Anthony Garcia is a songwriter, guitarist, and classically trained pianist based in Austin, Texas. His musical style has most accurately been described as “cinematic Americana,” a genre that interweaves songwriting with expanding, quasi-orchestral sections. Versatile is the best word to describe his live performance…
Garcia often switches between genres within a set, and sometimes switches between instruments within a single song. A lover of rock, blues, classical piano, and Spanish guitar, and a fan of soulful vocals and old standards, Garcia’s musicianship and eclectic song choices always keep the audience enraptured and inspired.
Garcia’s original music mixes a range of influences: guitar solos reaching back to the guitar hero tradition of Zeppelin and Hendrix; lyrics and songs that pay homage to Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen; and haunting violin inspired by J.S. Bach. Press in Texas has described his music as “mariachi-esque Queens of the Stone Age” and “like something out of a Cormac McCarthy novel,” and proclaimed that his songs seem like the “missing tracks from a Robert Rodriguez soundtrack.” Media in Paris, France dubbed his music “Americana Hypnotique.”
Garcia’s music is indeed hypnotic, melding his early love of guitar-based heavier rock, the classical piano he studied formally in college and after, the modern chill of electronica, and mixing them all with the dusty twang, storytelling, and songwriting aspects of Americana. The result is gorgeously evident on Acres of Diamonds, which showcases every aspect and musical love Garcia has in glorious, dreamy, intense combinations, exploring ghosts of people and places past, drifting, lost love and, of course, searching for, and the hope of finding, love. Songs run the gamut: “Apparitions,” a classical composition-cum-Americana-rock-anthem, resides beside “The Wind,” which is replete with dark, dusty-ballad folk; the electronica-influenced “Haunted Hotels” (inspired by a visit to the historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio) lives in counterpoint to the slow-burning swing-and-sway of the title track “Acres of Diamonds.” All of it is quintessentially Garcia.
To assemble Acres of Diamonds, Garcia pulled songs from his arsenal of live fan favorites from over the years. “It’s sort of like a greatest hits album of songs that were never hits,” Garcia laughs. “These are songs I’ve written over the past two to fourteen years, and the collection is a culmination of songs that have endured, evolved, and gotten a facelift for this album. Even the subtitle to the album, ‘Los grande exitos,’ is a nod to this concept: it translates as ‘greatest hits’ in Spanish. I tend to hold onto and hone the songs I write over time.”
The album was recorded at Transient Mic Studios in Austin, Texas in 2018 and 2019, produced by Transient Mic, engineered by Jeremy Fowler (who also played bass on the album), and mixed by Fowler and Charles Godfrey (of Scary American Studios who also played drums on the album and has worked in the past with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, (…And You Will Know Us by the) Trail of Dead, and Swans). In addition to Fowler and Godfrey, musicians joining Garcia in the studio were Megan Berson (violins, viola, cello), and Ileana Nina (fiddle). “While this album took some time to make – recording started in the fall of 2018 – we were given time to really concentrate on every detail and give the album and songs the attention they deserved,” says Garcia of the studio, which is a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of Austin music.
Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Garcia draws inspiration for the mood and cinematic feel of his music from a hometown rich in music history. His travels throughout the world have exposed him to a variety of cultures and music that have contributed to his expansive repertoire and knowledge of musical styles. Garcia has played regularly in Austin and in the surrounding Texas Hill Country, and expanded his route across the U.S. when he was able to, including favorite haunts like West Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Mexico, and Colorado. His fluency in several languages makes him adept at engaging with international crowds, and he regularly tours Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, and most recently, Switzerland. A four-year stint in South Korea as an English teacher allowed Garcia to travel and spend time performing for East and Southeast Asian audiences as well. He has shared stages with artists as varied as Ian Moore, Mates of State, Del Castillo, Junior Brown, and Wynton Marsalis.
Versatile and cinematic at its core, Garcia’s music is sure to please listeners who value strong musicianship and equally strong lyricism and storytelling.
Anthony Garcia’s Acres of Diamonds will be released on July 17, 2020.
His music mixes a range of influences: guitar solos reaching back to the guitar hero tradition of Zeppelin and Hendrix; lyrics and songs that pay homage to Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen; and haunting violin inspired by J.S. Bach.
Garcia’s music has been described as “mariachiesque Queens of the Stone Age”; ˜like something out of a Cormac McCarthy Novel”; songs that seem like they’re the ˜missing tracks from a Robert Rodriguez soundtrack”; and in Paris, France as “Americana Hypnotique”
Website: https://www.anthonygarciamusic.com
Listen to Anthony on Spotify
