Waunakee junior finalist in ‘Project M’ competition

June 29, 2009

Junior Garrett Ramquist of Waunakee left it all on the stage during his finale performance for the 105.5 Triple M Project M singing contest.

The Project M competition had aspiring singer-songwriters perform original songs. Every week contestants were given challenges that included creating a jingle, doing a duet, writing a song inspired by Madison and writing a signature song, among others.

Ramquist was a fan favorite throughout the competition but the judges had the final say. On the final day of competition Ramquist did not come out on top but can be proud that he won over the crowd with a great performance.

“It felt great to be in the final three of the competition and being a newer artist in Madison the exposure the contest gave me was great,” Ramquist said.

Having always been into sports Ramquist only discovered his passion for music after a sports injury in high school. He has a pop rock sound that was influenced by bands like the Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse and Switchfoot.

“When I wake up in the morning the first thing I want to do is pick up my guitar and play music,” Ramquist said.

After a friend told him about the competition Ramquist knew he had to submit a video and was very excited to find out that he had made the top 10.

“The challenges make you write faster, usually I start writing a song and then put it away to finish it in a month or two,” Ramquist said. “With the contest you have a week to write a song and then you perform.”

Ramquist and two other contestants made the finals. Their final challenge was to perform a 30-minute show onstage at the Club Tavern in Middleton.

In the end Ramquist was edged out by one of the other contestants, but even though he did not win Ramquist proved himself as a singer-songwriter and walked away with a few new fans.

To learn more about Garrett Ramquist go to www.garrettramquist.com