David Garza is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and visual artist.
Biography
In 1989, following stints in numerous high-school bands, Garza enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, where he and his band Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom gained industry attention for Garza's combination of pop-savvy songwriting and Robert Plant-style vocals. After leaving the group to go solo, he formed a new backup band and gigged continually around and outside the Texas area, billed as David Garza & The Lovebeads and later as DAH-VEED. A third generation Mexican-American, David grew up between Dallas and Fort Worth. Before he was old enough to get into clubs, Garza was handpicked by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians to open for them in the funky warehouse district of Deep Ellum. He played solo gigs by night and attended Catholic high school by day. After accepting a classical guitar scholarship at UT Austin, he dropped out a year later to be a full-time rocker Garza released a flurry of solo cassettes and CDs, selling them for $5 and $10, respectively. He calls this the “Single Bill Theory,” one he maintains to the present day. He performed tirelessly on the regional club and college circuit, ultimately striking a major-label deal, in 1996. That same year, he appeared on the final CD of the Tales From the Edge series put out by Dallas radio station KDGE with the song "Sigh by Sigh." At first, Garza rebuffed various major label recording offers, choosing instead to record and distribute music on his own label, Wide Open Records. After releasing nine records and selling 30,000 copies on his own, he eventually signed with Lava/Atlantic and was featured on the Great Expectations soundtrack. His major-label debut, This Euphoria, followed in April 1998. For This Euphoria, he was featured in an ad campaign for Best Buy, saying "You don't know me but you will." He took over production duties for his second Lava/Atlantic record, 2001's Overdub, and brought in Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, the drummer and bassist of Living Colour as his backup band for the sessions. Juliana Hatfield contributed backing vocals on the song "Keep On Crying." In 1999, at the height of his touring popularity, David was voted 2nd only behind Stevie Ray Vaughan as Austin Musician of the Decade. In subsequent years, Garza has returned to releasing his music independently and plays frequently in Texas and in Los Angeles. A series of regular shows at L.A.'s Club Largo showcased his skill as a solo performer on both piano and guitar. During Garza's live shows, people as highly regarded as producer/soundtrack icon Jon Brion, Nickel Creek, Grant Lee Phillips and Fiona Apple regularly sat in with him. He has also done extensive work as a producer and session musician. His song "Butterflies" was featured in the pilot episode of the TV series Veronica Mars in 2004. Garza is a musician on and co-produced Fiona Apple's Fetch The Bolt Cutters, released to critical acclaim on April 17th, 2020. In addition, he created the cover and lyric page art for the album.
Throughout his career, David Garza has done studio and live session work for a number of artists. He contributed guitar and production to Juliana Hatfield's Beautiful Creature in 2000, and toured as keyboardist for Alejandro Escovedo in 2001. The same year, he played on the soundtrack for the film Spy Kids. In 2002, he worked with Rhett Miller on The Instigator, and in 2004 he appeared on Hanson's record Underneath. In 2005, he toured with Fiona Apple on her Extraordinary Machine tour, performing both as the opening act and as a guitarist in her backing band. He also played on Blues Traveler's 2007 album, Cover Yourself. In 2006, Garza played baritone guitar on the Revolting CocksCocked and Loaded LP, and Al Jourgensen later added vocals to “Minority Boys Got $” on Garza’s 2008 album Dream Delay. Garza played guitar and sang back-up vocals on the 2007 John Legend single “Sun Comes Up”. David performed the music on comedian, actress, and singer-songwriter Marget Cho’s 2016 album American Myth. In 2020, Garza was a guest vocalist and piano player on the Watkins Family Hourstudio album entitled Brother Sister, joining Gaby Moreno and John C. Reilly on a cover of Charley Jordan’s “Keep It Clean.”
