Garrett Shea wants to bring poetry to pop. And if a song happens to save a life, that isn’t too shabby either (stay tuned to hear THAT story and song at the end of the episode). As a proud Villa Maria student, Garrett majored in Music Industry. There he connected with Grammy nominated producer Anthony Casuccio who produced Garrett’s first album with the band, Breckenwood. If you listen to their two albums you can not only hear loads of growth in his recording and song craft, but also a shift from pop-punk to just… pop. The pull of pop eventually led Garrett away from the band four years ago. He continues to write and record original songs, while having a blast in his cover band, The Red Letter Kings. Garrett talked about that “switch” that needs to go off in his mind and heart before he is able to release a new song to the public. It took him over a year before he was willing to put his song, Travel On up on Spotify. Garrett is also a music instructor who heads up the music lessons department at Guitar Center in Cheektowaga. They are putting together a Rock Show program where students get focused training for a week in a rock ensemble that makes immediate use of their skills and taste. You can keep up with Garrett’s latest singles, announcements, vlog, and brisk gigging schedule on his web site, GarretSheaMusic.com. Show Notes Garrett mentioned a recent article by Buffalo music critic, Jeff Miers about the music scene in Buffalo. Garrett also mentioned his friend, Tim Britt who he thinks does a great job straddling the line between original and cover band vital to a band’s success in Buffalo. Garrett also mentioned Matt Bannister whom he collaborates with as an acoustic duo. Garrett gave a shout out to his album art designer, Daniel Morris. Earlier in the show, Denis used the tool, Inner Authority by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels to help him bring some authenticity and creative energy to his upcoming job interview. Denis also mentioned that he is starting a therapeutic community in the form of a religion, which you can find out more about in the episode, We are Building a Religion. There is a very special first meeting coming up on Sunday March 31. If you want to take part, please contact Denis at Denis@TheLensPodcast.org. Denis mentioned Dennis McKenna’s book, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss. Garrett mentioned this fascinating Ted Talk on how lyrics in pop music have gotten measurably more repetitive over the years.