Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Eyes On You," a new song by Garrett Lebeau. The track is from Lebeau's new album, Rise To The Grind, which will be released May 7 via Music Road Records.
Lebeau was born and raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation near Lander, Wyoming, and is a member of the Shoshone tribe.
"Growing up, I was isolated pretty heavily, and I think that indirectly played a part in developing my style,” Lebeau says. Without much outside influence, he began to teach himself notes and chords. As time progressed, he developed a singular musical perspective. “Honesty is what still motivates me musically. It spans all styles and is really the same thing as soul. The blues really spoke to me. Folk music is kin in spirit, as is most music that I love. My goal is to connect with other like-minded human beings and to keep these traditions alive. Feeling has no genre.”
Lebeau’s sound draws comparisons to Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, Al Green and J.J. Cale. On Rise to the Grind, Lebeau is backed by Roscoe Beck (Leonard Cohen, Robben Ford) on bass, J.J Johnson (Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Mayer) on drums, Stefano Intelisano (Jason Mraz) on keyboards and Red Young on B3 organ.
Rise to the Grind is Lebeau’s first release on Music Road Records, which was co-founded by Jimmy LaFave and home to artists like Slaid Cleaves, Kevin Welch and Sam Baker.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
