Garrison

Ed McNamara finds his own space

by John O'Neill

Ed McNamara was on a crash course with emotional disaster. As the head honcho of the all-volunteer artists complex, the Space, he was the guy stuck with most of the work just to keep the place running; and it was consuming all of his free time. From running sound to cleaning up after a show to having upcoming events saturate his thoughts, McNamara knew the Space had become full-time labor. Believing in the ideals the room represented, yet unable to escape those four walls for what little personal time afforded him, he was like a man stoking the engine of the very train that was carrying him toward hell. He knew it was time to jump off.

"The Space is great, but it got to the point where I was so busy that I burnt myself out," he says during our recent chat. "I neglected what I needed to do artistically, and I needed a change. It was frustrating seeing all these bands I know touring and having fun while I was running sound. I wanted to play."

McNamara stepped away from his everyday duties at the Space and began the road back to gigdom in earnest when he began writing tunes eight months ago with Stricken for Catherine's Joe Grillo. As Stricken had just released a full-length CD on Boston's Espo imprint (run by WBCN deejay Shred), the Grillo/McNamara pairing was more for kicks. Until things went south for Grillo and his band last month.

"There'd been a lot of creative and personal tension, so I thought we'd step back and chill out," relates Grillo of Stricken for Catherine's downfall. "Playing with Ed was very easy, and it all fell into place. Meanwhile Catherine got weirder . . ."

Now looking to make Garrison a more serious project, the duo recruited drummer Guy D'Annolfo, and they went into the studio to cut a three-song demo (Andrew White later assumed bass duty) and set up some area gigs. That has turned into a whole lot more. They debut this Monday, June 29, at the Space. (Elliot, Six Going on Seven, and Halobox also play.) On July 2, Garrison hit the Cove, then split a four-day New England tour with San Diego's No Knife. Afterward, they gear up for a 10-day swing down the East Coast with fellow-Worcesterites Halobox. They're also lined up for inclusion on an upcoming Big Wheel Records comp as well as a compilation CD from Grillo's employer, the Big Burrito ("all the rockers in Boston work for Big Burrito," declares McNamara), that will also feature Doc Hopper, Honkey Ball, Piebald and 12 other employees' bands.

Fans of both Stricken for Catherine and McNamara's previous effort, Iris, may be surprised by the direction Garrison have taken. While the above mentioned bands were more interested in sonic explorations and long-winded experimental pieces, the new outfit concentrates on songs that recall the likes of Sunny Day Real Estate and Drive like Jehu complete with lyrics that are straightforward, honest, and, gulp, autobiographical.

"With Garrison we wanted to write songs that were more natural," says McNamara. "Lyrics are hard, 'cause it's real easy to write cheesy ones. We brood over them for a long time. We'll write a song in three practices and stop there before it gets too busy. We're headed more toward pop, like a heavy, heavy, evil Kansas!"

"My songs have tended to become more focused, so this was a natural progression," adds Grillo. "I'm always trying to remember what [it] was that made me go crazy before I knew anything about music. Looking back, the bottom line is honesty; there can be beauty in simplicity. When we were younger we crammed everything we liked into one pail, now I want to make music for people who aren't musicians."

So, two men have survived their own specific meltdowns and come out the other side with a project that bears keeping an eye on. Gone are the ideas that music has to be some grand cerebral voyage as they've learned music's most basic and important lesson: nothing is new -- everything is borrowed. Sometimes you're better off to put your head down, play music, and have fun -- a sentiment not lost on a rejuvenated McNamara.

"With other bands, we were trying to be original and do things we thought no one else was doing. Now we want to have a good time and be honest . . . and not stress."

**BY THE WAY** the folks at the Space are currently looking for volunteers.