signed (to a record label) and play more shows,” Nolan said, who formed “The Nolan Garret Band” after joining Manuel’s association.
Nolan won the association’s “Kid’s Got Talent” show in April and recently played at the KZOK stage at the Taste of Tacoma.
“(Nolan) is going to do big things,” Manuel said.
Nolan said he practices between two and eight hours a day. He also has guitar lessons three times a week and practices with his band a couple of times a week.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/18/1267962/news-brief-18youthp2.html#ixzz1GbLehTTw - Tacoma News Tribune
Nolan Garrett, 12, of Tacoma has been involved with the association since March. He plays acoustic, electric and fingerstyle guitar and sings, and has been doing so for four years.
“I eventually want to get signed (to a record label) and play more shows,” Nolan said, who formed “The Nolan Garret Band” after joining Manuel’s association.
Nolan won the association’s “Kid’s Got Talent” show in April and recently played at the KZOK stage at the Taste of Tacoma.
“(Nolan) is going to do big things,” Manuel said.
Nolan said he practices between two and eight hours a day. He also has guitar lessons three times a week and practices with his band a couple of times a week.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/18/1267962/news-brief-18youthp2.html#ixzz1GbLehTTw - Tacoma News Tribune
Discography
1st Album released June 21, 2013
2nd Album currently in the works
Photos
Bio
Raised on a steady diet of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Alice In Chains and The Black Keys, Tacoma's Nolan Garrett is just as accomplished as a fiery axe-slinger as he is an ambitious songwriter. A mere moments scan of his unique artistic amalgamation suggests an artist on the verge of something extraordinary as personified in his gutsy blend of timeless rock n roll, sophisticated pop, elements of grunge and garage rock, doused with just the right of amount of blues on the fire.
For an artist of any age, its surely an electrifying dichotomy, but considering Garrett is a mere 16-years-old, it suggests he's nothing short of a modern day prodigy. Yet even with youth on his side, the versatile performer is already a veteran of sorts who first started playing at age 8, took to the professional stage a year later and is currently criss-crossing the Northwest as a weekend warrior while he maintains a straight A average at the highly coveted Tacoma School of the Arts.
I wasnt very good at sports, so I decided to try music and picked up the guitar, but when the day of my first lesson came around, I didnt even want to go, he lets out with a laugh of those pre-teen beginnings. But after my first lesson, I was hooked, and besides having a knack for it, I was able to get instant results where there wasnt any competition. I basically began playing all of the time, constantly striving to get better and improve, and wound up in front of 200 people within six months at a Relay For Life charity event.
Aside from blowing away the crowd with his maturity, professionalism, and perhaps most importantly, playing chops well beyond his years, Garrett hit the open mic/jam night circuit with abandon. It was there that he met a slew of seasoned musicians at least twice his age, which led to further introductions of past and present greats spanning Stevie Ray Vaughan through Joe Bonamassa.
From the moment I started, Ive loved the feeling of being on stage, he observes. Its such an adrenaline high and its the one place you can start going crazy without anyone yelling at you. Its the place where you can really let loose, have fun and feed off the people cheering back at you.
Smaller shows soon blossomed into prestigious area accomplishments, like sweeping Kids Got Talent 2010 (where he scored Best Solo Artist, Best Band and Audience Favorite), bringing Seattles lauded Paramount Theatre to its feet and winning 2012s local International Blues Competition, which ensures him a slot at the national contest in Memphis. Along the way hes also shared the stage with world renown Hendrix emulator Randy Hansen, Grammy Award winning zydeco great Chubby Carrier, plus fellow area favorites like House of Bourbon, and The Randy Oxford Band.
I usually have at least one gig every weekend, sometimes two, and I have band practice twice a week, he shares of his somewhat tenacious schedule considering hes still simultaneously a full time student. I love performing live and I try to make my songs and set list like a constant roller coaster: build it up, drop it down, build it back up and end on a climatic high that leaves people wanting a little more.
Aside from that strategy paying off across the typical clubs, bars and theatres, Garretts performance aptitude also made major waves at one somewhat unexpected location. During his trip to Los Angeles the weekend of 2012s Grammy Awards, the burgeoning troubadour set up shop poolside at the celebrity packed Sunset Marquis hotel, earning a full-fledged fan in the always eclectic Cyndi Lauper, who introduced him on the spot to producer friend Jeff Kossack (of San Fernando Valleys Other Hand Recording).
I didnt want to be super pushy or even play too loudly, so I just made a home at a little couch by the pool and played for pretty much eight hours straight, he remembers of the destiny-filled day. Cyndi and Jeff listened to my song Dont Criticize Me, told me the song was definitely very cool, and in the case of Jeff, it opened the door to us working together in the studio.
Adds Kossack: Working with Nolan in the studio only confirms my original belief that he will be a guitar role model for his generation and his music will someday be heard worldwide, with all the accompanying recognition. He's a true artist, unaffected by vanity. His musical instincts and studio chops are amazing given his youth. I only look for big things from him in the future. People get ready...There's a train a-comin.
Band Members
Links
