Photo by Glenn Bewley/1984

J.E. GARNETT

J.E. Garnett was born in Blufield, West Virginia, and grew up in nearby Lewisburg. He attended Potomac State College in Keyser, West Virginia, where, as President of the Student Body, he crowned the Homecoming Queen. He later transferred to the University of West Virginia in Morgantown where he mastered the bassoon and played Rickenbacker bass in a Prog Rock unit called Problems of Democracy. ("The original P.O.D.," he reminds us today.)

J.E. moved to Atlanta in September, 1979. He first joined The Reflectors, whose drummer was the future Q, Bill Burton. Garnett was also a member of Vietnam, Atlanta’s pioneer avant-garde punk-jazz ensemble whose members included Stan Satin and Sue Garner. J.E. joined The Swimming Pool Q’s in early 1982. He played bass on The Q’s two A&M releases (The Swimming Pool Q’s and Blue Tomorrow), as well as, The Firing Squad for God and World War Two Point Five. J.E. left The Q’s in 1990 and for several years worked with the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Today, Mr. Garnett resides in Cedar Bluff, Alabama, a small community near Rome, Georgia. He periodically appears with The Swimming Pool Q’s.