Cortez Garza and His Americana Axe
Athens, Georgia has been a mecca for talented musicians since the early 1960’s when
counterculture was in full effect and The Last Resort was more a stage for melody than haute cuisine. Including lyricists, songwriters & guitar aficionados, our mid-size college town is home to quite a few internationally famous acts and even more should-be- famous bands and artists. Cortez Garza definitively fits into the latter category. His penchant for writing thoughtful lyrics layered over strong, complex guitar riffs presents music that is emotionally affective and intoxicating.
Garza, himself, refers to his style as Americana, but that label barely touches the true nature of his melody-making. It is a soul-searching, heart wrenching pursuit played out on his impressive collection of guitars, including his latest addition, a 40’s antique Gene Autry Melody Ranch model rebuilt by local guitar restoration hero Scott Baxendale of Baxendale Guitar. In a past incarnation, Cortez sang neopunk in the emo-screamo band “Mason Curse,” though he is not a man who fits into a box or a genre. He is a stand alone musical entity.
I discovered his music when he appeared with Sarah Zuniga at Linda Helmly’s Oglethorpe
Fresh in Lexington, GA this past November. He and Sarah frequently play shows together and she is a musical goddess in her own right. My plans to attend the show were derailed, but based on the music I heard online, I was hooked and desired to know the origin of songs so beautiful. I reached out and he graciously agreed to share both time and insight into his songwriting preparation and process.
As I approached the table in a dark nook in Hendershot’s, Cortez Garza stood up and welcomed me with warm brown eyes and a handsome grin that I imagine could melt a polar ice cap. He was immediately engaging as we started the interview. I prefer conversational interviews where the person reveals himself through snippets of memories, soundbites of circumstance, and general comfortable repartee. Cortez was open to all three forms of communication.
Humility and vulnerability are qualities that cannot be falsified. Throughout our two-hour interview, he expressed both and I learned that he has been in Athens on and off for over 10 years. His birth name is Joshua. A group of friends in high school gifted him with the nickname “Cortez” and as it followed him into adulthood, the name flowed right into his career as a professional musician.
A student of yoga, healthy living, and Eckhart Tolle, the inflection and philosophy in his music strongly resonates on his new album “The Low Vibe,” which conceptually is about frequencies and realistically a painful, reflective break-up album inspired by the recent end of his relationship. A standout track on the album is “Immortal,” a fragile tribute to the love lost.
“When all you need is love, could you take me by the hand?
Help me understand how you came to be immortal to me?”
-Cortez Garza, “Immortal”
The horns and gentle melody of “Immortal” describe a powerful love and the track is backed by a melancholy guitar. It is worth noting that among the impressive array of musicians on the album, Cal Clements of Rubber Soul Yoga plays the saxophone on “Immortal.”
In his early 20’s, Cortez Garza was a disc jockey for WUOG college radio in Greensboro, North Carolina. Early Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott inspired him with the fact that they were all “dynamic and technical guitar players” who utilized layers and textures in their music that he had never heard previously.
“Steve Earle is my hero,” he stated. Through his exposure to these artists, he tightened his guitar playing and taught himself the harmonica. His humility and sincere respect for other local musicians was apparent. He listed Cicada Rhythm, Drew Beskin, Caleb Caudle, Elliot Bronson, and Sarah Zuniga as musical acts that inspire his own playing and songwriting.
As someone who loves the writing process itself, I asked Garza who originally influenced him to write. With a wistful half-grin, he told me his father, an American military veteran, wrote so much that his papers and notebooks filled an entire bedroom in his house. Poetry, short stories, essays, Cortez’ father was a prolific writer who kept all of his works. He carries on his father's legacy of writing and said “Everyday I wake up and say this is just the beginning...I will never stop writing songs and playing music.”
At 38-years- old, Garza is father to a stunning 18-year- old daughter who moved here last year from Texas. As conversations go, he told me of the challenges and rewards of fatherhood and we both waxed affectionately of the freedom that comes in one’s 30’s. “It wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties that I was super comfortable in my skin,” he shared. I could not agree more. Perhaps this is where his vulnerability and rawness on “The Low Vibe” stem from? A comfort in flesh, bone, and soul that only a man of almost four decades and many heartaches can express.
I would be remiss to not mention why Garza qualifies so well to be highlighted as part of “Good People News.” He has a heart for volunteerism and has worked with several local non-profit organizations including A.I.D.S Athens, Project Safe, American Cancer Society, and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter for Veterans. He has even volunteered for the Make-A- Wish Foundation.
The musical genius of Cortez Garza merely complements the presence and energy of his old soul in a young man’s body. In fact, it was seeing the dynamism, magnetism, and power in his eyes in the beautiful black-and- white video of “Note to Self” that convinced me to reach out and learn his story.
Athens, GA is alive and well with talent and Garza is a fine silk thread in the
tapestry of our local music culture.
“The Low Vibe,” Cortez Garza’s latest album is forthcoming and will be available on
Bandcamp.com at cortezgarza.bandcamp.com.
