Diego Garcia came onto our radar courtesy of Idelic Hour host Jon Sidel well over a year ago, and his debut solo release Laura soon became a favorite – so much so that Diego spent a week with us rummaging through his personal record collection and sharing his set of musical influences.
Diego is on a tour through the States at the moment as opener for Jovanatti—a tour which stops at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club this evening, 10/1. As such, we thought we’d reacquaint you with Mr. Garcia and the wonderful Laura with an opportunity to win a vinyl copy of the LP—and with some recollections from Diego himself from our week together in 2011.
“My Plastic Jesus” – The Education of Diego | “The following is my take on a quote from Tarkovsky: “The purpose of music should be to help people live, even if it sometimes causes unhappiness.”
Peel Slowly and See, the box set by the Velvet Underground released in September of 1995, months before my 19th birthday, should have come with the following warning: These 5 records listened to all at once will mess your brain up and you will sound like the Velvet Underground when you make your first record.
Add a little Bowie, the Ramones, Stooges, some Beatles, The Smiths, Stones and you pretty much start getting it. Any relevant artist today had to have gone through at least one of these bands. And then there are the records with songs made just for me. Records that I owned the only copy of.
“Plastic Jesus” from The Flaming Lips’ Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
Fifteen when I first heard this record. And over the years I would play it on my guitar to anyone that might listen , and no matter how wasted or high I was, it always felt good.
Chapeau, Mr. Wayne Coyne. You changed my life with your cover of “Plastic Jesus.” And continue to inspire.
“Weird Horses” from Teenage Fanclub’s Thirteen.
Around the same time I got into the Flaming Lips, I heard the track “Weird Horses” and had the same kind of reaction. Had to learn it. Saying “fucked up” in the opening of this song was always fun… immediately drew people in…
“The Strange Effect” by The Kinks’ The Songs We Sang for Auntie: BBC Sessions 1964-1977
Important to note that I recently sang this song for Karl Lagerfeld at a dinner held in his honor… why is this important? I don’t know, but singing the line “you got this strange effect on me and I like it” to Karl while wearing a chef hat should not be left out.
Check out me and Zeke Zima from my new band playing it acoustically poolside in Miami… Please note the mistake I make on the guitar at the 1:09 mark. Goes to show a good song is really hard to mess up. Simplicity is key.
Maybe it was part of the discovery, or the vulnerable nature of the recordings that made these songs so special to me.”
—Diego Garcia
Enter to win a copy of Diego Garcia’s Laura by sharing with us in the comments below your singular musical inspiration. The most enlightened of the lot wins the LP. We’ll choose one winner with a North American mailing address a week from today, 10/8.
DIEGO GARCIA TOUR DATES with JOVANOTTI
October 1 – Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
October 2 – Philadelphia, PA, Trocadero
October 5 – Boston, MA, Royale
October 6 – New York, NY, Terminal 5
October 8 – Atlanta, GA, Variety Playhouse
October 9 – Orlando, FL, House of Blues
October 10 – Miami, FL, The Fillmore Miami Beach
October 14 – Denver, CO, Bluebird Theater
October 15 – Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
October 17 – Chicago, IL, The Vic Theatre
October 18 – Detroit, MI, Saint Andrew’s Hall
