Press Conference: ZAC BROWN BAND, C2C Country 2 Country 2017, London, The O2

I was lucky enough to spend some time in the Press Room at C2C Country 2 Country 2017 getting to chat with some of the biggest artists along with other members of the press. Read on for questions and answers from Zac Brown Bands’s Press Conference, including details on the upcoming album, comparisons with Charlie Daniels Band, and why they keep coming back to the UK. 

Q: So we’ve heard one track so far from your upcoming album, which sounds a bit like the early Zac Brown Band stuff. Can you tell us about the new record?

A: It’s called Welcome Home, kind of getting back to purist roots of a song, and the band. It’s probably the most personal record that we’ve ever written, and it’s the first record that we set out to write specifically just for this record. A lot of the other records had older songs that we’d started on but never finished or just had bits and pieces of things that we put together, but everything was written for this record, and a lot of personal inspiration came into it. I’m really proud of it and it definitely gets back towards the first record more so than the other ones that we have.

Q: The last record was very eclectic with a lot of songs from different time periods, is that right?

A: Yeah, we basically just cleaned off the entire whiteboard of songs that we had started but not finished for that one.

Q: So how long was the process for this upcoming album?

A: Basically we’ve written most of it in the last year. The recording was all done in six days.

The last record took about three months of recording, not including writing, but this one, once we got in the studio, we recorded in six days. I would have bet my entire life savings that we wouldn’t have been able to do our entire album in six days. Everything takes longer in the studio than you think it would, but we got in, it was never rushed, and there was a great feel between Dave Cobb and the band. Dave is from Georgia, which is where we’re basically all from, so there was a lot of similarities between his personality are ours, he knew the same jokes that we grew up with, so there wasn’t a lot of getting to know each other, we just basically got right in it.

There was a really strong base to it, and he also had enough belief in us as producers and engineers, so he would give us a little bit of leeway to finish up vocals or finish up certain guitar parts, and then come back in the morning and listen to them ready to start. So there was a lot of trust from him and the band on what we were doing. It went really smooth, there were no hiccups, and we just felt really inspired the whole six days. We also tracked the whole thing together as a band rather than recording things separately which helped get it done really quickly.

Q: How surprised were you to find that your songs have a comprehension here?

A: It’s very exciting. We’ve been excited to come back and play every couple of years now, but it’s a big deal. To go from someone in the States who’s like in the NFL of touring, and then coming here and having to prove ourselves again from scratch, but still having some love from radio and the press is very exciting. We’re excited coming back with a lot to say, a lot to sing about now.

Q: You’re probably one of the bigger names to have been here in the UK so many times – why do you keep coming back?

A: It’s a new land to conquer. It is a new challenge for us in making people feel what we feel when we create music, and getting the chance to try and get everyone in the crowd involved and show them what we do and connect with them. That’s what it’s all about, the connection with the people.

When we first started playing in the States, we’d show up and we didn’t have cowboy hats on, just a bunch of husky Georgia guys, and everyone would be like ‘what is this?’ So we kind of faced adversity when we first started and were able to prove ourselves – we really like winning over the crowds, so coming over here to a crowd who’ve not seen us before reminds us of like eight or nine years ago and just wanting to give it hell. Every time we come over there’s a little bit of a spark when we perform.

It takes a little effort to get over here, but it’s worth it.

Q: There are a lot of similarities between you and the Charlie Daniels Band – what’s your opinion on him?

A: He’s a legend. Still killing it. He was a pioneer in a lot of ways and created some of the best songs in the history of country music, like The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Fantastic musician, and someone who dedicated his life to his craft. All of us dedicate our lives to try and be the best musicians we can be, the best songwriters, the best players.

I was talking to Pharell about this not too long ago and he was saying the average life span of most groups is 5 years, so you have to be looking around the corner and be curious about what’s next and what’s coming, and for us we’re very blessed to have been able to do this for a long time. I feel like we’ve just hit the stride. We have a lot to prove, we have a lot to say, and we want every single night that we hit the stage to give everybody their money’s worth. That’s what great music should do. You should feel something when you hear it. If you don’t feel something, it’s probably rubbish. There’s a good bit of that out there, and I’m glad there is, because the stuff that does make you feel something wouldn’t stand out if it was all great.

We like to think of ourselves as kind of the Dave Matthews-Daniels Band!

Q: Many of your songs are about the idea of home and growing up in the South, and on the other side of that you have this very island, tropical vibe. How did you get those two very different styles to fit together and flow?

A: I think being influenced by Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett, and loving reggae music. I listen to it a lot when I’m off because it has this spirit about it. If you’re having a bad day, you put it on and it makes you feel better. And Florida’s a big part of our growing up, spending time out on the islands, out on the water. My favourite thing to do in the world is to spearfish, and when I’m out there I listen to Bob, so that’s definitely the influence for me.

On vacation when we were kids, I’d say we probably all went to the Gulf of Mexico at some point. Like if there was four days off, your parents were going to go to the Gulf, so we spent all our family time in the Gulf of Mexico, so that was kind of the highlight of when we were young. It’s kind of tapping into that too. When I think back to when I was younger, and freedom, and being relaxed, it’s the beach, so it’s easy to tap into because it’s kind of always been there, you know?

Q: What new artists in country make you excited?

A: Maren Morris. She’s really good.

Brothers Osborne, I love their new album. They have killer guitar playing and great songs. They’re two brothers who I think are in it to win it. I was really excited to get to see those guys were over here playing as well.

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