Garrison (band)

Garrison
Garrison, 1999, Pacific Coast
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Genres	Post-hardcore, Punk rock, Post-punk, Emo
Years active	1996–2004
Labels	Revelation Records Iodine Recordings Espo Records

Garrison was a post-hardcore/punk band based in Boston, Massachusetts from 1996-2004. Their sound was largely influenced by early post-hardcore, most notably Drive Like Jehu, and also incorporated components of post punk, shoegaze, and emo. In their eight years, Garrison released two full-length albums, both on Revelation Records, as well as three EPs, two split EPs, and one early single released as a 7" vinyl record.

History

Ed McNamara and Joe Grillo began songwriting for what would become Garrison in 1996, recruiting drummer Guy D'Annolfo to record a three song demo cassette recorded with Kurt Ballou. Ed, Joe, and future bass player Andy White were involved in the Worcester Artists Group/The Space with additional connections made between Andy and Joe by the lovely smelling Kurt Ballou, resulting in Andy joining Garrison in 1998. The initial group of Ed, Joe, Guy, and Andy began rehearsing and songwriting at The Space, released an initial 7" on Espo Records, and toured extensively in the US. They signed with Revelation Records and recorded "The Bend Before The Break" with Brian McTernan at Fort Apache in Boston, MA. Following the release of the Bend Before the Break, Garrison again toured extensively throughout the US while working on their first full length, A Mile in Cold Water with the consistently pleasant smelling Kurt Ballou.

After the release of A Mile In Cold Water and subsequent touring, Andy and Guy left Garrison to return to graduate school, while Ed and Joe recruited Jason Carlin, Matt LaVonture, J. Morrissette, Ethan Dussault, and John Ledoux to continue the development of Garrison.

After officially disbanding in 2004, members of Garrison went on to play with Judas Knife, Rules, Leafminer, The Many Mansions, Pointillist, Neutria, Instruction, Fires, The Fly Seville, Gay for Johnny Depp, Campaign for Real-Time, The Rise Park, Placer, and Kill Verona.

Original Members

• Ed McNamara - vocals, guitar
• Joseph Grillo - vocals, guitar
• Andy White - bass
• Guy D'Annolfo - drums

Other Members

• Jason Carlin - bass
• Ethan Dussault - bass, baritone guitar
• Matt LaVonture - bass
• John Ledoux - drums
• J. Morrissette - drums
• Frank Trippi - keyboards

Notes

• Although never an official member, Mike Ushinski played drums with Garrison during several tours
• Garrison's final shows were performed on a 2003 tour of Japan. This tour is often missing from official accounts due to its unusual lineup which excluded Grillo entirely and found J. Morrissette on bass. The lineup was: Ed McNamara (guitar and vocal), J. Morrissette (bass), Mike Ushinski (drums), Taylor Bearfoot (guitar). Due to this unusual final set of performance, McNamara is the only member of Garrison to play every show.

Discography

• 24 (7" single) (1998, Espo Records)
• The Bend Before the Break (1999, Espo Records)
• A Mile in Cold Water (2000, Revelation Records)
• Hundred Reasons/Garrison split EP (2001, Simba Recordings UK, Iodine Records US)
• Be a Criminal (2001, Revelation Records)
• The Model (2003)
• The Silhouette (2003)
• Split EP w/ Orange Island (2003, Iodine Records)
• Tv or the Atom Bomb (2020, Arctic Rodeo Recordings)

Ltd editions:

• 24 (7" 500 Grey Vinyl)
• The Bend Before The Break (7" 200 green vinyl)
• A Mile in Cold Water (LP 220 blue (opaque) vinyl)
• Be a Criminal (LP 307 grey/white marble vinyl)

External links

• Bio from Perfect Sound Forever
• Discogs listing
• Be A Criminal album review from Punk News
• Be A Criminal album review from In Music We Trust