Fresh off a Grammy win for Best Country Album, Zac Brown Band is undeniably one of the biggest acts in the country music world. Known for their feel-good party atmosphere, a typical Zac Brown performance features Brown's signature songs backed by a virtuoso band that can deftly switch from genre to genre, sometimes in the middle of a song. On Wednesday, February 5, the band heads to the Huntington Center for their first ever live performance in Toledo. City Paper had the chance to talk with ZBB drummer Chris Frey about working with Dave Grohl (the current frontman of The Foo Fighters and ex-Nirvana drummer), the songwriting process and the concert experience.
Chris, we are really excited for the show. How has the tour been going?
You know, we love to play. We are kind of always playing, the tour never really stops. We take breaks here and there along the way to have time with our families, but we are pretty much always going.
How many shows does Zac Brown Band play a year?
We do anywhere from 75-100 shows a year depending on scheduling and any other peripheral things that are going on at home for all of us. We are taking a break in April because Zac and his wife Shelly are expecting a baby. Apart from that, we do a few breaks to do some recording and that's about it.
How does a typical recording session go? Do you guys brainstorm and write songs in the studio or does Zac bring them ready to go?
There are always songs being written, its a constant. Zac and his writing partner Wyatt Durett do a lot of writing after shows. They write a lot of really great songs and we all tend to get involved along the way. Once we feel like we have a bunch of tunes that are ready to be played around with, we just block off the time and go in [to the studio]. We have our own studio now in Nashville, so we don't have to worry about working around someone else’s schedule. We block off the time on the calendar and just go in and do it.
That makes things a lot easier.
Yeah, with having our own studio we aren't watching the clock anymore. We get to be really relaxed, take our time and do things right. The inaugural session at our new studio was the Grohl Sessions Volume 1. We had Dave Grohl come out and produce the songs—he sat in the control booth and offered his opinions, expertise and musicality to help us shape the song the way it needed to be. It was definitely a wonderful and delightful experience.
How did you initially hook up with Dave Grohl?
I'm pretty sure that we met him at one of the awards shows. He and Zac just hit it off and exchanged numbers. We started tossing around the idea of hitting the studio and doing a new record, and we thought it would be cool to use some different producers. So Zac called him [Grohl] up and asked if he wanted to do it and told him what we were trying to do. I guess Dave was pretty enthusiastic about it! It's interesting, because he had never heard our music and didn't know us very well as people. But he very enthusiastically jumped in with both feet and created this wonderful atmosphere that was very creative. It was a beautiful thing.
That is awesome. So ya'll were pleased with how the session turned out?
Yea, and we even convinced him to play drums on one of the songs! [Laughs].
Nice! So did Dave Grohl bring more of a hard rock edge to the songs?
We were sort of leaning more towards a rock aspect anyway, the writing was lending itself towards that sound. Dave is a fan of all music and is very knowledgeable about many different kinds of music. He is most known for being a rock and roll guy. Whereas a different producer might have wanted to take these rock sounding ideas and turn it into a country sound, Grohl just let the song be what it wanted to be. He was full of beautiful suggestions, and they were ideas that we had, collectively, never really thought about. The way we recorded with Dave, we did the whole thing to tape. I think the sound of the record is very superior and the tones are just amazing. He opened our eyes to alot of different approaches to recording the music that we write.
Well I'm looking forward to hearing the recordings, it sounds like they will be really great. Did I see that Oteil Burbridge [Allman Brothers Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit] also played bass during those sessions?
Yes, he did. We managed to convince our old friend to come and make some music with us and it was a wonderful addition. I worked with Oteil for years and years in his band the Peacemakers, so Oteil and I get along really well, musically speaking. There were a lot of things that we brought to the table that really changed certain aspects to how we were listening to what was going on. What an amazing and creative talent he is, and it was a wonderful hang.
So can we expect some collaborations and sit-ins with Oteil in the future?
I don't know, we'll have to see [laughs]! A lot of our collaborations seemingly happen last minute, so we never really know what is going in that regard until just a handful of days out.
Let's talk a little bit about the Zac Brown Band live show. Do you guys stick to a scripted set-list or do you change up what songs you play night to night?
We change it up every night. There is a handful of things that we like to be consistent with in regards to starting the show. We have a few songs that we like to open the shows with because of their impact. And then we have a few different ways we will end the show, because the end goes out with a bang. But for everything in the middle, I never know what we are going to play on a nightly basis until I sit at the drums and see the set-list taped to the floor. It's really wonderful to approach it that way, because it keeps it fresh for us. We also have a lot of fan club members that come out to many shows throughout a year—sometimes multiple shows in a weekend. You know, they follow us around. So it mixes things up for them too, they aren't going to see the same show as the night before.
So what are the plans for 2014 besides recording and the usual tour?
We have a couple of big shows coming up in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in March. Its kind of a music festival at an all-inclusive resort with us and a bunch of other acts. The main act that we are all pumped to see is The Wailers, Bob Marley's old band. So we are pumped to see them, make some music and get a couple of days on the beach. So a little traveling outside the normal borders [laughs].
Any big summer festival stops going on?
I'm sure that there are—we are trying to get the summer calendar worked out right now. No word on that yet, but we will be doing a bunch of festivals.
You said that Zac Brown Band has had a ton of collaborations with artists throughout the years. Which have been some of your favorite sit-ins?
We throw a couple festivals ourselves. We did the Southern Grown Music and Food Festival in Nashville and Charleston last year, and those are great because we get so many friends to come out and play with us. It's an amazing list of people—we've had Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker, John Fogerty, Kenny Rodgers, John Mayer, Greg Allman…it's a really fun time for us. We pick a few to come up onstage with us and it becomes so much fun. I can't even really describe to you how fun it is, there aren't enough words in the English language!
Well we are out of time, thank you so much for talking to me Chris and we'll see ya at the show!
Zac Brown Band plays the Huntington Center on Wednesday, February 5 at 7pm. $56.35 – $86.25. 500 Jefferson Ave. 419-255-3300. For tickets, visit zacbrownband.com or ticketmaster.com
