Named after lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Garrett James, the Tucson-based blues rock group Garrett James and the Wanderers has a vintage sound but is made up of young musicians. The band recently won the group category at Alice Cooper Solid Rock Teen Centers’ Proof on Saturday, Nov. 1.
They will be performing in Tucson at the Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair and at Sahuarita’s Winterfest on Saturday, December 13.
They also have a performance in Peoria at Dillon’s Bayou at Pleasant Harbor on Saturday, Dec. 20.
After these shows, they will be taking a break to go into the recording studio before heading to Memphis during the International Blues Challenge from Jan. 14 to 18.
They will not be competing, but they will be performing during the event.
“We’re going to try to get as many shows as we can that week while we’re there, just to try to get our name out in Memphis,” James said.
Along with James, the band also consists of bass player Hunter Asplin, keyboard player Ben Henninger and drummer Matthew Schvarcz.
Schvarcz, 19, is the oldest in the group. He just graduated from high school this year. The other three members are all 18 and are seniors at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy in Oro Valley.
As the winners of the Solid Rock competition, group recently had the chance to open during Alice Cooper’s annual Christmas Pudding concert at Celebrity Theatre. They were joined by the solo category winner Evelyn Errante.
The concert also featured Alice Cooper, Don Felder from the Eagles, Ed Roland from Collective Soul and Nita Strauss.
James said winning the contest meant a lot to the group.
“We had very, very great competition, so we were very honored that we were able to win. It was not easy,” James said.
During the competition, they did their original song “In the Big World.”
They also played a Christmas medley featuring “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
They recorded the medley for a Christmas album put out by the teen centers in conjunction with the competition.
Along with the song they wrote for the competition, the group also has a handful of other originals they play regularly. They span blues, rock and R&B genres and feature band members on solo parts or harmonies.
For preliminary rounds and the finals, the group drove up from Tucson to compete.
Often when performing out of town, James, Asplin and Henninger have to do homework in the car on the way back home.
James and Asplin both did the competition as a three-piece band with another drummer in 2024. This year was the first time they did it as a four-piece band with Henninger and Schvarcz.
James and Asplin have been with the band since the beginning. Henninger came on a little later, and Schvarcz has been the newest addition.
When the group started out, they were a five piece with the piano, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass and drums.
The group has been on the rise. In October, they won a battle of the bands competition which earned them the chance to perform at the DUSK Music Festival.
They also won a battle of the bands contest put on at Paradise Valley Community College.
This year, they have done more than 150 shows around Arizona.
The group has performed in different venues and events, including Fox Tucson Theatre, the Blues Heritage Festival, Patagonia Lumber Co., the Rebel Lounge, the Goodyear Lakeside Music Festival, Gaslight Music Hall and Steam Pump Ranch.
They have opened up for artists such as Jordin Sparks, Francine Reed and Tony Kishman. Before starting a band, James opened up for Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats.
James decided to start the group when he was asked to perform at his high school’s homecoming dance.
“I felt it would be better with a band, so I asked Hunter and Ben to come join. Ben wasn’t able to because of swimming. So, he joined fully a little bit later. Hunter has been here since the beginning,” James said.
James said the group started as more of a hobby and has grown from there.
“We all realized this is something that we’d love to do for the future. It started out as something we’d do for the school for school dances. We started getting little gigs around town. Our first official gig was Little Anthony’s Diner on Broadway. We just started bouncing around, playing anywhere we could. We played in Oro Valley a lot and then downtown Tucson. We played the Gaslight Music Hall a few times and then the Goodyear Music Festival. Things really started taking off after the first year we competed in Proof Is In the Pudding. It’s a great way for musicians to get their name out there,” James said.
Over the last few years, the group has had three drummers. The first two had to leave for college.
Schvarcz also plays with a few other bands, and James fills in with other groups on occasion.
The four musicians all have a deep love of music. They have different levels of experience on their instruments.
James has been singing for most of his life and began playing the guitar around age 6.
“I first started out with classical guitar because my mom’s dad played guitar. She always wanted me to play, to carry on his memory in way… I’m a little classically trained. I switched over to electric because electric’s a lot more fun,” James said.
Schvarcz has been playing the drums for six years and singing for most of his life.
“When I was a kid, my parents would just whip out a guitar, and we started singing songs, a lot of Jack Johnson, in the household. Music’s been around my whole life,” Schvarcz said.
He has taken drum lessons and was in marching band in high school for four years. He has also played in big band, jazz and symphony orchestras.
“I’ve been trained in many different genres and styles,” Schvarcz said.
Along with playing the drums, he has also played the cowbells with the band.
Henninger took piano lessons for a short time when he was 7 years old. He also had a brief stint playing the clarinet in sixth grade.
During COVID, he started learning how to play the piano again and picked up the guitar.
Henninger said he has noticed a lot of growth in himself since playing with the band.
“I’ve learned so much from playing in the band,” Henninger said.
Asplin started played the bass two years ago, when he and James formed the group.
“Garrett had mentioned that I could play with him at the school dance, so I just picked it up. I’ve always wanted to play bass, so it was an excuse to start doing that,” Asplin said.
Asplin said being in the group has pushed him to grow as a musician.
“If I wasn’t in the band, I probably wouldn’t be half as a half as good as I am now. Just being in the band has motivated me to practice more often,” Asplin said.
Around the time they started doing the Solid Rock competition, the group began to gravitate more towards blues rock music. They are influenced by artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Marcus King and B.B. King.
The band members have shared influences as well as their own styles of music that they enjoy.
Schvarcz is influenced by jazz fusion and progressive metal. He also listens to R&B, funk and rap music.
“I’ve got like 15 playlists on my phone, all 10 hours long, different genres. I’m very organized about my music. Every mood that I have, I have a playlist for,” Schvarcz said.
Henninger also has eclectic taste in music, although he is a big country music fan. He likes artists and groups such as Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic, the Beatles, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Recently, Asplin has been interested in indie pop rock and punk music.
James used to be mainly into blues music, but he has found himself gravitating towards soul, funk and R&B music lately.
James said that while they have difference influences, they all like to play classic styles of music together as a band. They are able to bring their own individual influences to their sound.
“What I love about being in a band is you get to hear everyone’s musical influences in everything you play. Matthew, for example, he loves jazz. So, every now and then, I’ll hear him throw in jazz fills. Ben, he likes country, so he’ll throw in country chords sometimes in songs. And then Hunter likes pop punk. He puts in a lot of Mark Knopfler… I think as long as we play together, no matter what genre we play, it will still sound like us because we all bring our own musical influences into it,” James said.
Garrett James and the Wanderers
WHEN: 2:30-3:45 p.m. Saturday, December 13
WHERE: 5th Street Stage, Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair, 413 E. 5th Street, Tucson
COST: Free
WHEN: 4:45-6 p.m.
WHERE: Sahuarita’s Winterfest, 375 W. Sahuarita Center Way, Sahuarita
COST: Free