Garrison Starr (born Julia Garrison Starr on April 29, 1975) is a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter/producer. Her major label debut, "18 Over Me" was released in 1997 (Geffen). Starr's shows have been described as "marrying pop smarts and Americana grit with a voice of remarkable power and clarity". Since that initial record, Starr has released over a dozen EPs and LPs while landing numerous placements on shows and movies like ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'', ''Nashville'', ''Hart of Dixie'', ''Switched at Birth'', ''Rookie Blue'', ''Army Wives'', and ''Brothers & Sisters'', as well as commercial placements that include Pandora, Virgin Mobile, McDonald's, and Fisher Price. She also had cuts with Greg Holden (WBR), ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' winner Kris Allen and Royal Wood. In 2016, Starr produced and co-wrote

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

's record "American Myth" which garnered a Grammy nomination.

Early career

Starr's first album, ''Pinwheels'', was recorded in 1993, shortly after her high school graduation from Evangelical Christian School in

Memphis, TN Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most ...

. During a 1½ year stint as a student at Ole Miss, Starr played drums for a local band, This Living Hand, in which she met and forged a friendship with fellow artist and producer

Neilson Hubbard Neilson Hubbard (born October 27, 1972) is an American record producer, film director, film producer, singer-songwriter, and photographer. He produced Mary Gauthier's Grammy-nominated album, ''Rifles & Rosary Beads'', as well as albums for Sam ...

, and Clay Jones, who would produce her first major-label album. To this day, Starr and Hubbard frequently collaborate. Her second release, the 1995 seven-track EP ''Stupid Girl'', references her experiences at Ole Miss, which were not always pleasant.

Geffen records

Starr was signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

, which released her first major-label album, featuring Bob Rupe of Cracker and

The Silos The Silos is an American rock band formed by Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe in New York City, United States in 1985. History Prior to starting the Silos, Salas-Humara had been a member of The Vulgar Boatmen, and Bob Rupe was in Florida ban ...

, ''Eighteen Over Me'', in 1997. ''Eighteen Over Me'' includes the song "Superhero," which is her most well-known song to date. On the success of ''Eighteen Over Me,'' Starr was invited to play on the highly successful all-female festival tour

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...

, created by

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

. Starr left the deep south for Los Angeles in the mid-1990s. While working on her next album, Starr took issue with the label's request that she submit acoustic demos of her songs for approval. Starr (along with many other artists) was dropped from the Geffen roster. It was five years after the release of ''Eighteen Over Me'' before Starr released her next full-length album, 2002's ''Songs From Take-Off To Landing''. In those years, the songs that she had begun working on at Geffen evolved and changed significantly before reaching the final versions that appear on the album. Between these releases, Starr released two EPs. The first, ''24/7'', was released by Geffen and included live and acoustic versions of songs from ''Eighteen Over Me'', as well as a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' "

Taxman "Taxman" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. Written by the group's lead guitarist, George Harrison, with some lyrical assistance from John Lennon, it protests against the higher level of progre ...

" and a previously unreleased song, "Simple Theme." The second EP, 2000's ''Somethin' To Hold You Over'', was self-released for fans and included several original tracks, as well as a reworking of "Molly" from ''Eighteen'' and "5 Minutes," which would appear in a different form on her next album. In Los Angeles, she gained inspiration for two albums, ''Songs From Take-Off To Landing'' and ''Airstreams and Satellites,'' which was released in October 2004. The former album was released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

' Back Porch Records label. The latter was released by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

. Starr re-recorded "Superhero" for ''Airstreams'', which also includes a hidden track, "Inside Out", in which she makes her first definitive reference to being a lesbian. In promoting the album, Starr toured with the likes of

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

, Steve Earle, Melissa Ferrick and

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

. She has been out since then. In 2005, Starr appeared with other artists in a series of performances at L.A.'s Room 5 as the North La Brea All Star Conquistadors. These performances were later released in a series of live albums by KUFALA Recordings. The group, consisting of Starr,

Gabriel Mann Gabriel Mann (born Gabriel Mick; May 14, 1972) is an American actor and model, known for his role as Nolan Ross on the ABC drama series '' Revenge''. He has co-starred in several films, including '' The Life of David Gale'', '' The Bourne Iden ...

, Jay Nash, and Adrianne, toured the eastern United States in spring 2007. Also in 2005, Starr returned to the south to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, where she completed ''The Sound of You and Me'', which was released in March 2006. Released by Vanguard Records, it includes a fellow Vanguard artist Mindy Smith on background vocals for the track "We Were Just Boys and Girls." In 2007, Starr completed a collection of songs, ''Fans' Greatest Hits, Volume One (Live)'' for which she asked fans to vote for their top 10 favorite songs. She then recorded new acoustic studio versions of those songs. Starr released ''The Girl That Killed September'' on October 18, 2007, in association with Media Creature Music. In 2008, Starr formed a new band with

Josh Joplin Josh Joplin (born Joshua David Blum on January 1, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, as well as music and film producer. He has founded the bands Josh Joplin Group and Among The Oak & Ash. His song " Camera One" was the first independen ...

called Among The Oak & Ash. Their self-titled debut album was released on June 16, 2009, on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

. In 2009, Starr formed a new band with Glen Phillips, former singer for '90s alt-rock band

Toad the Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, ...

. They called themselves Plover and released a self-titled album in 2009. In 2010, Starr released ReLive, a critically acclaimed live album featuring fan favorites as well as some new tracks. The album was recorded at Nashville's 12th and Porter during one take and released via Brite Revolution. In 2012, Starr embarked on her first attempt at a self-release. Amateur, featuring all original songs with a guest appearances including

and a co-write with Kevin Devine was entirely fan funded via the crowd funding site PledgeMusic, and released May 1, 2012. In September 2013, Starr formed a new project called This, the Silent War. The first single "Setting Sun" was released on October 1, 2013. In 2017, Starr released ''What If There Is No Destination'', led off by the single "Put Your Weapon Down", with the profits from this single going to the

National Center for Victims of Crime The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information, resources and advocacy for victims of all types of crime, as well as the people who serve them. The staff oversees ...

for the victims of the Orlando tragedy. In 2019, Starr provided original music for

's podcast, '' The Margaret Cho''. She is currently based in Los Angeles.

Other media appearances

Starr's song "Superhero" has appeared on several compilations, including ''Live at World Cafe'' and ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' magazine's sampler. It was featured during ABC-TV's coverage of the Women's World Cup Soccer in 1999. Her cover of Steve Forbert's song "It Isn't Going to Be That Way" appeared on the compilation ''The I-10 Chronicles, Vol. 2: One More for the Road''. Starr's "Beautiful in Los Angeles" was the featured song on the season one finale of MTV's original program '' The Hills''. Starr has performed back-up vocals for artists including

Michelle Malone Michelle Malone is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born and raised in Atlanta, she started performing in bands and writing songs as a teenager. Initially, she would sign with Arista Records after performing around parts of Atlanta ...

and

. Starr appeared on CBS News' ''Saturday Early Show'', performing in the "Second Cup Cafe" on June 22, 2007. Her songs have been featured in ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Br ...

'', ''

'', '' The Fosters'' and ''

''.

Discography

References

External links

*
The Girl That Killed September Music Tour Dates News

Bandweblogs Interview with Garrison

Garrison using Mobile Technology to Market Record

The Girl That Killed September
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Garrison 1975 births American folk singers American lesbian musicians American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters LGBT people from Mississippi Living people People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Hernando, Mississippi University of Mississippi alumni Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi Guitarists from Tennessee 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women guitarists 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people