Author | Cathleen Marie Thérèse Parra
Garek is a New York singer and songwriter working in realm of his own. Garek’s album Save The Queen has been described as having elements of industrial music and power pop, as recently profiled by EQ Music. His music is rooted in influences consisting of 90’s industrial bands. Having grown up the Midwest Garek is frank about his descent into music, as well as the darker influences that have inspired his tracks. He states in his bio “music was therapy- along with Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin, vodka and porn.
While listening to your tracks it seemed to me that there are quite a few of undertones of late 90’s/early 2000 industrial for example bands such as Orgy, NIN, Kidney Thieves, etc. What musicians and genres have influenced your music?
I’m definitely a 90’s kid. My first real love was Stevie Nicks (I cried when I couldn’t memorize the lyrics to ‘Dreams’ fast enough), but I grew up listening to Garbage, NIN, Marilyn Manson. For some reason, the sounds in Industrial Music resonate with me more than, say, a trance beat or a super-poppy synth line. They have the most impact on me. There’s something about the gritty, unwholesomeness of the landscape they create that I love experiencing.
In your website bio you say, “Music was my therapy.” What about music do you find cathartic?
I’ve always been a writer. I remember writing my first poem (some shit about the changing seasons) in my bedroom when I was like 9-10. Writing is my therapy, and music is an extension of that. If I didn’t write I’d be sick, or on even more meds than I am now. I’m a very sensitive guy; I tend to stew and hold grudges. Ask any of my exes, mother figures or psychiatrists and they’ll tell you the same. So, instead of sitting on all that poison, I found that creating something- whether a poem, a song, a painting- is far more productive and cathartic than pouting.
Having grown up in a small Midwest town did you find that music was a rebellion to your Midwest roots?
I never really considered it a rebellion. I just didn’t like what everyone else around me was listening to. There were only so many songs about red-dirt roads and tire fires that I could tolerate. Other people, who heard what I was listening to, definitely thought it was my attempt at rebelling, my parents especially. There was a point where they took all of my Marilyn Manson CD’s away because they thought he was turning me into a bad kid. The reality of the situation was that his music was an outlet for me. It was a manner through which I could channel this new aggression and loneliness that I was feeling for the first time. If I hadn’t had his music (and Garbage, NIN, Alanis Morissette, etc.), things would have been much harder.
There is an age-old assumption that art/creation comes from suffering. What is your take on that?
I can definitely empathize with that. I tend to turn to art when I’m upset, but sometimes art, for me, can be a huge cause of suffering. There’s nothing more infuriating than when it feels like I’m fighting a painting or a song- like I’m trying to bring it into existence, but for some reason the damn thing won’t leave the birth canal. There’s nothing more rewarding than when art just seems to flow from your body, but sometimes I’m so creatively constipated that I can’t even get out of bed in the morning.
Some of my best material has come to me in moments of sadness, but also when I’ve been very happy. It just depends on when the muses want to give it to me, I suppose.
Your music seems to explore the darker primitive perception of the human experience. What do you seek out in people or yourself as sources of inspiration when you’re writing lyrics?
Honesty. We tend to repress the most frightening and undesirable qualities that we see in ourselves, so to actually be honest with the world- showing both the good and the ugly- is very inspiring to me. I admire people who are openly vulnerable far more than people who are cunts. It takes more courage to be completely defenseless than to pretend like you have everything under control.
Your video for “Save The Queen” has a very strong noir meets Goth/ Space Age like aesthetic. Do you draw from cinema or music history in regards to your aesthetic?
My aesthetic changes every day. Some days I’ll wake up and want to wear three pounds of lashes, other days I’ll want to look like a “boy”. I knew the costumes had to be big- to be grand for Save The Queen. There needed to be a regal-ness to the Black and the White Queen, so when I found that skull cage from Patricia Field, I knew I had found my crown. I love dressing eccentrically, but I also love my sweatpants. I’ll never be that guy in full-face 24/7, I don’t have the patience for that. Plus, it detracts from the spontaneity of doing it for performances. I don’t really watch a lot of movies, so to say cinema has an impact would be untrue. I do love Guillermo del Toro’s vision. Fellini, of course. That’s about as deep as my film knowledge goes.
I think Cher did a good job at always keeping it fresh. Elton John was always pretty flashy. Lately I’ve been really into this boutique in New York called ODD; Jordan Klein is one of my new favorite designers. His shit is amazing. I’m also a huge fan of Asher Levine. (Call me).
What is the title Save the Queen a reference to?
Save The Queen comes from a lyric in the song. ‘Do what you need to take the King/ In the end you’ll see/ God saves the queen’
It’s about the struggle for power. Drawing on the assumption that masculinity is inherently more powerful than femininity. I’ve always been attracted to the villains in any story- especially female villains. There was something more alluring to me about their use of manipulation, cunning and sex as opposed to the masculine traits- aggression, violence, etc. They played with strategy, and tended to be more creative than just jabbing a sword in somebody’s gut or shooting off 12 rounds of some big-ass gun. This song, for me, is an exploration of that darker side of femininity.
What venues have you played around the City?
Webster Hall Studio, Highline Ballroom, XL, The Ritz and Tammany Hall to name a few. We have a show at Tammany coming up September 27th.
What is the most memorable show you’ve played?
There was one show that I played, when I first moved to New York, where it was just the bartender and I. I had no friends and no one knew who I was, but I booked myself at The National Underground just because I wanted to play. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever had. I got up there and did whatever the Hell I wanted to. It was liberating. I try to recreate that experience with every show.
You took up song writing in your teenage years to “express everything you’d been too afraid to confront.” What are some of the issues you confronted in the first songs you wrote? How do those songs differ from your current material? How has song writing changed you?
Bullying. The first few conflict-driven songs I wrote dealt with people who were unkind to me, either directly or indirectly. I was too afraid to retaliate, so instead I turned all of my anger and embarrassment to the pages of my notebook.
Loneliness. I felt very isolated growing up- that my experience was entirely unique and no one else was going through anything similar. Again, I was too afraid to talk to anybody about it (see a pattern here?) so I would converse with my journal.
What is your future plans for your music? What direction do you see yourself going in?
I’m releasing a new music video this fall- probably early November. So I’ll continue to tour/do shows to support that. I’m also putting together an EP that will be released around the same time. I’d like to do some traveling- play shows for people in other cities. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing as long as I feel like I have something to say. The moment it stops being fun, I’ll probably hang up my Doc Martins and become a farmer somewhere.
Check out Garek’s video Save The Queen here:
Check out Garek’s facebook for more information:
