Garland Paul
Born: New Orleans, LA
Instruments: DW Pacific 5-Piece Drum Kit, assorted percussion
Garland Paul began playing drums at age seven, laying down his first beats on his father’s drum kit. Inspired by his father’s eclectic music collection, Paul cut his teeth on everything from Miles Davis and classic jazz to Earth Wind and Fire and what he calls “good old soul music.” Early influences included Buddy Rich, Stuart Copeland, session wizard Steve Gadd.
“He was somebody I listened to a lot,” Paul says. “He played with just about everybody in the world. I liked the fact that he could play anything – he had his own sound and could make that work for any style of music.”
Paul took his early lessons in the church band, where he held the drummer’s seat from age 13 all the way through high school. By age 17 he was more or less a professional drummer, playing in a variety of New Orleans musical circles, from reggae and blues bands to the Bourbon Street clubs.
In 2005, Paul headed to the west coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where a random encounter at a San Francisco bar reunited him with fellow New Orleanians Aaron Wilkinson and Chris Mulé. Together with bassist Sam Price, who’d also wound up in San Francisco, they launched the Honey Island Swamp Band as a refugee project. Paul and the other Honey Islanders have since returned to New Orleans, introducing the band in its rightful home.
Performance Credits:
- Irie Vibration
- T-roy and the Vibes
- Renard Poché
- Walter “Wolfman” Washington
- John Carey
Discography:
- Honey Island Swamp Band, Good To You, 2010
- Honey Island Swamp Band, Wishing Well, 2009
- Honey Island Swamp Band, Honey Island Swamp Band, 2007
- Foulmouth Munchkin, Fishing for Mermaids, 1999
- Grace Darling, Grace Darling, 1998
- John Carey, New Orleans Blues Reunion, 1997
- T-roy and the Vibes, First Son, 1996