Sandy’s Garden

Posted by Alison Gamache in Music

Sitting down with Sandy’s Garden front man Caleb Garvin, it is easy to see why he has such an easy time getting on stage and commanding the attention of a crowd. Apart from his smoky low voice, he is confident, charismatic and makes unwavering eye contact as he casually sits, plucking the strings on his guitar.

Garvin’s band, Sandy’s Garden, is a six-piece Blues/Rock band, with all of its members either attending or having already graduated Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

Sandy’s Garden is a band that started on campus pulling influence from a variety of bands such as The Black Keys and Band of Skulls. Photo by Jennifer Rapinchuk.

“We started Sandy’s Garden my freshman year and, actually we were quite shitty,” Garvin said laughing. “We were drawing influence from The Black Keys, except a little heavier of an interpretation, so I guess it was a little more like Band of Skulls.”

A favorite at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, Sandy’s Garden is getting ready to release a new EP that the band worked on while they were all staying in Santa Fe over the summer. “We were all here, luckily, and we recorded eight songs in the span of about 10 days,” Garvin said, clarifying that “what we are going to be putting out is an eight-track album, and it is going to be free, we just want to hear what people think, but if you think it sucks, just keep it in your head!”

Curious about where the band’s name originated, Garvin smiles and sits back in his chair like he’s about to tell a good story. “The name, Sandy’s Garden, comes from a hippie lady named Sandy back in my hometown of Hailey, ID. I was really close with her three kids growing up. Anyway, her front garden was just a bunch of bare soil, and I live in a very luscious beautiful place, a river runs though it, it’s a small town; she did not have a green thumb so I thought it was kind of ironic.”

Apart from the new EP, the band has been taking full advantage of all the things Santa Fe University of Art and Design has to offer. Garvin excitedly mentioned that Sandy’s Garden is starting to think about making some cool and interesting music videos with students in the film department since it’s so easy to collaborate at an arts school this small and brimming with talented students.

“Being at SFUAD lets a bunch of very talented people who have cool creative ideas come together,” Garvin said. “Sometimes you connect with really awesome people and can make some artistically amazing things, all while you are attending classes and continuing to learn. It’s a really healthy environment as a musician. It is really great to be inspired by professors and other students in different departments. We are lucky to have a place where we can dip our fingers into a little bit of everything, so once we get out there, we can use that information and hands on knowledge.”