David Garza

David Garza (born February 4, 1971 in Irving, Texas) is an Austin-based American singer-songwriter who infuses rock and pop with a latin feel and whose vocal style draws comparisons to Freddie Mercury, Prince, Jeff Buckley, Donovan and Robert Plant. 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 (named in reference to the guitar, bass, and drums of the group) 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 Davíd 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. 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 [2], he eventually signed with Lava/Atlantic and was featured on the Great Expectations soundtrack. His major-label debut, This Euphoria, followed in April 1998. 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 (Austin Chronicle). 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. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.