I ran into Mik Garrison completely by accident. I was at a club watching a friend perform when I saw an incredible setup on the outside stage: a baritone saxophone, bass guitar, foot switches, multiple standing crates, television, telephone, multiple mic stands, other miscellaneous objects and quite a few wires were all on display. Not TOO bizarre if this were a whole band. But no, these looked all too close together. Like they all needed to be reached by one man.
As my friend finished his set I walked up towards the stage and gave him a hearty congratulations. Many others wanted to do so as well so I moseyed over to the aforementioned setup and began snooping around some more. Suddenly, bursting on to the stage flew a dashing young man of brown hair and eyes wearing a collard shirt and sideburns. Since he was the only one around wearing a saxophone strap, I introduced
myself and asked if this lovely setup was his. He said it was and proceeded to hand me his card. It read, "The Surprising Adventures of Mik Garrison." I smiled. Now I was ready for anything.
I'm really glad I saw Mik perform that night. Using a loop station, Mik is able to add layer upon layer of the juicy funk that comprises most of his music. Deep bass lines keep the groove going while his biting sax rips in over the top, sometimes in multiple layers. If you were to compare him to That One Guy or Keller Williams you'd be missing one crucial element to Mik's sound: hip hop. Mik throws down rhymes in most of his songs ranging on topics from making a living to just plain getting down, and he does it well.
Mik also beat boxes on every track providing kick, snare, cymbals and toms all looped from his mouth. Again, Mik does this very well and most of the time it not only works out but is also fun to watch. After seeing him perform live and listening to his tracks, however, I do wish he would encompass a beat machine into his arsenal and really lay down some different hip hop sounds.
Hailing from Tucson, Mik Garrison brings a chill, desert soaked vibe to his muy caliente funk. If you're looking for an interesting hip hop show or you just wanna dance your ass off to this wicked one-man-band, look no further. He just might surprise you.
