Singer-songwriter David Garza knows how to write a catchy song. Overdub's opening track, "Drone," gets its hooks in you immediately--cutting and pasting folky rhythms with layers of piano, bass-heavy beats, and eclectic... more » guitar playing, while Garza's quick-lipped rhymes speak about growing up and losing your spark. On this self-produced album, though, Garza is far from losing his spark. He takes witty shots at the music industry ("Poor Jesus still trying to cross over" from "Say Baby"), turns the gospel on its head ("Praise the Lord and shake your ass / kingdom come coming fast" from "God's Hands"), and croons like a modern-day Roy Orbison ("Alone"), closing out with a sweet slow-dance number called "Let Me." With his voice sounding off in an Elvis folk-warble, the songs on Overdub are packed with an unusual energy that spreads across the musical map. The slick production work aims this album straight for the mainstream, but as Garza is a master of both the slow ballad and the quirky rock collage, his talents keep him from blending into the same old song-and-dance routine gripping the current adult-alternative scene. --Jennifer Maerz« less
Singer-songwriter David Garza knows how to write a catchy song. Overdub's opening track, "Drone," gets its hooks in you immediately--cutting and pasting folky rhythms with layers of piano, bass-heavy beats, and eclectic guitar playing, while Garza's quick-lipped rhymes speak about growing up and losing your spark. On this self-produced album, though, Garza is far from losing his spark. He takes witty shots at the music industry ("Poor Jesus still trying to cross over" from "Say Baby"), turns the gospel on its head ("Praise the Lord and shake your ass / kingdom come coming fast" from "God's Hands"), and croons like a modern-day Roy Orbison ("Alone"), closing out with a sweet slow-dance number called "Let Me." With his voice sounding off in an Elvis folk-warble, the songs on Overdub are packed with an unusual energy that spreads across the musical map. The slick production work aims this album straight for the mainstream, but as Garza is a master of both the slow ballad and the quirky rock collage, his talents keep him from blending into the same old song-and-dance routine gripping the current adult-alternative scene. --Jennifer Maerz
"What will it take for Davíd Garza to hit the big time and get the commercial attention he deserves? His debut album, 1998's This Euphoria, featured one of the catchiest songs of the latter 90's that no one heard with "Discoball World." A fairly heavy M2 rotation and Best Buy promotion that summer couldn't buy him the sales he deserved either and unfortunately, unless the WB prostitutes several of the tracks off Overdub, commercial success is highly unlikely for this disc as well. Aptly enough his sophomore album's first single, "Say Baby," laments the current state of commercial radio as he croons, "DJ's won't spin your jam unless you say, `baby love me honey.'" Garza can best be described as what Lenny Kravitz would have sounded like had he laid off the Prince and went for Zeppelin & Hendrix instead. On the hypnotic "God's Hands" he channels Jeff Buckley singing an Indian raga over swirling guitars. Juliana Hatfield repays Garza for his production and guitar work on her Beautiful Creature by turning in a guest appearance lending background vocals to "Keep On Crying." Mr. Garza, I have some kids named Dawson and Felicity on the phone for you."
I think I found a goldmine!
Lisa McKinley | Citrus Capital of the World, CA USA | 04/10/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I guess I can call myself a David Garza neophyte! I picked up this cd two weeks ago...the blurb in my BMG music catalog described him as a mixture of Prince, David Bowie and Donovan, and that really piqued my curiosity. While my musical tastes are wide and diverse (classical to punk), my favorites tend to fall within the moderate zone of each genre. I am getting burned out on commercial pop radio these days, so I find myself questing for new `undiscovered' (read: not commercially bombarded!) treasures...and I think I found one! I really like the lilting poetic-ness of the lyrics, and the wit! Some of the lyrics are just plain fun, but some can be construed as `deep'. Even if you aren't looking for great philosophical lyrics, this cd just rocks! My favorite song on this cd is `Crown of Thorns'; it has a wild, chunky, guitar riff that is irresistible! `Too Much' is another goody, very toned-down, which suits the song to a `T' - - I think this song must be where some reviewer pulled the Prince reference - - there's also a very nice blue-sy guitar touch to this one. `Say Baby'' is all about the tribulations of trying to get radio-time for your song; it succeeds at worming its way into your brain and you'll find yourself singing it all day long. `Blow My Mind' is a simple rockin' song; nothing more, nothing less! `Keep on Crying' is a beautiful ballad-type of song, as is `Let Me'. There is an excellent variety of tempo on this cd; I play it all day at work, and then I take it home and play it while I clean the kitchen! A very fun aspect of this disc is the `Underdub' tracks which are accessible if you play it on your computer. You can hear the acoustic or work-in-progress versions of these songs.If I had any criticism, it would be that the lyrics can seem excessively repetitious, and that irked me the first time I listened to it, but now I just sing along! I've been impressed with this cd to the point of wanting to learn more about David Garza; there are a couple of websites and a definite fan-base out there. I was pleased with his bio, he seems like a really nice guy and I wish him much success in his artistic endeavors. I am looking forward to seeing him play live in the near future, he seems to be in L.A. a lot! and, I'm picking up his previous cd's so I can get a better picture of his artistic growth."
Overlooked Singer-Songwriter
Christopher Schmitz | Rocky River, Ohio United States | 04/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. David Garza, who is not a household name, has released an album far better than pop musicians who are considerably more famous. Blue-eyed soul in generous doses...No lack of cheeky humor. And just when you think he's a satirist, skewering holy rollers or the music industry, he flips into the gorgeous Roy Orbisonesque lyricism of "Alone" or the sweet honesty and directness of "Let Me Be." This is as beautiful as it is anonymous. If you're looking for a hidden musical treasure, check out Garza's "Overdub" or Joseph Arthur's "Redemption's Son." Singer-songwriters of exquisite quality didn't only make music in the 1970s."
A new kingdom of euphoria
Christopher Schmitz | 07/12/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Davi'd Garza has been a talented musician ever since his days back with Twing Twang Shock a Boom and Dah-veed. His last Lava-Atlantic release "This Euphoria" was followed up by "Kingdome Come and Go" and "Summer Songs 3" on his own label.His new Lava-Atlantic release does not let fans down. While maybe not as catchy as "This Euphoria" this is a spectacular cd. Not only does he redo "God's Hands" and "Let Me" from Kingdom Come and Go, he also redoes "Too Much" which was the last song on his cd "Four-Track Manifesto". Get this, though, if you have an operational MP3 player, this cd is practically 2! On the cd are MP3s of alternate versions of all the songs. And believe me, they are just as good as the cd versions. Some are acoustic, most are alternate lyrics, they are different songs, and yet, the exact same.Anyhow, Davi'd has delivered another great cd which will delight fans. If you haven't heard him yet, start with "This Euphoria" then buy this."
More great David
Klarenka | 03/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is yet another super CD by one of my favorite musicians of all time. My favorite track is "Too Much": mellow, beautiful, and wonderful. There are also some cool heavier rock songs, including a great rock re-recording of an acoustic song from a previous album ("God's Hands"). Check it out!"