Who is Garth.? Meet the artist merging 80s soul with 90s R&B
There are roughly 7.5 billion people on Earth. Each with their own desires, beliefs, and abilities.
Of that 7.5 billion, there is a bucketful of people with exceptional abilities that they excel at; whether that be sports, math, writing, or singing each person is distinct in their own way. However, there is a handful of that 7.5 billion that rises above all.
There’s an adage that goes: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”
Talent can only take you so far, and hard work can only take you so far. What happens when you have the talent and put in the hard work? The answer is broad and simple. You set yourself up for greatness. That is exactly what Garth. has done.
Garth. is a singer, producer & multi-instrumentalist that hails from the suburbs of Laurel, Maryland. His sound is deeply rooted in soul and R&B vocals, he combines both 80s soul and 90s R&B. His love of music first started at the young age of 4 when started to play the piano. This was the start of a musical journey.
Throughout middle school and high school Garth. was a member of the band and orchestra, playing everything from the French horn to the trumpet. Where he comes from, being a band member was not a slanderous moniker at all. It was these early experiences that exponentially grew his skill and creativity for music.
Music became a serious career option once Garth. hit college. It was at Wesleyan University that he started to expand his network and experiment with live performances. By the end of college, he had joined a band and made a decision to move to New York and pursue music full time.
New York City is the world capital for hustling and grinding. What better place to be for chasing your dreams? Garth. pursued his music dreams, little did he know that this would be one of the most difficult journeys of his life. I asked him about the trials and tribulations of his first years in New York, and he described them as,
“At the moment in those years, there were times when I really thought, maybe this is not for me, maybe I need to live a life with a regular job and just go about my business. But I really do have a passion for music. So, you know, it was awesome to be able to start putting out music on my own terms and kind of recalibrate that narrative to where I can fully be in control of my voice, my image, my sound, and where I want things to go. And also, I have control over the people that I work with, and how those people are treated to make sure that everybody is good.”
New York, New York is so nice they named it twice. However, that’s not true when it comes to living expenses. The struggles of starting a career early in New York are quite daunting. From managing finances to organizing a productive schedule, a person’s early years in New York can be quite chaotic. Garth. learned that lesson early and often.
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He eventually found his lane by working out an ideal work-life balance and locking into what mattered most to him. He provided further insight into his process, saying,
“It just takes some level of insanity, to really laser focus on something, but I encourage people to be pragmatic and to be practical as well. There was a period of time where I was working all the time and working things out on the weekends, and then I was working part-time for several years. I was grateful that people believed in me and helped me support myself in New York, gave me a break every once in a while.”
All this hard work and laser focus paid off when he released his debut EP, Human Nature, in 2018. While listening to the EP, one begins to realize that there is a robust soul behind his voice. In each and every note he sings, there is a burst of energy and raw emotion.
From high-pitched notes and melodious tones, Garth. puts together a harmonious experience that hits every note in an octave. His talent is top notch, and his creativity compliments that. Check out Human Nature below 👇:
He’s got the sound, and he has the look to support it. When I asked him about where he got his fashion sense from, he smiled and replied,
“I’m actually going to do what I want, like, I’m just gonna do what I want, nobody can tell me, I can’t. So if I want to wear a fur coat, I’m gonna do it. If I I want to do some monochromatic styling or some crazy glasses, I will.”
His bodacious fashion sense supports his high energy music. But how does he support these ventures? How do you build up from the foundation you set? He answered these questions straightforward,
“Focus on my energy, my creative energy market, and financial resources into my projects. I went back to work full time to just make sure that I was good financially. And I could also just focus on and make sure I was a developed person outside of music. And that, I feel like, transfers into me being able to develop myself in the music industry. So that’s the decision I made for the moment, but I’m still very focused on being a professional musician.”
His recently released song, “Wild,” is the next step in his musical journey. It’s an upbeat song that is sure to add a little hop in your step. Peep below 👇:
He currently is preparing for his upcoming shows at NoHo sound on June 20th, which you can check out here. Following that show, he’ll perform at C’Mon Everybody on June 28th; you can cop your tickets here.
From a child growing up in the suburbs of Maryland to performing on stages in NYC, Garth. has truly paved his own lane. He’s at the beginning of what could be an epic career. To close out our interview, he nonchalantly said, “When I say I’m going to do something more often than not, I’m gonna do it.”
And he’s most certainly followed through.