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“The Truth is in the Details”:

Interview with singer/songwriter Davíd Garza

By Debi Rotmil

                        “What I’ve been working on is silence and stillness”.  Davíd Garza speaks to me from his home in Austin, Texas, savoring his self-imposed time off in the days of the post holiday season hangover.  It’s been a busy year. The release of his career retrospective four-disk album “A Strange Mess of Flowers” had him on the road without a breather since February 2004.  He’s a man who relies on a deep sense of spiritual faith, and this is a time of meditation and gathering of thoughts.

    When Garza first entered the music scene with his college band, “Twang Shock and Boom” back in the late 80’s, their pop induced, hooky sound attracted a cadre of student following at the University of Texas.  Word of mouth extended the band’s notoriety in the direction of some of the coolest clubs in Austin.  Yet, Garza wasn’t swayed by the hip culture.  As his band broke up, and his solo career progressed, he carved out his own unique path both musically and professionally.  He wrote and recorded songs with a dedicated work ethic, resulting in a deep catalog of eclectic music that has inspired and excited fans that are as devoted to Garza as he is to them.  He established Wide Open Records, marketed his own material, played the venues, and found success by remaining true to his musical sensibilities.  Even as he tested the waters of commercial rock several years back, moving to Los Angeles to work on two albums released under the Lava/Atlantic label, he stayed in touch with his inner voice.  Although this foray into the mainstream didn’t thrust him into the celebrity limelight, he keeps his heart open to whatever the universe might throw his way. In fact, his career is already illustrious. You will be hearing him sing from a bigger stage one day soon.

On this day in early January, Davíd graciously and willingly chats about his craft, and some of the challenges of being a prolific artist. 

Tuned In:  For the uninitiated, your name is pronounced "Dah-veed".  Do you find yourself correcting people?  Any funny stories?

David Garza: You know, it's not that big a deal.  It's not the end of the world.  I really don't care. You can call me “David” all you want.  As long as I get to sing my music, I'm fine.  As long as I still get to play - who cares?

TI:   So, you're a native of Texas, but I've heard you've lived in L.A.  Are you still hanging around there?

DG: I've been in and out of L.A.  I lived in L.A. probably around three years.  Been downtown, but now I've been back in Austin.  But I stay there, go there for a month here, two months there at different clubs, different places.  I'm always coming in and out.  I have a real enjoyable time playing there.
 

 TI: You've also been part of the Austin Texas music scene—do you find yourself more inspired to write music in Austin than in L.A.?

DG: It’s a different brand of inspiration.  I wouldn't say “more” - but I'm equally inspired and more familiar with Austin because I've lived here for a while. But I also think it's kind of cool to be in a place that you're not very "with", instead of the same old.


TI: What do you enjoy about the music in Austin?  Is there a certain kind of vibe you like working in and being part of?

DG: Yes, I think so.  There's a rich musical history.  It's very, very present and alive. And it's just a combination of things - combined with great food, cool people and it makes for a really good combination of things.


TI: You have an extensive body of work written throughout the years.  What is your inspiration?
DG: It's a tricky subject.  A lot of times I think it’s not so much a question from me on inspiration, but more of a question of honesty and openness and a willingness to serve - a sense of vocation. Before the drugs, before the drinks, before the girls, before the parties, before the record labels, before all that stuff, is just the music.  And everybody gets distracted by that stuff, and its life:  paying rent, getting groceries - you don't have to think about that stuff when you're five years old.  In all religious faiths I've come across, the one thing I see in common is that aspect of childlike-ness and faith.  It may be a cliché, but the truths are hidden in the mistakes. I really feel like that.  If you're too careful, and you're only trying to write hits, and you're trying only to write the first sentences to your "War and Peace" or to your "Confederacy of Dunces" and all your master works - if you're only working on that stuff because you think that's what's correct, then you're never going to get any work done.  I feel that doubt is more of a hindrance than fear is for me.  So, sometimes you think too much.  Especially me, with a nine-hour drive here, a ten-hour drive there, sometimes fear and doubt creep in.


TI: Your Latin roots definitely spice up many of your songs. And Mexican music has been in your blood.

DG: Well, it’s beautiful!  Music is a language, before English or Spanish, and it’s cool that you sense that.  And that’s something that is really amazing there.

TI: Also, your songs have a certain Latino passion.  A song such as "No Nothing" has an intensity akin to the Mariachi beat.  Will you ever write an album of straightforward Latino songs?

DG: Yeah, definitely. I have written before in Spanish, and I’ve recorded and released in Spanish, but that didn’t really hit the box set because it just felt a little bit “out”.  I’d love to do it, and I plan on doing it more in the future.


TI: You signed on with Lava/Atlantic in the late 90's and produced two well received albums, "This Euphoric" and "Overdub".  It seems fame is on the horizon, but you remain part of the indie world.  Despite all the obvious rewards of fame, is there anything you fear about it?

DG: No.  I know who I am.  I’m not 19 anymore, and I have enough rich, famous friends and I’ve been on their side of things as well.  It’s not anything I dwell on or wait for.  If I was dwelling or waiting, I’d be dead by now.  The fame is so silly, and illusive and petty, but the fortune is the reward of doing what I do for a living.  Talk about money or cash, would be good thing. They (Lava/Atlantic) have a marketplace, and I feel that it wasn’t our time.  I don’t think I was exactly what they were looking for, maybe I was – who knows?  Time is really good to examine that relationship and check out what it is.  I gave a lot of my time, and they gave a lot of their time and energy from corporation to artist.  Not just a corporation, since it makes it kind of cold.  They are artists in their own right.  We saw eye to eye a lot, and we didn’t see eye to eye on a little bit of a lot, and unfortunately that little that we didn’t see eye to eye on turned out to be a big piece of the puzzle.

TI: You also started up Wide Open Records where you released a good chunk of your indie material.  Your music is incredibly eclectic, and obviously free from the kind of conformity a major label would impose. What are the challenges of getting your music out independently?

DG: Oh, it’s crazy! But on the other hand, my major hurdle in regard to independence is cash.  I have no shortage of ideas or help or resources from other people, but sometimes you come up little short in writing a check.  Like you may want to go overseas and breakout, expand into new areas.  It takes money. On the other hand, that’s what’s really exciting by the way things are being spread around in music these days.  The Internet is the next step out of the material world.  I don’t have to pay for all those pieces of non-biodegradable plastic, and all those thousands of trees to cut down for booklets, and this shipping, and this expense.  Not just downloading, but experiencing music.  I’m not a real computer guy, but what I know about it is that is a lot of opportunity to spread energy.

TI: Have you taken on other bands or artists at Wide Open?

DG:  No.  It’s just me.  It’s all I can handle right now…(laughs)

TI: Let's discuss "A Strange Mess of Flowers".  Was there a criterion for the song selection?  The beauty of this compilation is that it’s like a bunch of beautiful and rocking songs in no particular order.  Each song is so individualistic. Did you have a structure to the album selection?

DG: No, the only structure I was having a really hard time with, was having songs without words included in the album.  What every song has in common are words, which may sound kind of silly to you – I’m not just a songwriter, but I’m a musician as well.  I have this big part of me that wanted to be expressed, like what it’s like when I sit with a guitar or sit down with the piano and not say anything?  Or what does it sound like for a minute with chimes and drums or foot stomps and hand claps?  I think taking that option away made it more visual for me, and unified the concept of the booklet (included in the box set).  That was the criteria and it was very late in the game.

TI: Are you finding a new and/or wider fan base since "Flowers" was released?

DG: I think so.  I don’t know if it’s wider, but it’s definitely new.  I’m glad to have been able to do it.  Again you’re talking about resources—if you can find one other human to help out it’s amazing.  A person who is beyond money, time, energy and action, to spread the word, well, those are really amazing qualities to have on your team, on your side.    It’s really a beautiful thing when this life deals you those kinds of cards.


TI: What are your plans for 2005?  Will you be recording? 

DG: I’ve no idea. You caught me early!  By January 15th, I may know something. I’m always recording.  I don’t know when I’ll release something.

TI: Any gigs coming up?

DG: This is the first I’m taking off since February 2004.  I hit it really hard, and don’t think I stopped until now.  It was all leading up to this box set.  If not promoting it, at least letting people know it was coming.  You have to be your own profit.

 

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