If you love drums, then you should know the name, Josh Garza. Heralding from Dallas, Texas, this is a man with over 20 years in the industry and a prolific career filled with success. He has influenced major modern musicians and has contributed to writing and recording countless original works.
Garza was born in 1976, and he recorded his first album in the early 90s. He knew from the start that he was a musician, and he has built a fantastic career that lived up to his early ambitions.
Comet
The earliest successes in Garza’s career came with the band Comet. Garza was an original member of the Dallas band and started playing with them in 1993. He was just 17 at the time.
The band stuck it out until 1997, and in that time, they produced three albums. It was during this period that Garza really fleshed out who he wanted to be as a drummer. The Indie rock and dream pop sounds of the band allowed him to explore interesting styles on the drums, and over this period, he developed into a professional musician with experience and clout to his name.
He was ready to expand his repertoire and make his mark on the music industry.
The Secret Machines
Garza was one of the founding members of the Secret Machines. The band formed in Dallas, Texas, back in 2000. The original members were Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, and Josh Garza. They played together until 2007 when Benjamin left the group.
They continued performing and recording until 2010 when the band called it quits.
To the delight of fans, Secret Machines reunited in 2020 and are still active today.
Garza has been with the band every step of its journey. He has helped write and record 5 separate albums and 10 successful singles.
They also produced Marfa Mystery Lights — The Secret Machines — A Concert for the UFO’s. This DVD was a visual and audio piece that exemplifies everything the band was about.
EFG
When the Secret Machines went on hiatus, Garza was not content to put a hold on making music. He quickly teamed up with Imaad Wasif to create EFG. Another successful band, Garza made music with this group for seven years.
EFG put out three separate albums from 2011 to 2016, and Garza ran the drums for each. This helped bolster his longevity, and his time with EFG was used to refine his sounds and style. By the time EFG finished its run, Garza was a respected name in the music industry with more than a few accomplishments under his belt.
A Drummer With Awards and Accomplishments
Considering Josh Garza’s long history of playing professional music, it should come as no surprise that he has racked up awards and major accomplishments in those years. Considering his current age, he has plenty of years left in his career, but if he retired today, he would still be one of the great drummers in history.
Most notably, Garza has won awards from Esquire Magazine, been featured in Modern Drummer, and contributed to the soundtrack of a major motion picture. This is all in addition to his many original recordings over the years.
Esquire Magazine
For many years, Esquire Magazine has published the annual Esky Awards. Winners of various awards include the likes of Kanye West, Lil Jon, Coldplay, and just about any other major name you have ever heard in music.
In 2005, Josh Garza’s name was added to the list. The magazine named him the best drummer of the year.
In the award, they bragged about his atomic precision and explosive sound. It was made clear that any success enjoyed by the Secret Machines was in no small part due to Garza’s excellence on the drums. According to Esquire, he made “a three-piece rock outfit sound like a veritable sonic army.”
Modern Drummer Magazine
Four years later, Garza was featured in Modern Drummer. The article took a detailed look at who Garza is as a drummer and why his sound is so appealing to so many listeners.
The article quoted Garza talking about his influences, namely John Bonham. It didn’t hold back in laying down the flattery, saying that Garza’s playing can “actually channel the principal characteristics of Bonham’s distinctive sound.”
The piece discussed Garza’s large drum set, with double 16” floor toms and a 28” bass drum. The setup makes for big sound, and Graza used it in a way that impressed many audiences, including writers at Modern Drummer.
Across the Universe
One of Garza’s most prolific successes came when he recorded tracks for the popular move, Across the Universe.
As fans of the movie can tell you, it’s a stylized film structured around some of the greatest hits ever produced by the Beatles. Garza was the drummer for three of the tracks on the film’s official soundtrack.
He performed “I Am the Walrus” with Bono. He also played the drums for “Flying” and “Blue Way Jay.”
Across the Universe was a massively successful global hit, and it was loved by fans and critics. It’s fair to say that Garza’s drumming was a significant contribution to this cultural hit, and many millions of people heard and enjoyed his work.
Josh Garza’s Unique Style
At the most basic level, Garza is a rock drummer. He plays on mostly conventional drum kits, focusing on strong rhythms and big sounds.
Peeling back the layers, he has a lot more going on. Especially with the Secret Machines, he has worked with groups that explore a lot of experimental sounds. The Secret Machines is a band known for spacy sounds and Krautrock guitar and keyboard. Garza adds a hard rock element to that, superimposing driving force and big energy with eerie elements and bits of pop sound.
He has taken this idea and worked it into recordings with many different groups. It makes for a drumming style that is palatable, full of energy, and endlessly interesting with subtle and direct creative elements mixed throughout.
Musical Influences
If you ask the man himself, then Josh Garza sounds like Josh Garza. But, in interviews and discussions, he has never been shy about discussing his influences.
John Bohnam comes up a lot, and if you listen to Garza’s work, you can hear homages to the Led Zeppelin drummer. Both go for big sound and clockwork rhythm.
Garza has also cited Buddy Rich as a major influence. Especially in Garza’s work with the Secret Machines, you can hear some of Rich’s creativity reanimated through a modern drummer.
But, when your career is as prolific as that of Josh Garza, you will also influence other drummers. Garza has been recognized as a major influencer for bands including Kings of Leon and Sun Pickups.
It’s clear to say that this is a musician who has impacted countless others and left a permanent mark on the industry and its history. And, he’s far from finished.
