David Garza (pronounced Dah-veed; born February 4, 1971) is a Grammy winning producer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and visual artist[1] who has crafted a 35-year repertoire of over 400 original compositions.
They opened shows for such Dallas Deep Ellum faves of the era Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Ten Hands, and Fever in the Funkhouse at Club Dada.
Garza had met Austinites Chris Searles and Jeff Haley through scholastic music events in high school.
[2] The acoustic three-piece band “went from playing the West Mall on the University of Texas campus for fun and tips to packing a thousand or so fans into Liberty Lunch and showcasing at the headquarters of CBS Records (now Sony Music)”.
Garza performed tirelessly on the regional club and college circuit, ultimately striking a major-label deal, in 1996.
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.
During Garza's live shows, artists as highly regarded as producer/soundtrack icon Jon Brion, Nickel Creek, Grant Lee Phillips and Fiona Apple regularly sat in with him.
Garza has shared the stage with the likes of Jackson Browne, John Paul Jones, Los Lobos, Pearl Jam, St. Vincent, Meshell Ndegeocello, Andrew Bird, Natalia LaFourcade, Chris Thile, Ben Harper.
In 2020 he was a musician on, co-produced and created the album artwork for the 2-time Grammy award-winning Fiona Apple release Fetch The Bolt Cutters.
[9] Fetch the Bolt Cutters was met with universal acclaim, with many critics deeming it an instant classic, a masterpiece, and Apple's best work to date.
Jim Ward says of working with David Garza as the producer of Sparta's album Trust The River, "He helped me whittle it down to about 14 songs.
[17] In 2023 Irish singer-songwriter Ultan Conlon found a haven for his unique sound and sensibility with David Garza producing his 5th record, The Starlight Ballroom.
Garza has a mind for sound and space that complements the beautifully simplistic musicianship of Tony Scalzo, Miles Zuniga, and Joey Shuffield.
"[19] Also in 2024 Garza contributed original music to Pack One Bag, a podcast that tells the true tale of a family fleeing fascist Italy at the dawn of World War II.
[26] In 2020, Garza was a guest vocalist and piano player on the Watkins Family Hour studio album entitled Brother Sister, joining Gaby Moreno and John C. Reilly on a cover of Charley Jordan’s "Keep It Clean".
"[29] 2024: Garza contributed guitar, zither, and piano to Light Verse, Iron & Wine's seventh studio album.