Chris McGarry
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Chris McGarry

Denver, Colorado, United States

Denver, Colorado, United States
Band Americana Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Chris McGarry - Route 78 West"

'Chris McGarry has a voice that could stop a room'
-Ukulele Loki, from Radio 1190's Route 78 West - Radio 1190


"And The Weary Eyes Reply"

Imagine, if you will, that you are a bottle of whiskey-rye. You are down to your last drops of sweet Tennessee life, and that relentless cowboy whose got you by the neck shows no sign of slowing his drinkin' pace.

Soon, as a bottle of whiskey, you will be gone; a forgetful part of a heartbroken cowboy's past, and just as he has done to so many of your bottled brethren before, he is going to toss you in a ditch to be forgotten and most likely pick up another bottle. You will left there, an empty shell of your former self, a littered soul on the side of the cowboy's road on which he is Brooklyn bound.

Setting up this image of low-down despair is imperative to understanding the ambiance of And the Weary Eyes Reply, the debut album from Chris McGarry. For the album, McGarry plays the role of a downtrodden but soulful drifter, musing his way through nine powerful tracks of existential pondering and superb blues-based country arrangements. Not twelve seconds into "This Heathen City" McGarry has already accused the sun of heresy (for interrupting the practices of the night); and throughout the vaudevillian-inspired, self-loathing anthem "Tear Me Down" Chris battles with the concept of being torn apart (physically or mentally?) only to be made "into something I never been before."

Throughout the lyrically-rich And the Weary Eyes Reply, McGarry reestablishes the lost art of story-songs. Each vignette of music offers its own tale, and the album paints a portrait of Americana through classic instrumentation (driving banjos, warm acoustic guitars), inventive melodies, and McGarry's vocals that bend like the road and possess just enough of that old-soul "twang" to implore you to check the copyright date on his album.

-Chip Herter - Swallow Hill Music Association


"Album Review"

Just tonight I listened to my friend Chris McGarry, an unsigned Americana artist with old-time twang and new-time lyrics, on KGNU, a Colorado independent station. I was so excited to hear him on-air. There is something so powerful in a community's ability to showcase their local talent; it gives me hope that we are not as helpless as we appear in regards to our arts. I cooked while I listened to the program; I made a gigantic chard, cheddar, and egg omelet. It was a great food/music experience. Chris just released a new album "And The Weary Eyes Reply," and the songs are as salt of the earth as you can get. Hearty writing with simple instrumentation. The album has more than a touch of Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle running through it, but the vocal delivery is all Chris. Big imagery, Chris's lyrics paint pictures so clear that I can almost see, smell, and hear the Wisconsin streets, bars, and rivers of his hometown. - Emily Hurd - Blog


Discography

And The Weary Eyes Reply - Album Release Party May 13th

Photos

Bio

Born on the Mississippi River and raised on Methodist hymns, folk ballads and vintage country, learning to play was a necessity for Chris McGarry. After simultaneously picking up a guitar and an obsession with Walt Whitman, creating his own songs became only inevitable.

Residing in Denver’s Capitol Hill, McGarry is part of the new breed of old-time musicians who live in trendy neighborhoods while mining the internet for inspiration found in the form of depression-era 78’s transferred to mp3 format.

Yet, despite his relocation to an urban environment, his immersion into modern amenities and a post-beatnik lyrical style, McGarry’s musical roots remain sedentary; melodies as haunted as the river bluffs and a voice as gravelly as the silt laden shores he wandered as a child.

*** Past Gigs of Note *** The Hi Dive - The Meadowlark - Swallow Hill Music Association - The Meadowlark - KGNU Kabaret - The Larimer Lounge

www.chris-mcgarry.com