Chetes was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. His father was a founding member of the rock band
Los Rockets, which led to Chetes' interest in music. At age 7, he learned classic guitar, and started to like artists such as the
Beatles and the
Beach Boys. At the age of 12, he attempted to learn how to play drums, but this project was quickly abandoned when neighbors complained about the noise. When
MTV arrived in the city, Chetes got even more excited about rock music so he learned about guitar
distortion. Chetes then joined the band
Zurdok in 1993, which was formed by
Fletch Sáenz and
David Izquierdo. The band received a recording contract to Discos Manicomio when he was only 16. With Zurdok, Garza recorded 3 albums:
Antena,
Hombre Sintetizador and
Maquillaje. In 2002, Zurdok disbanded due to artistic differences and Chetes took a break. In 2005, Zurdok bandmate
Maurizio Terracina and Garza created a new project band together with
Rodrigo Guardiola called
Vaquero, where their songs are completely in English. Chetes picked up a considerable number of new fans, due to the predominance of English as a world language. Vaquero is currently in hiatus and it remains unknown if they will record a sequel to their debut
eponymous album. Chetes already had enough material of his own to cut a record. "Una Pieza" and "Poco a Poco" were written during the Vaquero era, but they did not fit into the band concept. So, by sending demos,
Ken Coomer, ex-drummer of
Wilco and
Uncle Tupelo got hooked on Chetes's sound and decided to be the producer of his first solo album. Garza flew to
Nashville in October 2005, recording and writing songs with Coomer and his engineer,
Charlie Brocco. These songs were recorded in track and had no electronic instrumentation, being heavily influenced by
The Beatles and
The Beach Boys. In May 2006,
Blanco Fácil, the title of the album, was released. So far, it has sold nearly 50,000 copies, the benchmark for being certified gold in Mexico. The first single on "Blanco Fácil", "Completamente", led to a 2006
Latin Grammy nomination for best rock song, some heavy
iTunes Latino promotion, and a much-played video that features a bundled-up Garza singing his way down the streets of Beijing. The second single is "Poco a poco" and there is a scheduled third single "Que me maten". Chetes also collaborated with
Amaral in the cover of
Miguel Bosé's song "
Si Tú No Vuelves" for the soundtrack of the movie
Efectos secundarios and with
Emmanuel del Real with the song "16 de Febrero" for the movie "Fuera del Cielo". In April 2008, Chetes released his second album
Efecto Dominó. ==Discography==