Aaron Garner

"Garner...had the audience entranced..presented mesmerising and exceptionally talented acoustics...superstar in the making." - Soo Today, Sault Ste. Marie - Soo Today

"You know he's in demand..." - Winnipeg Sun

"Fantastic!" - BTV, Winnipeg - CITY TV BREAKFAST TELEVISION

EXCERPT FROM LINER NOTES OF "THERE & BACK":

“You’re crazy”, or something like that.....Kelly Hoppe was right. Only he didn’t mention it (at least to me) until after the fact that the album was in the can. I thought my wife was too for suggesting it in the first place. Recording an album of original material live without a preceding studio release, just the kind of “bright ideear” a non-musician would come up with...

Nobody records live albums anymore under those circumstances and especially in front of an audience (who paid to be there I might add). It’s not a brand new idea, but this is NOT the way things are done nowadays, especially by an emerging artist with no label and a lot to lose.

So much could go wrong. I mean why would you, or me, or any musician do this? It could all fall apart in front of everyone I know, the embarrassment would be insurmountable and a complete waste of everyone’s time and money. Or the power could go out. Or no one would show up...

OR, we could pull it off. Everyone there, audience and musicians, could be a part of something really cool, daring, special...and just a little crazy.

So I started making some calls to the people I most wanted to be a part of this idea, and thankfully got some calls back. People seemed really intrigued by the idea, they saw it as a challenge and wanted to be involved.

Part B to all of this was that people would get to see a recording session in all its flawed glory. The recording process is something that’s always been very secretive, Wizard of Oz type stuff to anyone outside it. So I tried to give people a little taste of what it’s like to be behind the curtain in exchange for their “investment” in helping me get this album done (attended received a CD upon completion of the project) .

I blew it a couple of times that night; we all had a good laugh, and started over...just like in a studio. But we nailed pretty much all of it. What we got in the end was a wonderful recording (if I do say so myself) of a really fun night with some excellent musicians. We captured a moment that live, warm energy you feel in the room at an acoustic show in an old theater, right down to the sound of the room....no digital reverb here. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close, and it’s real. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we did making this. ~ AG - Aaron Garner

Saturday night in Collingwood rocked when Aaron Garner and friends took to the stage at the Gayety Theatre. Playing to a packed house, Garner was joined by several musicians from well-known Toronto groups Superstack (featuring lead singer/guitarist) Scott Donnelly & drummer/percusionist Brian Lahaie) and Big Sugar, plus local musicians Dave Wipper and Jason Redman. On keyboards was his long-time musician co-performer and father, Rick Garner.

Garner had taken a bold decision to do a live recording here, rather than follow up with yet another studio production. Making live albums is always fraught with problems - noise and sound levels fluctuation, traffic, cell phones, unwanted audience sounds, plus the matter of the mere humanity of the musicians. But remarkably, the evening's efforts went off very smoothly, with all of Aaron's main songs being captured in one attempt. Only at the very end of the show, when the musicians were probably feeling the strain of their efforts, did they have to stop and restart songs to get them right.

The first portion of the concert featured Aaron's own songwriting, accompanied by his friends, but no covers. At the end, his friends had a chance to slip in their own songs, the two most memorable being Kelly "Mr. Chill" Hoppe's performance of Rolling Thunder from his recent album, and a wonderful piece by Jason Redman, which featured stunning vocal harmony with Aaron.

Aaron started his musical career playing electric rock and blues, and was known for some hard-driving performances that woke the neighbourhood. However over the years he's mellowed and focused on more acoustic sounds. This concert featured only acoustic instruments, with shades of James Taylor, the Eagles and Paul Simon in the music. It was 'soft rock' that blended in with 'new country' and folk sounds. Songs with Redman on banjo and/or Wipper on mandolin really reinforced that country-folk feel. A pedal steel guitar would have fit right in on many of the songs.

Those of us who grew up with the likes of Pete Seeger, Ian an Sylvia and the New Christy Minstrels on our record players, felt right at home.

The audience was a curious mix of all ages. Realizing of course that there were his family, his fiancé's family, and relatives among the crowd, I was still surprised at the range of ages present. I attended a lot of rock concerts in the 60s and 70s where you couldn't find anyone over 30 in the audience. To see a lot of grey heads like my own in the crowd suggests that the music has welded together the generation gap that separated my youth from my parents' generation.

Perhaps my personal favourite was Aaron's song, The Great Subdivide, about the loss of farmlands and woodlots to the relentless sprawl of residential development. That should be council's therme song - we're so starry-eyed over adding more sprawl in this small town. I hope Aaron will add that song to his web site so more people can listen to it and get the message.

The after-concert party at The Huron House was packed, noisy and great fun. Altogether a terrific evening, great music by fantastic local talent - and all of the audience will get a free CD of the concert as a gift. We don't often get this sort of event or opportunity to be part of a CD, so I feel sorry for anyone who missed it. This was one great, memorable evening! - Ian Chadwick - The Mumpsimus Forum

The news coverage of Collingwood based musician Aaron Garners’ live C.D recording at the Gayety Theatre on November 24 seemed to emphasize a small, innocuous word, the word “local”. Local boy, local songwriter, local family, local resident, local performer, local.It is very much true; Aaron was born and raised in Collingwood, continues to live here, manages to sustain a musician’s life within the Georgian Triangle and furthermore has a family musical past also “local” through father Rick Garner. The attachment to place is strong with Garner and that places attachment to Garner is equally strong.

Aaron is well known in the way only a small town recognizes it’s own…it would be hard to find a bar goer in the area who hadn’t ran across Aaron performing. Those bar goers are largely populated by people who can tell a story about Aaron in high school, or who knew his father, a few who can likely tell some uncomfortable intimate details, and a large number who call Aaron friend. While those friendships may or may not be valid, what does seem to linger is the feeling of ownership. That Aaron Garner, by the familiarity of his face, his voice, the security that you can run down and see him at The Huron House every Wednesday, has become a municipal fixture, that his songsmithing is a municipal service.

That intimacy with his community has assisted Aaron in many ways. The fact that there isn’t a venue in the area not willing to book Aaron Garner solo, as a duo with frequent partner Jason Redman or as The Aaron Garner Band, allows Aaron to support himself by his music, an option envious of many a musician trudging across the countryside for crappy pay and dodgy sleeping arrangements, or working full time jobs in occupations by day, draining their energy for night time gigs. The sheer volume of live performance has allowed Aaron to hone his songs to perfection with detailed craftsmanship, and to test those songs on a fairly forgiving audience. The result is that Aaron Garner has become the consummate live performer.

This control of the live performance was nowhere more apparent then in the live C.D recording. Only one song had to be restarted, in contrast to the multiple studio takes and technological manipulations needed to render a seamless performance for a less seasoned musician That level of consistency is the mark of a veteran performer, and unusual in someone of Aaron’s youth and by most considerations low level of “fame. While without a doubt Aaron started the game with an above average dose of natural talent, gently stoked and supported by a musical family and supportive community, the insular environment of the Georgian Triangle facilitated the ability to craft a unfailingly professional live delivery.

There is a restlessness to Aaron (although of late seemingly tempered by his love for his lovely and charming fiancée Heather Le Fevre) that evidences a musician eager for the bigger stage, and willing to go seek new audiences. Aaron has sought and succeeded in this venture; he has made connections and ridden out of town with them. He has performed with members of The Tragically Hip and Our Lady Peace, made strong ties to new friends Pat Robitaille and Serena Postel to name a few. Here is a charming, neighborly small town guy, being who he is, searching for music on the Canadian landscape. His searching however has always been tethered to this location. That tether has seemed to both umbilical cord and leash at times, yet Aaron Garner seems to have made peace with it, a maturity that gives the confidence and the skill to remain here, and bring the wider world to him.

Aaron’s decision to record his latest CD as a live performance at the venerable town of Collingwood institution the Gayety Theatre ,with special guests, highlighted the best of what Aaron is, not only what he does. He filled the stage with guests that gave nods to friends, to family, to iconic Canadian rock, to craftsmanship, to fellowship and most importantly to musicianship. Special guests included Kelly “Mr Chill” Hoppe (who incidentally I have had a crush on since first seeing Big Sugar, whom he performed with for 12 years), Patrick Ballantyne, who co penned numerous Big Sugar tunes, accomplished session musician Dave Whipper, Superstack members Scott Donnelly and Brian Lahaie, Jason Redman and Aaron’s father Rick Garner. The old theatre, creaking pipes and old boards, clocks that attendees remembered from grade school movie nights, played silent guest (although just how silent the recording will tell) and a full house of townsfolk bore witness to the event.

To perform on stage with his father, in a town landmark, with his oldest high school friend and his heroes of rock, with his newest friends and admired acquaintances, to acknowledge and embrace home but with an eagerness and desire for the new, Aaron Garner became the epitome of all that Collingwood can be (it occurred to me that this is so much so, that perhaps the Town itself should sponsor Aaron’s next project, a coup for Arts and Culture in this community indeed). Aaron Garner sounds like the happiness of home, with bright eyes on the horizon.
- Allison Billings - Freelance Writer