We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Richard Garvey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Richard, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I still am not sure. Its a real struggle since the pandemic honestly.
But I think after my first show in 2008 I knew it was possible.
I had no idea what I was doing but it was exhilarating to play a show and have people gladly fill up my pass the hat.
Richard, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I had finished a degree in science in 2008.
Around the end of the last term I met a group of artists/musicians/global studies kind of folks who we’re organizing “The Radical Choir” of Waterloo Region. I signed up to be a part of it. It was an informal choir that sang at rallies, demos and social justice events.
I had been writing songs for about 7 years and through the group I got a chance to showcase them at special events, coffee houses. Usually just doing an open mic slot or opening slot for the choir. Eventually the choir started performing some of my originals. Friends in that group encouraged me to keep writing, start recording.
The next winter. I recorded my first full length record mostly on my roomies laptop while he was in class. I had graduated and was spinning through odd jobs in restaurants etc. I started by making the CD’s all by hand, burning, labelling and creating each case myself. I think by the time I had put on my first studio album I had distributed about 1000 copies of that DIY one.
I still have people reaching out on social media showing me a picture of that first album. It was a very special collection of songs and journal entries spoken over instrumental music. I had no idea what I was doing and recorded all of the songs (Except 2) with a standard vocal mic and mixed and mastered it with no idea about reverb, eq or panning. But alas it turned out great and really stuck with those who heard it.
I think one gig with the Radical sticks out as a moment. We had been invited to sing at the social inclusion office where they we’re discussing making the region more accessible to those with diverse abilities. The organizer of the event kept talking about being Radical to mean rooted in community. I had written a song called “Like a tree” which goes “Oh to be rooted, lalala on mother earth”. As part of the meeting time there. I started singing the song. And un-rehearsed the choir jumped in and back me up and it was quite a magical moment. There I knew I wanted to keep making songs and being a part of a community.
I feel like being a professional musician makes it really hard to actually be a member of a community because of all the travelling involved and the industry idea of monetizing your following. But alas the music community is very strong and I feel grateful to have been so generously supported and even have a patreon now.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Support them directly. Sign-up for email lists.
Buying merch, tickets from website or at shows.
Share with friends. Like put tunes on when you are hanging out, DM links.
Support patreon or website subscriptions.
support by liking, commenting, following on social media.
But know that it takes more for an artist to succeed and earn a living.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
There are so many things I wish I did differently as an artist. But really I did the best I could with skills, knowledge and resources I had available to me.
I see so many people come and go through the music “industry”.
Community minded / oriented musicians tend to stick with it longer.
The music industry is like a meat grinder. Doesn’t matter the quality of what you are putting in the end product is pretty much the same. The music industry is all about quick success and streaming numbers.
The music community is excited to watch an artist evolve, get better, try new things, maybe even fail.
The best book I’ve read about music and art is Victor Wooten’s “The music lesson : a spiritual search for growth through music”.
Its really an important read for musicians.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.richardgarvey.ca
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/richard_garvey123
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/farfromrich
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/richardgarvey
- Other: http://www.patreon.com/richardgarvey
Image Credits
1. Unknown – Richard with Janice Jo Lee at Artswells Festival, BC
2. @dylsworld – Good Co Pro in Waterloo, ON
3 – 6. Sydney Woodward – Folklore Studio – Salt Spring Island, BC
7. Julia Bassal – Richard with Marina Avros at Woodstove Festival, BC