The Rock’ N’ Roll Accountant
By day, he’s a mild-mannered accountant. But when the night lights begin to shine, Stan Garrett pulls his own Clark Kent act and becomes a drummer for several Honolulu rock bands
Stan with fellow members of The Mixers, Art Suankum, left, and Steve Palmer
playing 10 gigs a week, but he was married at the time and says: “You don’t want to live that way indefinitely, so then at that point I got a full-time accounting job and went the other way again for six years.”
He’s since received the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii in 2002.
Nowadays, Garrett drums and sings in four bands, including The Mighty Pen, The Dang Hillbillies (performing 10 p.m.- 2 a.m. June 22 at Tiare’s Sports Bar & Grill in Kailua) and The Mixers, which as its names implies, will play everything from AC/DC to the Beatles to Los Lobos - as it does -every Friday from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at O’Toole’s.
“It’s great that he can go to work every day and then still have an outlet for all of his talent,” says Friday night regular Vanesa Peterson, who says the band’s style reminds her of home in faraway Boston. “They play great covers, they play their own wonderful songs, I mean, they’re really good.”
Of Garrett’s playing style, she says: Just to look at him play, he seems so quiet, reserved. He definitely plays everything, every type - blues, jazz, modern stuff - and he does it all phenomenally.”
That seems to be the consensus: tight, awesome drumming skill, performed with a reserved quality often associated with an accountant.
“He doesn’t look like your typical (drummer),” but his music is very good,” says Sean Smith, an engineer who was in the audience with friends.
Told of Garrett’s day job, Smith says: “I think that’s awesome. ... To have another talent, a musical talent and all, and to go out and do it. ... I’ve always wanted to play music; I’ve no ability at all.”
At the newspaper, Garrett keeps pretty mum about his musical indulgence. Co-worker Mona Roncali says she only learned of his interest when she overheard him speaking of a performance on the phone. “I was really impressed,” says Roncali, who hasn’t seen him play yet, but is looking forward to it.
She describes him as the “oneman accounting department in the Kaneohe branch of Star-Bulletin and MidWeek” and says besides being a great guy to work with, he’s always on the ball. “In accounting you really gotta stay sharp,” she says. “He has it. He just knows what he’s doing.”
The proud father of 12-year-old Colleen, “the most important thing in my life,” Garrett says she’s showing musical inclinations, taking piano in school and tinkering with a Fender Telecaster electric guitar he bought with her in mind. “She likes music a lot,” he says proudly.
Art Suankum, The Mixers band leader, says he asked Garrett to join the group after hearing him jam at a private party. His style may be reserved, but his musicianship is excellent, he says.
“He’s played for me in, like, blues bands, too, and there’s sometimes when I give him the opportunity to really go off, and he really lets it go. It’s not like he gets up and throws sticks or anything like that, but he does his talking with his sticks. He doesn’t twirl ‘em around, throw ‘em in the air. He does it by playing.”
Garrett admits his playing style is low-key, but that’s the way he’s always preferred.
“You can’t twirl your sticks and play, so why do it?” he asks.
Spoken like an accountant.
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