A Sound Salvation

Davíd Garza: Cult of Personality

Davíd Garza has never been press-shy, but he says he's reluctant to discuss plans for his sophomore Atlantic set, primarily because they've only come together only in the last two weeks. All he'll really confirm is that he'll be self-producing the album in an undisclosed location sometime in April. And make no mistake, the move toward self-production is a significant step, representing a real show of faith on Atlantic's part, mostly because major labels rarely allow less than platinum artists to self-produce, especially on a sophomore record.

"Obviously it feels great that they had the faith in me to encourage me to self-produce my second album," says Garza, who produced and co-produced a half-dozen of his self-released albums before signing to Atlantic in 1997. "But writing, recording, singing, and playing has always fallen under the same category -- work. I'm not that afraid of calling myself a producer."

What Garza won't confirm is word that he'll likely record in Woodstock, New York, with Living Colour's old rhythm section, bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Will Calhoun. In addition, Jim Wilson (Robbie Robertson, Bob Mould) has reportedly signed on to engineer. What will the elusive Garza confirm? For one thing, he says neither he nor Atlantic were discouraged or concerned by the lackluster sales of Garza's 1998 debut, This Euphoria.

"In terms of a major-label record, it was a good first step. I worked my butt off, made a great record, and did some great touring," says Garza, who spent time on the road with Ani DiFranco, Matchbox 20, and Fastball. "The only way to learn is from being out there. As soon as you start trying to learn from what other people call your mistakes, you don't learn anything. It's not anybody's fault it didn't sell 20 million records."

Garza parted ways with both his management and touring band late last year, and says guessing whether the new record will surprise people or represent any significant shifts in approach is futile.

"I'm sure I'll piss off some part of my fan base like I always do," he says. "But I don't plan these things, I just go out and do them. Luckily, I record for a label that only expects my best -- which is exactly what I'm offering. After all, all I've ever really done is make the records I can make, tour as I can tour, and sell what I can sell, and try to continue moving on from there."