David Garza

Comparatively, these same variables relate to the world of pop music in much the same way. Texas-born Davíd Garza is proof.

For nearly a decade, Garza has made a life of touring the bars, pubs and dance halls of the Southwest, playing his occasionally Latin-influenced pop-rock tunes. The years of experience behind this Austin-based singer/songwriter have allowed Garza to hone his skills as a musician, performer and part of the music industry machine.

In the process, Garza has released 10 albums on his own Wide Open Records imprint. “I had a scam of: get people to buy the tapes, put the gas in the car, sleep on people’s floors, and then don’t have a job because they pay for themselves,” Garza explained. “That was something I always had.”

In essence, Garza fits the role of the quintessential working musician: somebody that consistently performs night after night, building an awareness through each experience, while retaining an unbreakable passion for music.

“I learned early on if you want a Friday night gig in Lawrence, Kan., at the Jazzhaus, and you want to get 300 bucks [but] you weren’t a superstar and weren’t on the radio, you had to be able to do one thing — that’s play from 10:00 to 2:00 and keep people drinking and dancing,” he said.

Garza’s way of thinking not only reflects his experiences but represents Darwin’s theory of evolution applied to the life of a touring band; some groups persevere, adapt and continue to survive, while others inevitably fall to the side.

Though Garza may have spent much of his touring career in various bar scenes, he recognizes an incompatibility between small venues and small-time musicians. When he first started playing bars, “that’s where I realized what a totally different animal a club is versus the animal that is music. It’s like trying to get a Doberman pinscher to get along with a newborn kitty.”

Garza continued, “The clubs are already established and have been there and doing their thing for years. Whereas, this new, young entity comes in that doesn’t know what a direct box is.”

Differences aside, Garza continued to perform at club after club, showcasing both sides of his music: the rockin’ half and the “tear-in-my-beer” half. “But no one wants to hear that on Friday night at 11:30 when they’re trying to get laid,” he said of his intimate ballads. “So you have to learn the business — give people what they want.”

Since the release this year of his full-length Atlantic/Lava Records debut, This Euphoria, Garza has learned the importance of practicing what he preaches, as exemplified by a recent gig opening for Fastball.

“We played a show in Worcester, Mass. — a college town where I was sure no one had ever heard of us,” he explained. To add a bit of variety to the band’s shows, Garza completely changed the set list. However, after the show, fans responded via e-mails with, “Why didn’t you play songs from the album?”

“You gotta be aware of that,” Garza said. “And it’s not a question of selling out because you’re sold out the day you come out of the womb. You gotta make somebody happy; it’s either your mama or the people that pay to see your shows.”

In addition to the recent gigs with Fastball this year, Garza toured with Matchbox 20 as well as Ani DiFranco, two artists with distinctly different upbringings. “To jump from the Matchbox 20 tour to the Ani DiFranco tour was like jumping from fire into ice,” he said.

In the span of a month, both tours hit Milwaukee’s 3,500-capacity Eagles Ballroom, selling out the venue each time. However, Garza noticed during DiFranco’s gig that not only was the inside of the venue packed, but there were a few hundred fans without tickets standing outside.

“I saw that 10 years of working your butt off without a major label is probably equal to, if not greater than, three or four years of working your butt off with the major label,” he said. “So you take your poison, either one is gonna work for you.”

Garza has the best of both worlds, in this case, having walked the paths of both DiFranco and Matchbox 20. “I come from a weird place because I’ve been doing this on my own just as long as someone such as Ani DiFranco, since ’89 basically, releasing a record a year…. But, like Matchbox 20, I’m on Lava/Atlantic, so I kind of have a nice mix of both.”

Rounding out Garza’s support cast are the Rosebud Agency’s Tom Chauncey, the “touring guidance counselor,” and Rocket Science manager Steve Ochs. Garza couldn’t be happier than to be with Rosebud. “They know how important it is to play for 120 people on a Wednesday night in Naperville, Ill., whereas [the larger agencies] may not be as patient.”

Garza’s next step may be getting a good mechanic, considering he’s on his fourth 15-passenger Ford van. His recommendation: “White, don’t get any stupid bumper stickers, you can do the optional Church of the Booty on the side to maybe help with the traffic ticket. That’s my advice.”