Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Hendricks.
Hi Garrett, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Washington state to be exact. As a kid I went camping quite a bit and there were always guitars and songs being passed around. But also a lot of tall tales. So from a young age storytelling and music were being put together. I was also pretty fortunate that I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music. I listened to Johnny Cash quite a bit but also was exposed to artists like Aretha Franklin and Lighting Hopkins, U2 and Pearl Jam, and The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. When I was in high school, my AP English teacher got me into John Prine. So I think my music is an amalgamation of all of that; a little country, a little folk, and some blues and rock n roll.
But outside of direct musical influences I’ve had the opportunity to live an interesting life and nature has played a big role in that. I left home and lived in Montana a couple of years in the 2010’s and was introduced more substantially to cowboy Western culture and spent a lot of time fly fishing the rivers out there as well as hiking and helping some friends on their ranch. I then returned to Washington state and then embarked on a ten year career working with a summer camp and environmental education program (while also featuring in a local band with my best friends). The ruggedness of the outdoors really taught me to be self-reliant and independent as well as how to think outside the box to problem solve. I also worked with a wide range of people. This really helped me develop as a songwriter because it taught me empathy which is the number one skill in my opinion when it comes to songwriting and then being able to think outside the box helped me approach problems in writing like finding the right words in non-conventional ways. The outdoors also have provided me the necessary respite to recharge my creative battery. When I can quiet my mind in the natural world that is often when I am able to best come up with songs. It’s why I have always taken non-music jobs tied to the outdoors. When I relocated to Nashville from the Northwest I picked up a job at Noble Springs Dairy Farm outside Franklin near Leiper’s Fork. I would work the morning shift getting in to work around 4;30am. For the next several hours it was often me working with the goats and cows and other animals and working with my hands. I found the work incredibly grounding and calming and that allowed me to be in the state of mind where I was fully open to inspiration. Some of my favorite songs I’ve written came while working around the farm and I’d just hit record on my phone and dictate to it while I was working. So without that direct connection to the outdoors I wouldn’t be the artist I am.
But I still miss and have a deep connection to the Pacific Northwest. I return a few months in the spring to teach environmental science to young people and also play live shows across the West. Getting to share my passion for music as well as the incredible wonders of the natural world is what feels most rewarding to me and I hope I get to do it for years to come,
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like many artists I have faced some struggles. As a kid I never really fit in well among my peers and had a hard time relating socially. My interests were just different than those around me but over time I developed pretty pronounced anxiety. And to avoid being seen as any kind of burden I often buried my anxieties until they caused me health complications. Then between 2018 and 2021 I lost a close family member, my job stagnated, and I had a blood clot in my leg, all before the pandemic in 2020. Those things definitely drove my anxiety and mental health deeper and darker. But I spent some time in therapy learning many techniques to curb my mental health issues but one of the most helpful was creating a mantra that more or less reminds me that pain is temporary and it does’t have to define me. That sounds incredibly cliche and it’s certainly an oversimplification, but it has worked for me. And also just learning that life is very fragile and finite pushed me to take the chance on my music career because I realized with facing my mortality that I owed it to myself to chase what I see as my calling. We only get one life and I would rather face my fears and anxieties of inadequacy or failure than be wondering what if. And if I influence one other person to chase their dream because they saw me try, not even succeed but try, then it has all been worth it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself first and foremost a storyteller. I split my time between being a touring Americana artist, a farmhand, and an environmental educator. All of those on face value might not seem like they are about storytelling but they are. On the farm it’s about being part of a story of the land that I am just one chapter of. My labor connects back to the generations that came before and those that will come after shaping the land and its story over time. When teaching environmental science, my job is to get people to think deeply about and be stewards of nature. The way I do that is through storytelling wether that is the tale of how salmon journey thousands of miles back to their home streams to spawn, how looking at the rings of trees tell that trees trials and triumphs and how it may have lived at the time before electricity or even the extinction of mammoths. Those things capture people’s imagination and make them care more about the nature we have around us. And of course with songwriting it is the same. By telling stories of my own experiences or those that I overhear or encounter, my music feels lived in and thus relatable. I don’t consider myself a great singer or guitar player, but I think my ability to write about true to life things creates an opportunity to connect with others. But I think the thing about my music that sets it apart is I always tie it back to my roots in the Northwest. Just like country artists of Texas or Appalachia have lyrics or sounds that harken to where they are from so too do I. The Northwest is a really no-frills place at its core and I reflect that in the ethos of my music. I play my music and record it as simply as possible, just instruments and a little amplification and not a lot of tampering otherwise. I like things a little rough around the edges and in the moment. So on my upcoming record, we really just gathered everyone in a room and played the songs and it sounds like that. There’s mistakes and little quirks but it makes it sound like these songs belong at a backwoods music festival or in some cowboy dive bar somewhere. I also make sure to include subject matter and lyrics that really reflect home. I wrote one of my current singles all about growing up along rivers fishing and hiking and then have tons of nature references in my other songs. I’m really intentional about that and I think it allows me to be and feel unique in the music world.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I also help host a songwriter circle at American Legion Post 82 in Nashville a few Thursdays a month. This isn’t a writers round or open mic (although we do host an open mic). It’s a place for songwriters to come and hang out with other writers and share their songs but not in a performance or showy way. It’s about building a community and also a way for Veterans to join into the songwriting world, collaborate, and grow but also for civilians to be in community with those who’ve served and learn their experience too. It has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve had the privilege to be a part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://garretthendricksmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gbhendysongs/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garretthendricksmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVNEnsxkI3MNMK0e6y1ngg
