Beth Garner profile picture

Beth Garner

Just be nice

About Me

Beth and identical twin Linda were born in Feb 1978. Music was always around the house, whether it was her mother’s Pavarotti, country, 80s pop, and obscure backwoods banjo; or her two big brothers, Rob and Scotty, blasting Led Zep, AC/DC, Black Sabbath or Van Halen thru the walls of the garage, any sort of musical noise permeated her youth. Mom kept a beat-up acoustic she had found cheap on Beale Street around, Beth would steal her guitar books, learn a few basic chords and pluck each string and listen to them vibrate. When Beth was 9, big bro Rob was well into establishing himself as a gigging musician. Scotty was too shy to play publicly so she would sit and watch him at home learning note for note Paganini, Mozart, Beatles or Eddie Van Halen. Rob turned her on to jazz via Chick Corea’s Sea Journey at 11. Beth went to see Rob play live as much as possible, his gigs had a huge influence on her wanting to perform, with Beth becoming serious with the guitar around the age of 14. Twin sister Linda picked up bass shortly after. Rob taught Beth the major and minor scales, she started taking lessons and with her sister was accepted into Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, studying jazz guitar and music theory, with lunch and prom-buddy Norah Jones. Other Booker T. attendees include Erykah Badu and her band members, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Beth was playing with young pros and gigging professionally by the time she was 17 at local blues clubs.In the fall of 1996, Beth headed to San Marcos, TX for Southwest Texas State University, where she studied jazz, taught lessons, and began playing with local Austin-area groups like Teisco Del Rey and the all-female rhythm section The Del Reylettes. They opened several large shows at the Continental Club for Texas guitar picker extraordinaire Junior Brown and the South by Southwest Music Conference, where they were showcased alongside Grammy-nominated instrumental surf-rock band Los Straitjackets and also opened for Tito & Tarantula of Dusk till Dawn soundtrack fame. Thru this band, Fender electric guitar strings endorsed Beth.By July 1998, Beth decided to move back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to attend the University of North Texas in Denton, studying jazz and whoring herself out as a sideman, playing with rock-ska band Alligator Dave and the Couch Band for a few months at the ripe old age of 19. Later, she picked up a gig with a Pakistani rock band called Shor. They played various sites in New Jersey, Wichita Kansas, and Dallas, opening for Junoon at the now bulldozed, but historic Bronco Bowl. While going to school in Denton, Beth continued to freelance as a guitar player, until she got sick of backing up singers, deciding to front her own band at the age of 22. She flunked out of her last semester of college and started the Rattlesnakes, a female-fronted group with Beth on vocals and guitar, Cricket Taylor on guitar and vocals, sis Linda on bass and a male drummer. They played loud, down and dirty, roadhouse blues, packing places in a matter of weeks and the Rattlesnakes would back up the legendary Sam Myers every Thursday when he would drop by their weekly gig at the Lakewood Bar and Grill in Dallas, TX. During that fall of 2000, Beth also toured as a sideman for blues hottie Shawn Pittman, from the Midwest to the West Coast, onto Minneapolis then back to Dallas, until January of 2001 when the local blues DJ from KNON heard Beth and decided to let her budget a CD. Beth released Much Later For You independently to a few, but good reviews.By the end of 2001, Beth had joined the all-girl rock / punk super-group Girl, a club packer on the Dallas scene, quitting around the end of March to push her own band, when she was the cover girl, along with twin sis and big bro, of Buddy Magazine. That same month, Beth was featured as one of six Women Who Rock on the Brook Mays Music website.April of 2002 saw Beth doing a brief tour with Danny Federici of Bruce Springsteens E Street band, playing BB Kings in New York Citys Times Square, the famous Stone Pony (where Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi got their start) in Asbury Park, New Jersey and the Conduit in Trenton, New Jersey. With her band, Beth opened for Los Straitjackets at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, and for Marcia Ball at the Sons of Hermann Hall.In October 2002 Beth got a call to sing with the Reverend Horton Heat on the soundtrack of the Sony movie Auto Focus. They covered an old song Real Gone Lover, as a duet.In March of 2003, Beth moved to Austin, picking up side gigs with Elizabeth McQueen (who now sings with Asleep At The Wheel), opening for Radney Foster. In August of 2003 she joined with Stephanie Urbina Jones. Opening for Roger Creager they did The Shiner Bock Fest with Terri Hendrix, Kevin Fowler, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reckless Kelly, and NickelBack.After Stephanies gig ended in December of 2003, Beth had more resolve than ever to focus on her own career. In January of 2004, she started rehearsing with a new rhythm section and writing more, also putting together the fun band shed always wanted to do, an all-girl surf/rock trio The Queen of Spades, playing locally in Austin with both bands at the Continental Club, Jovitas, The Saxon Pub and any other dive that would have them. Beths original group still played once a month or so around Texas, opening for Jimmie Vaughan, Joe Bonnamassa, Doyle Bramhall, Sr., and James McMurtry.With the release in January 2006 of her second album ’Addictions’, recorded in Austin, Texas, to worldwide distribution on the British label Armadillo, Austin and the rest of the world are picking up on Beth’s skills and dense career contained in her 28 years. She continues to work and play in the States and tours overseas in Europe. Whats in store for Beth in the next coming years? As she has said before in a 2001 interview with Southwest Blues, "I’m ready for anything you’ve got." ............................................................ ............................................................ ...........

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/25/2005
Band Website: bethgarner.com
Band Members: Beth Garner Band:... Charlie Richards on lapsteel... Lyndah Garner on bass... Jeff Botta on drums...
Influences: see previous, Jazz, Surf, The Queen of Spades, blues, honky tonkin’, Pakistani rock, banjo-ing, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Guitar Watson, James Brown, Wes Montgomery, Bob Dylan, Zap Mama, Doug Sahm, Aerosmith, The Breathers, Led Zeppelin, Homer Henderson, Count Basie, Jeff Botta, Fred Eaglesmith, James McMurtry, Ike Turner, Magic Sam, Freddie King, Etta James, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Bad Company, Kenny Burrell Hot Premade Layouts - Music Bands - Animals - Movies© AV_layouts /surfourspace.net premade layouts surfourspace.net

Sounds Like: Classic Texas rock and roll meets Jimmy Reed meets road rage
Record Label: Armadillo LTD--- England
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

The Power is in Your Hands!

Ladies and gentlemen who play music for a living. I'm learning, without going into too much detail how, that as musicians, the power to make yourself a living and successful is in your hands. Thanks t...
Posted by Beth Garner on Wed, 14 May 2008 09:04:00 PST

Playing TX this week

Hey ya’ll, back in TX for a few shows of which tonight we will be at Auslander’s Biergarten on Main St. in Fredericksburg. We’re broadcasting live on KFAN and www.texasrebelradio.com...
Posted by Beth Garner on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:44:00 PST

TX Tour this Week!

Howdy ya'll,Coming to TX this week. Here are the dates:Wed Nov 14 Saxon Pub S. Lamar Austin TX midnightThurs Nov 15 Auslander Biergarten E. Main St. Fredericksburg TX Live KFAN Broadcast! Listen at 8p...
Posted by Beth Garner on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 08:51:00 PST

Places I’ve Played

Recently I've had to organize a list of towns/cities/states/countries I've PLAYED (not including the places I've BEEN) and I came up with ALOT (sure I've left some out), so I've decided to post 'em ca...
Posted by Beth Garner on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 05:03:00 PST

The Rev Mad Dog and our weekly gigs

A couple of weeks ago, after spending the latter part of the weekend doing the Nashville hang, I went to the Tap Room (mmmmm 22 beers on tap) to check out a killer four piece group---Eclectic, funky, ...
Posted by Beth Garner on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:50:00 PST

World Tour with the Red Elvises

Just sayin' hi to my buds to let you know what's been going on. Finished a month-long west coast tour with the Red Elvises that went almost flawless... except for our van breaking down 7000 ft atop a...
Posted by Beth Garner on Tue, 15 May 2007 11:38:00 PST

Stars of Texas Magazine review of Ray Wylie Hubbard Show

January 2007, The Stars of Texas Magazine, Vol 2 Iss 12Maybe the fact that she's from Memphis explains it all. Beth Garner stole the show at a recent KNBT Roots & Branches of Americana live radio show...
Posted by Beth Garner on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:56:00 PST

Beth Garner Band w/Charlie Sexton Friday Jan 26, Dallas TX

Howdy ya'll,A heads up for Friday Jan 26 for the Beth Garner Band will be opening for Charlie Sexton at the Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, TX. Show starts at 9pm.The Sons is located at 3414 Elm Stree...
Posted by Beth Garner on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 06:49:00 PST

A blimp gives birth

I'm living in Algood, TN, learning Red Elvises songs and working on blimps. I can weld vinyl like no other. Here's me emerging from the top opening of the great white bubble:...
Posted by Beth Garner on Sun, 31 Dec 2006 11:44:00 PST

Playing guitar for Red Elvises!!!!!

Just to let you know, I'll be relocating to COOKEVILLE, TN (not Nashville) on Wednesday Dec 13 to work on some blimps until the end of March. I will then be touring the west coast (Mar 24 til April 29...
Posted by Beth Garner on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 01:25:00 PST