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Much has been made of the decline of Tejano, and more than a few groups that made it big back in the 80s and 90s have either broken up quietly, faded into obscurity, limited their activity, melted down publicly, or have struggled to remain on the radar in a post-terrestrial radio world.
One of the few that survived and continues to be as popular as ever, is David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. For over four decades, the band led by Poteet native and accordion master David Lee Garza has consistently cranked out hit after hit, playing to packed houses everywhere they go.
DLG and the guys have a sound firmly rooted in Conjunto, but with just enough extras (saxophone, keyboards) to mix things up. It could be argued that DLG uses lead vocals almost like an instrument to subtly change the flavor of his catalog too, given the ever-changing roster of talented lead singers that have shaped the sound over the last three decades. In fact, this legacy has given rise to the phenomenon some refer to as “DLG U,” with alumni like Ram Herrera, Emilio Navaira, Jay Perez, Oscar G, and Marcos Orozco going on to Tejano superstardom after their days as Musicales.
We caught up with David on a beautiful day in San Antonio last fall, and found him to be very down-to-earth and personable, yet professional. We think you’ll love hearing from one of the undisputed legends just as much as we did.
NOTE: Something I should point out is, well, DLG is a very prolific, hard-working musician, who is always in the studio. He has TONS of recordings, either with Los Musicales or as duets or cameos with other performers. Many of these were produced during the days of the big record companies and are just not available anymore. To produce a show worthy of his musical legacy, it was pretty rough getting so many hits by so many artists who worked with DLG and the guys. But somehow “El Parrandero” pulled it off. The song selection is unbelievable and even includes a couple extremely rare 45′s that we converted and cleaned up. Hardcore DLG fans, especially, will not be disappointed.
His newest album, Just Friends, featuring new lead singer Juaquin Cura, is now available at your favorite record store and on iTunes.