Leaving home is one of the hardest thing you can do, but sometimes it's the best thing you can do as John Garrison has found out. Already a successful musician fronting the band Budapest, John decided to uproot everything and move from London to New York City to pursue a different direction in his career. Since leaving his native England, though, good things have come in spades for John, who has since toured the world with James Blunt, met new collaborators, and crafted an intimate, soulful album about leaving home--whether it's moving to a different city or traveling from town to town on tour--called Departures, which was released just this week on November 10. Departures not only represents John Garrison's geographical uprooting, but also in the way he approached the creative process. A self-professed control freak (he played 80% of the instruments on his previous release), John let go and opened up to collaborators in the form of Grammy-winning producer Matt Shane (Flight of the Conchords, Elvis Costello, Roseanne Cash, Dashboard Confessional) as well as musicians such as Natalie Clein, Karl Brazil and Paul Beard, some of whom he met through James Blunt. While constantly traveling from place to place can be an isolating experience, it seems that John never ceases to find fellow travelers as he circles the globe playing his music. So it's not surprising to hear that people have approached John at his shows in various cities to tell him they discovered his music through JamLegend. With players from all over the world, we're happy to know that JamLegend players can help keep John company wherever he goes. After all, what are strangers but friends you have yet to meet, right?
John Garrison has an upcoming appearance at the Regal Room in London, England on December 19. You can purchase his new album Departures from digital outlets such as iTunes or Amazon, or get a CD from CD Baby. For more information on John and his music, please visit his official site or connect with him on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. And of course, if you connect with him in person, don't forget to let him know that you found his music through JamLegend!