By Amanda Dent
A&E Editor
“I hate labels,” Garrison Starr said in a phone conversation on Tuesday. “I hate being called a female singer-songwriter. It’s rock music, and I’m a rock musician.”
Call her what you may, there’s no denying this Hernando, Miss., native is earning respect and notoriety. No more is this evident then in her latest album “Songs from Take-off to Landing.” The 13-track album has been receiving rave reviews from music critics.
Starr said she doesn’t take the wide-spread adulation too seriously.
“I still have a long way to go,” Starr said. “The same minute someone says your the greatest thing ever, the next minute it’s going to be somebody different inevitably. No matter how great some one says you are, it will be the same hand that will eventually end up slapping the crap out of you.”
After signing her first record contract at age 19, Starr is well-educated in the ways of the music business. “Landing,” released last March, is Starr’s fourth album and, according to Starr, her greatest thus far.
“This record is the best music I’ve ever made,” Starr said. “I think I’m learning. Right now I’m in a state that I’m really open like I’ve never been before and hopefully, that will continue.”
The 27-year-old honed her musical talents on the Memphis music scene, frequently playing shows at Newby’s and The Library. According to Starr, geography plays a big part in her songwriting. When asked if growing up in the South influenced her music, Starr responded with a resounding “Yes.”
“I’d have to say it has everything to do with what I write,” Starr said. “I think there are a lot of struggles that people go through in the South that a lot of people don’t understand. Southern women struggle. I know a lot of people that do what is expected of them because they are Southern women. There’s so much richness as far as relationships and culturally. People are genuine.”
Starr attempted to do what was expected of her by attending college after graduating from high school in 1993. Although Starr had intentions of going to The University of Georgia, she settled for Ole Miss after failing to earn any scholarships from Georgia. After only a few semesters, Starr decided to stop conforming to those expectations and quit classes at Ole Miss.
“I majored in English,” Starr said. “I never really got far enough in school for my major to really matter.”
Music was somewhat of a calling for her according to Starr. As a child, she took piano lessons, although, her true form of instrumental expression is the guitar, which she discovered almost by accident.
“I remember, I was at camp one year,” Starr said. “I just sat down and started playing.”
That moment might seem like a revelation or life-altering occurrence. But, according to Starr, there has never been a defining moment in her life that made her want to write and perform music.
“I just kind of always knew,” Starr said. “I just knew.”
Starr will be at The Lounge June 13 for The Acoustic Highway.
