In today’s digital age the opportunities presented for aspiring artists have never been greater and there is no end in site, in fact it’s forever evolving and will continue to grow as long as technology does. Jeff Garbacz is a pillar of the musical community here in his hometown of Buffalo NY. On the surface, he is an All-American man, with a family; in a modest house; on a modest street…blah, blah, blah. But underneath it all he is a visionary and a well-rounded artist, whose visual works has been a main stay on the national music scene for 10 years.
Jeff Garbacz was always a creative kid and always was on the cutting edge of life. While on the football field or basketball court he would think of the most unique and creative things to do or say to give him self an edge and often it would lead to some disciplinary action.
But it wasn’t until he was in his twenties that he began to really find his meaning in life. He got himself a guitar and never looked back and for almost ten years he was the lead singer and writer in a Buffalo band called Last Lemming. It was in that band that I met him in 1995, in fact that was the first band I was ever in and we have been best friends ever since.
Throughout the ‘90s, Buffalo’s music scene was off the chain! There were amazing bands that played every night of the week. It was original, progressive and raw…in short it was blue collar. We had a studio at 19 Wadsworth Street. Every other day we were rehearsing, freakin’ out, livin’ and existin’ with one another. We were a family first and a band second. These days, that’s a rare reality, especially after 30.
One day, while we [Last Lemming] were at the top our game, he came to rehearsal and said he was done and that he couldn’t be in the band anymore and that he wanted to pursue a digital artist existence. Well, after the shock of someone quitting his own band we continued on for a short while and he just grew and grew in his newly chosen field.
A couple of years later, he was asked to join his wife on a company trip to England. Having never expected to go abroad, he very quickly took to the idea and went. Since then, when asked about where he got his inspiration to be a professional artist he will say in England. Or at the very least, that is when he had an artistic epiphany to quit the corporate gigs and be in the moment with his God-given craft. Risky but worth it. You have to understand that when he had this ‘awakening’ he already had two kids, two houses, two vehicles and all the major responsibilities that come with that.
It was there in England that he witnessed firsthand the importance and the effect the arts have on a community. Everywhere he looked, he saw some art form or another. So he whipped out his camera and went nuts. Once he got home he then began to manipulate those photos, using Photoshop in a psychedelic fashion and used them in his “day job”.
Now his day job is a dream job. He tours all over the country and projects psychedelic yet tasteful images of musical artists on large concert visual screens. Mixed, blended and warped with original works of art, like those he saw created in London, for a live multi-sensory simulative sensation. His business has grown so much over the years that now he is in major demand. He can be found at the largest festivals and concerts at all the major levels of every genre in every arts faction.
Jeff has never forgotten nor would he ever forget, where he comes from. He’s the first to say he lives in Buffalo. Not upstate NY, or WNY but Buffalo. He comes from a large hardworking family that is the very identity that has so long been associated with Buffalo. His father was drafted by the Yankees, but soon after crushed his knee and became a fireman. He would eventually pass from terminal illness. A death that rocked everyone’s world, especially Jeff’s, who can hardly even speak of it more than twenty years later.
You see Buffalo, in many ways, is all about loyalty. How many stories can we recall where someone gave up thousands just to be close to mom? This is why so many bands/artists here in Buffalo become icons and an intricate part of our folklore - in a name…Mark Freeland (RIP). The beauty and sometimes tragedy of this loyalty is that we won’t kick the drummer out because he’s our friend. It doesn’t matter if he or she can’t play up to our standards. This carries over to the marketplace and those artists that are from the ‘LO who are fortunate enough to make it, rarely say, “I made it out”. The same can be said for Jeff; he’s never out, but always in for whatever is going to shine the best light on his heritage, family and city.
For more on all the amazing things Jeff is up to, including his current Exile on Allen Stones tribute, other local happenings, art work and national excursions, check him out at GARBAZ.COM
Jeff Garbacz, third from left.