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"Beneath the surface of each [Josh Joplin] song, there is an identifiable yearning, a sense that dreams, when stripped of their impossibly wide-eyed passions, are even more worthy of being dreamed."
- All Music Guide



Josh Joplin's bent for story telling (political and otherwise) between songs may be the only reminder left, that still sharply draws on the early influence of his hero Phil Ochs. His songs and performances however give way to the more obvious comparisons with the young infectious pop anger of "Armed Forces" era Elvis Costello, and a voice that easily recalls REM's "Radio Free Europe". Joplin took a fresh approach to making his latest album Jaywalker. Inspired by his Brooklyn neighbor Dan Zanes (The Del Fuegos), he set out to recover the simple joy of playing songs with a few friends in the basements and garages of his youth. Like other loosely narrative records that ebb and flow thematically, Jaywalker is timeless and offers a spontaneous and intimate musical thread that is both poetic and beautiful. Joplin (whose hit, "Camera One" was produced by former Talking Head, Jerry Harrison) achieved something on this record that he was unable to on others he's made – honest and inspired performances of songs that pay tribute to a city he loves, a father he's lost, and the transcendent nature of nostalgia.



Garrison Star invites listeners into her visceral world by constructing an intimate portrait of contemporary life as experienced by a soul longing for meaning and connection and as a person dealing with love in many forms - physical and spiritual, lost and gained. A fearless performer, her audience always leaves reluctantly after getting a taste of her humor and humility. A native of Hernando, Mississippi, Garrison's southern background subtly peeks through her songs as she blends a pop/rock/alternative sound with her country vocal curl. First time listeners fall hard for her voice.