Chris Garneau
with guest Holcombe Waller

Show Description

"[Garneau's] strong command of the piano and quirky operatic voice call to mind Regina Spektor. Like her, he combines classical sensibilities with folky ones, inviting cello lines and harmonium drone into his ballads"
- Time Out New York



Chris Garneau's voice lies somewhere between liquid and matter on the scale of all that is and ever was. He is certainly a rare bird. When he's not spending his free time at the town fairs, Chris can be found at his piano, singing haunting strains and playful stanzas, both equally refreshing as amber pints of beer on humid New York summer evenings. His music is uniquely Brooklyn in substance, but in his musical valise he carries tokens from Boston, France, and New Jersey, all of which inform his style. With his brow alternating between a doleful furrow and a mischievous arch, Garneau communicates simply and frankly about issues ranging from reverberating sorrow to the fine home cooking of Hamburger Helper. The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter has released his debut full-length "Music for Tourists" on Absolutely Kosher Records after Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu brought him to the label's attention in spring of 2006.

San Francisco native Holcombe Waller is an independent artist now living in Portland, Oregon. Holcombe's unearthly voice harkens back to Donovan or a young Chris de Burgh, but truth be told, Holcombe's latest album "Troubled Times" (Napoleon Records) is evocative of a musical union between The Judybats and Chan Marshall, with subtle homage to the tender, down-and-out stylings of Americana-punk balladeer Gillian Welch. With musical collaborator Ben Landsverk, Holcombe crafts lilting melodies from his emotionally and politically charged lyrics, set within intricate arrangements of warm acoustic guitars, rumbling electric keyboards and the occasional banjo.