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Summer Songs V

by David Garza

/
1.
Summer Drug 05:26
2.
Starlet 04:44
3.
4.
Komitay 03:18
5.
Blast 04:04
6.
7.
Dirty Man 04:04
8.

about

Such a strange album for a truly dreamlike moment in my life.

I had been back in Austin for about a year 2004
But I was restless for Downtown LA
So I drove my jeep & parked it on 7th & Spring.

I knocked on doors
I called disconnected flip phone numbers
Gronk was in Seattle or something
Some art weirdos were watching his place
They wouldn't let me in
The Artcloud Army had taken over!

A night or two passed
Me just sleeping in my jeep
Lucky it was those cool LA nights.

There was a coffee place called Lost Souls (go figure)
I ran into the poet Richard Mac Dowell
He told me he had a friend Tania
She had a place where I could crash while she was to Russia
Saving her son from a sketchy situation.

Tania taught art to kids downtown
This place was not her home
But a tiny office space 7th flloor of a 1920's abandoned building
On 5th & Spring upstairs from what is now
The Last Bookstore.

Back then it was known as "The Music Building"
Michael Jackson filmed a music video in the hallways in mid 90's
So that's how it got that name.

But at the time it was nothing just empty
No security guard no business just creepy
I got the key & snuck into this tiny room.

Crammed with bins of broken crayons
Kiddie manilla paper
Kiddie scissors & chalk etc
I was told not to touch anything because it was all inventoried.

No bed no mattress no couch no pillow
Just a window looking onto Spring Street
There was one bathroom per floor
At night I would hear all these noises
Spirits breaking in from climbing the fire escapes.

The sound & unmistakable smell of crack being fired up
Also a random kitty who I named Azalia would roam the floor
Every morning I awoke to a new stranger passed out in the halls.

At night I would sneak out too
I would tag phone booths with a black sharpie.

One night I saw a comet flash across the fashion district skyline
I sing about it in "Starlet"
"7th street seance
64 crippled crayons
Sharpees on phone booths
Flash in the ANJAC sky
It's the first time I saw your wild dying light."

I had a 10 string Lute with me that I found In Barcelona in 1998
These songs were written alone on these nights spent in this
Kiddie/kitty crack hideout Russian art teacher loft space.

I was told to stay away in the day
I had to avoid a security guard posted
On the opposite corner of 5th street who watched for vagrants.

So it was only night
Me always alone
Strumming this demented lute music.

I worked on the libretto for my Bear Opus from SSIV.

At the end of "Summer Drug"
The running & racing heart thump
The sound of lasers shooting at the Bears.

Fats Jr. escaped the Artcloud War
Ended up on the forest floor
Only to be hounded by an Artcloud renegade brigade
The Kitty Komitay
Led by an evil kitty named (you guessed it) Azalia.

I finally did find my friend Lt.Ensign
Who played upright bass with a bow
And then helped me record this record.

Jon Brion came over one night
We went to eat at Standard Hotel
The only place open after midnight.

I told him about the kiddie/kitty weirdness
He said "I hope you have a song in C major
That is the most childlike of all keys".

We walked back to the studio at 725 S.Spring
The same place where I made Alarm Spring & SSIV
He played & sang in C major on "Valerian Aquarian".

I wanted it to sound Russian
An anonymous homage to a children's art teacher I never met
I just stayed at her place.

I was never more alone than in the weeks up there
So much of SSV is the sound of me walking abandoned night streets
Looking for anyone I knew
Recording my steps with a hand held cassette player.

Skate punk eses
Like in that movie "Wassup Rockers"
Would always ride up behind me
You can hear their rolling rhythm too.

I do love this record alot
Hope you enjoy
xodg.

credits

released March 1, 2005

Composed, Performed & Produced by David Garza
All Music & Lyrics by David Garza
© 2004 Thousand Roses, LTD (David Garza) / BMI

Upright bass by Lt. Ensign
Keys & Vocals on "Valerian Aquarian" by Jon Brion
Recorded at Club 4 Downtown LA.

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about

David Garza Los Angeles, California

David Garza has been making his mark since 1989 when he emerged from the fertile Austin, Texas music scene with his inimitable blend of glam rock, Latin folk, and blues. As a prolific genre jumper, he has broken cultural and music industry barriers while building an enduring catalog of compositions for live music, theatre, and film audiences. ... more

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