Garcia and Scott

You're sitting in the Colonial Life Arena, waiting for your favorite band to take the stage. The crowd roars and your heart races with anticipation as lights fill the stage. For hours, you connect with the musicians, forgetting all tests, homework and stresses of being in college. If only things could stay this way.
Dalia Garcia, former Miss South Carolina and now half of musical duo Garcia and Scott, shared this rush when she, too, was a student at USC.
"I remember I saw a show in the arena when I was in college and I jumped on the platform, saying to myself, ‘This is what I want to do; I want to come back some day and start playing here in South Carolina,'" recalls Garcia.
Along with her husband, Gary Scott, Garcia is returning to Columbia, bringing with them a fresh new genre that sets them apart from much of the mainstream music of today.
Scott describes it as a blend of rock, blues and jazz with a little Latin.
"People assume things when they see an acoustic guitar, but we prove them wrong," Scott said. "Acoustic bands these days are taking on a lot of energy, and we are right there with them."
The couple combines extremely diverse styles to create their own unique sound. Scott, a native of Nashville, Tenn., and a drummer-turned-guitar-player, sets the rock and blues foundation for the music. Attracting those who love the good ole classic styles of the South while simultaneously entertaining fans of a more contemporary twist, he compares his powerful, percussive strumming technique to that of artist Dave Matthews.
"I'm always dancing, moving and playing percussion and Gary has unbelievable rhythm," Garcia said.
Contributing a more international flavor, Garcia provides the Latin spice that engages audiences and keeps them on their feet. A graduate of USC as well as the first Hispanic Miss South Carolina, Garcia shines with true star quality as she experiments with new vocal sounds.
Although they have a widespread fan base and the potential to be commercially successful stars, Garcia and Scott enjoy the advantages of being independent artists.
They emphasize that, "We still have total control over our lyrics and music. What we do is real, and we know especially these days college students want something real, not phonies and people shaped by a record label."
The couple's desire to carry out their music in their own way is highlighted through their performances and the enjoyment they feel when connecting with spectators. They hope to ignite audiences with a musical thrill and receive as much energy as they project into the crowd.
"We create a sense of interaction and togetherness. For those two to three hours, forget your problems and we transfer you to a place of feeling good. Come see us and experience hours of unadulterated laughter, joy, and enjoyment," Garcia said.
The duo is especially excited to share their music in Columbia and with USC students.
"No matter where I've traveled or where I go, I am a South Carolina girl," Garcia said. "I'll be in Europe or somewhere and still be saying,‘Hey, don't mess with the Gamecocks!'"
The couple will play a few gigs around the Columbia area including Sept. 2 on campus and Sept. 3 at The Thirsty Fellow. - The Daily Gamecock

If you love music and want some behind the scenes info this is the interview for you! It's really no surprise that with two hot commodities like Dalia Garcia and Gary Scott that the outcome would be fun, energetic and very insightful! One of KWBC.FM's goals is to be the home of the independent artist and to gather information along the way for those just starting out. Garcia and Scott had been there and done that separately until one night in Richmond, IN....

Q. I realize you both are seasoned performers but can only imagine the last minute jitters before you performed together for the first time?

A:(Gary) Oh yes, there were definitely some jitters. Here's the way the first performance happened: In the spring of 2007, we went to see our friend John Kogge perform at Little Sheba's in Richmond, Indiana. At that point, Dalia and I had never performed live together. During the course of the night, John invited us to get up and do a couple of songs. Off the cuff, we did "T for Texas" and "La Bamba." The crowd reaction was amazing. We were thrilled by that, but didn't expect anything to come of it. A couple of weeks later we got a call from John who said he had to cancel an upcoming gig at Sheba's, and the owner, Steve Terzini, wanted us to fill in. Keep in mind, there was no Garcia and Scott at that time. Not wanting to miss a golden opportunity, we jumped at the chance and quickly set about learning enough material together to get us through 3 hours. We knew tons of songs individually...but very few together. So, we were very busy over the following 2 weeks learning new material. So, Garcia and Scott was born in Richmond, IN, and they've been very good to us since. Even though we're now living in Nashville, TN, we continue to work clubs and festivals in Richmond once a month.

Q. Having listened and been playing tracks on the station from your first CD, Garcia & Scott, there is an undeniable energy when you perform. Did you notice that right away or did it take a bit of time for you two styles to come together?

A:(Gary) There was no denying the energy from the start; there was enough to light up a small city. And, the styles blended perfectly from the beginning. We may be playing acoustic instruments, but neither of us is timid. I was a drummer for 20 years and love bands like the Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughn. You know, music with tons of drive, passion and energy. I try to apply that experience and knowledge to my guitar playing.

(Dalia) And I, am of Spanish decent. I've toured with Julio Iglesias and have worked in all kinds of bands from Rock to Jazz to Salsa. I'm always looking for new percussion instruments to add to our sound. The more energy, the better. Working as a duo has its challenges, of course. But we love that. It's nothing for us to do 2-3 hours of material in a given night. In addition to our originals, we do lots of covers. But, we put the Garcia and Scott spin on them. We do have a softer side...we certainly do not shy away from ballads like, "Leavin' on Your Mind" or "Besame Mucho." But it's safe to say that we're largely defined by the energy that we bring to our performances.

Q. And speaking of your CD, whilst there's a couple covers on there, it's mostly songs that you both wrote separately. I think that's pretty unique!

A:(Gary) Interesting observation on your part. Dalia has been writing far longer than I , and she already had a ton songs written when we met. And, she writes in English and Spanish....SHOW-OFF! I had always been very shy about my songwriting, thinking that nobody would want to hear my silly little songs. I LOVE great songwriters like: Willie Nelson, Lennon and McCartney, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Don Gibson and Hank Cochran. So, I was always very uncomfortable thinking of myself as a songwriter by comparison.

(Dalia) Then I heard some of his stuff and told him he was crazy. It wasn't easy, but I finally encouraged him to continue writing. I love songwriting and have co-written with lots of other people, and he has nothing to be shy about.

(Gary) I must admit she definitely helped bring me out of my shell as a writer. And, having fans tell us they love our stuff doesn't hurt either.

(Dalia) We did write one of the songs on the CD together. "Walkin' Out the Door," I wrote the lyrics and he wrote the melody. We'll definitely be writing more as a team on future projects.

Q. Are you both still performing separately?

A:(Dalia) Not as much as we used to. We used to fill in or work on special projects with different groups. I used to sing once in a while with Al Delory and Salsa en Nashville, and do concerts with the Nashville Jazz Orchestra.

(Gary)And I used to fill in as a drummer for various groups when we had more time. Now, we're focusing solely on our career as songwriters and performing as a duo. We're a Mom and Pop shop, so most of our time is spent booking jobs and trying to get the word out to the rest of the world about Garcia and Scott.

Q. And Dalia, what about acting, how's that going?

A:(Dalia) Most of my time is focused on Garcia and Scott. So, I have taken a little break from acting, unless I get a call, like I did recently for a possible upcoming regional commercial shoot. Now if a huge movie offer comes my way, yes, yes ,yes!

Q. DJ's really use CDs as a portal to the artists that they play and with your liner notes, photographs, songs, and great engineering it was a real pleasure to use this CD to introduce our listeners to Garcia & Scott. Could you talk a little bit about the process of bringing that all together?

A:(Dalia) As we said, we're a Mom and Pop operation. So, it was a long, deliberate process. We dreamed of a CD, but were on a fairly tight budget. So, we slowly invested in recording equipment a piece at a time and built a little in-home studio. We bought a 24-track virtual studio, condenser mic and a tube preamp to really fatten up the tracks. We really were able to get a phenomenal sound on a lean budget. Which was great. That gave us time to work on our sound and work on the tracks without being under the gun. As we would finish writing a song, we would come up with a "head" arrangement and go into the studio and lay down drum, bass and rhythm guitar tracks, This could take hours or several days until we found the feel we were looking for. Then we'd add lead and harmony vocal parts. We'd typically finish each song off with lead guitar work and percussion.

(Gary) Dalia and I make a great team in the studio. She has really good instincts. We both played a role in arranging and producing the songs. She has an excellent ear for melodic hooks and building harmonies.

(Dalia) And since he plays multiple instruments well, we saved a lot of money and had more control over the sound we wanted.

(Gary) Now, don't go thinking the process was all sugar and spice. We had some tense moments. That's to be expected from creative types. But, we both knew each song was better as a result of our haggling. I think we also should mention that all of the tracks were recorded in real time...no metronome, no looping or editing. And, other than a touch of reverb, we used no effects. We wanted this to sound and feel "real" and have as much of our live energy come through as possible. We both tend to like recordings that are "under produced" and work under the "less is more" philosophy. We always strive for a very professional sound, but believe me there's room for space and the human element in a song.

Finally, we had the CD mixed and mastered by Jeff Templeton at Milk House Studios in Richmond, IN. Talk about a fascinating process. Jeff is an absolute genius when it comes to getting the mix and the final sound just right. We wanted a nearly "live" mix, and we're really pleased with what we got.

(Dalia) He was really tuned in to our needs and went beyond the call of duty to be sure we were totally satisfied with the final outcome.

(Gary) Oh...we can't forget the artwork. This was nearly as laborious as the recording process. We really wanted our homegrown project to stand out even against the most professionally done CDs. We took most of the pictures ourselves. Dalia did all of the artwork. I weighed in on stuff like colors, layouts and fonts. She really did a phenomenal job.

(Dalia) All in all, we're very proud of the look and sound of our debut CD.

Q. What's up next for Garcia & Scott?

A: We're continuing to travel and perform live as much as we possibly can. This is our bread and butter. Booking jobs is really taking up a lot of our time right now. Once we get a handle on that, we'll definitely settle in to doing more writing and recording. So, if anybody out there likes what they hear from Garcia and Scott...feel free to book us in your club or theater. Or, send us suggestions for venues you'd like us to play.

We're all over the internet, so there are plenty of ways to reach us:

www.garciaandscott.com

www.myspace.com/garciaandscott

and on Twitter and facebook.

If you're an established or up and coming artist...we can put you in a Garcia and Scott song that's just right for you! It's still okay to dream, right?

Well there you have it folks! A fantastic interview with Dalia Garcia and Gary Scott. By all means check out the links they've included and let them know you loved it! Or leave a reply here on the forum. Our artists hangout on the forum too, so don't be shy leave 'em a note!

And you can always catch them at KWBC.FM! In fact, why not place a request at requests@kwbc.fm to have a Garcia and Scott song played just for you! - Back 40 Forums

Losing your job can be one of the most frightening tests of personal character. After Miami University's NPR-affiliated radio station WMUB shut down local operations in March, former News Director Gary Scott and his wife Dalia Garcia, former membership manager, were forced to re-evaluate their future.

"It makes you stronger because you're faced with decisions," Garcia said. "You scramble to get yourself together. It's easy to get complacent and mundanely go through things in life then, all of a sudden (after a job loss), you appreciate things a lot more. It was both scary and exciting."

Scott also said it was rough at first, but the couple began to prepare for life after WMUB.

"It reinforces the fact that nothing is permanent and no one is immune to forces like a bad economy," Scott said. "But losing our jobs wasn't that big of a shock because, disappointing as it was for the station to close its local operations, I'm a survivor and I know I and my wife will come out with our heads above water."

The resilient and easygoing nature of this amicable pair has already taken them far. After WMUB staff was officially dropped from Miami's payroll in June, the pair took to the road to chase a dream - a dream of music.

"Dalia and I had been performing together as a duo for two years, were just finishing our CD and were talking about making a transition to pursuing music full time," Scott said. "(Losing WMUB) forced us to do what we had been talking about doing."

Garcia and Scott got into gear, formed their group "Garcia and Scott," and have been pursuing a life of music.

After releasing their self-titled debut album, they have been traveling the country playing as far away as Pensacola, Fla., and as close to home as uptown Oxford's Blue Room.

Unexpected backgrounds

Despite their modest start in the world of music, these two are nothing less than well-trained musical veterans.

Scott comes from a rich family history of country and southern-rock music. His father was a highly respected guitarist who played the Grand Ole Opry with big names like Billy Walker and Johnny Cash. His uncle was also the original drummer for the band Alabama and the writer of several of the band's first songs.

Scott has spent 15 years in the radio business, all the while itching to get into music.

"I've been fortunate to have one foot in both worlds," Scott said. "I've always had a full-time professional job and played music on the weekends, but music is my No. 1 passion. I've had this gnawing at me, wanting to pursue music this whole time. Life has opened the door, and here's my opportunity."

Garcia also has an impressive musical background. The former Miss South Carolina sang around the world including Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and Wembley Stadium in England. She also toured with Julio Iglesias for eight years followed by a record deal from Universal Music.

"I was going to be a doctor and never thought I would sing professionally," Garcia said. "I helped put myself through college singing every weekend and just kept with it right out of college."

The couple first met at a music festival in Paducah, Ky. Scott's band had just left the stage when he was asked to emcee for the next performers, a salsa band with vocals by Garcia. The two met up afterwards and hit it off.

"I had been working as News Director at WKMS in Murray, Ky.," Scott said. "And after Dalia and I met, I got the (WMUB news director) job in November of 2005."

So, the pair moved to Oxford.

Beginnings

It wasn't until a year into their marriage when they thought of singing together.

"About three years ago, we went to see John Kogge, a friend of ours, playing in Richmond and he asked us to sit in and do a couple songs," Scott said. "When John couldn't play one night, the owner of the bar called us and asked us to play. So, we jumped in head first."

Their first performance together went so well, they continued to be asked back to the bar.

"I told Gary, let's think about doing this full time because we both just love it so much," Garcia said. "My thing is I finally found a partner to sing and go around the world with."

The two were reluctant at first to play with a group of just two people.

"I was always used to having a big sound around me," Scott said. "I fell in love with (only two people playing) so much and I don't want to work in a band ever again. We are challenged everyday to make a big sound and fill the space."

Garcia said she also enjoys the challenge of making the audience feel the energy.

"People are amazed that all our music is Gary's guitar and me doing percussion," Garcia said. "Just those two instruments and our vocals making that much sound. They're blown away we can do it and they can really feel it."

With the beginnings of Garcia and Scott in the works, the two began playing in Richmond, Oxford and Cincinnati. They say the best part about starting in the Oxford area was the people.

"We couldn't have found people so supportive of us, always asking what they could do, how to help," Garcia said. "When someone there says, we'd love to have you come stay with us, they really mean it. Just

offering their homes and their hearts and feeding us! When we get back to the area, even though I'm from South Carolina and Gary's from Nashville, it's a coming home to us."

Scott said it has only been in and around Oxford that he has ever experienced such warm welcome.

"I've been playing music for 25 years now and never encountered the support, love and friendship of people there," Scott said. "People are sincerely happy to see us. That's the nature of people there. The big lesson I've taken from living and working there is the value of friendships and relationships."

Now, after relocating to Nashville and traveling the nation to promote their CD, Garcia and Scott have set their sights solely on music.

"We're not looking to be stars," Scott said. "Our goal is to earn a living playing music, and if something larger comes out of that, we're certainly going to take it. But our goal is to spend the rest of our lives writing our songs, playing music and paying the bills with that."

Garcia said she is encouraged by the progress the two have already made.

"We're just going to keep on going and grow, grow, grow," Garcia said. "Everyone says we are doing the right thing by having our product ready and our constant playing and performing. Already, the feedback for our CD has been phenomenal."

A muskrat kind of love

The CD, which is available through their Web site, http://www.garciaandscott.com, and on iTunes, is described as a blend of rock, blues, country and Latin influences. Most of the songs are originals but the CD does include remakes such as "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Muskrat Love."

Debbie Vogt, former WMUB employee and colleague of the pair, often traveled to see them play and said their music is, most of all, refreshing.

"Their music is a great combination of her Spanish flair world travels and his country roots," Vogt said. "It's a very unique sound. They interact with their audiences; they're not up on a stage but right down with the people who are listening. They have formed friendships with their audience and get to know them and when they come back to town to play, we look out for them."

Vogt said each time she's been to see Garcia and Scott, the
building has been packed.

"You can't get reservations because there were so many people," Vogt said.

Gary said he has been overjoyed with their successes. After placing the CD on CD Baby, he said the first one sold was in Naples, Italy.

"This was a labor of love," Scott said. "We poured our heart and souls into this over many years and we've been amazed. This whole thing is beautiful in that it's grassroots and proves you don't need a record label anymore."

Garcia and Scott said their life philosophy is just to be real.

"Be honest and true to yourself," Scott said. "The music we play comes from the heart. It's not a formula. To thine own self be true, it pays off. Our overarching philosophy is do what you do and do it well."

Garcia said you also need a little spirit.

"And do it with passion," Garcia said. "Even when we're covering a song, we do it our way. We push the envelope (and) do it our way."

The pair agreed it is that honesty, sincerity and compassion that makes their music appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.

"If you want to last a long time, go back to being real," Scott said. "People can smell phony a mile away. The people who come to see us and listen to our music are our fans. They love us, we love them and we all know that." - The Miami Student, Miami University