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Ralph said it wasn’t until John’s college years that he began to fully enjoy the fruits of John’s musical talents. “We could start to see breakthroughs, where you could actually understand the words, where the lyrics were good and made sense and were heartfelt and said something important,” Ralph said. “It started to jell. We liked the country songs that he did whenever we would go see him playing in some bar, some place you’d be afraid to go in, and he’d be there playing. So we’d go in and listen.” After playing in Tallahassee for a few years, John moved to Atlanta in 1995. He now lives in Marietta with his wife and three daughters. Not long after moving to Atlanta, John formed his band Brighter Shade, which continues to make music. The band has released two records on iTunes. He also opened a small recording studio in his home. “Then I got set up in downtown Atlanta over off Cheshire Bridge Road for the next five years,” John said. “That’s where we did the Zac Brown Band Homegrown record. It was in 2005 when Zac came in to record ‘Toes,’ or at least to demo it. Then I joined the band and actually moved out of that studio later that year and into another studio in the Highlands and started playing with Zac full time.” John laughed and said it’s been a “whirlwind” ever since. ---Q. What is it that makes the Zac Brown Band so popular? A. Up until 2008, we had all been playing the same kinds of venues and shows that all of our friends had been playing. I played a show — my band (Brighter Shade) played with Zac’s band at the Dark Horse. ... We played the Dark Horse together in early 2000s. We used to play Smiths, all of the bars around Atlanta. And that’s how we started with Zac, too. We just continued with that, except Zac had a good way of reaching the crowd. He was very personable and it was almost like he knew they were there, they were listening and they were being involved in the show, but he kind of made his show even on small scales like the big shows. He wanted it to be exciting and vibrant even when there weren’t that many people in the audience. So that enthusiasm that Zac brought to those smaller shows is pretty much what makes the difference in what he does and what this band does and what the other bands do. It’s the difference between enthusiasm and the authenticity. That’s the difference. A lot of bands are trying really hard to make a splash and make a dent and it comes off that way, that they’re trying too hard. There’s something about Zac that’s unique and that translated into big radio and that has made all the difference. Q. Your songs and music videos are everywhere these days. What does it feel like now that you’ve achieved this level of fame? A. You dream about it when you’re a kid but it’s the kind of excitement that’s indescribable. I truly still kind of wrestle with the question of whether or not I’m actually famous. I don’t feel that I am in most situations. But it’s those situations where the band is all together and we’re on stage or doing some PR or some press, those are the times when we start to feel like, “Wow we’re really a big deal in certain circles. This is really cool.” But most of the time we’re the same people; we feel like the same people we’ve always been. Some of the time we feel famous, we feel special, but most of the time we feel like Georgia boys. Zac can’t go to a restaurant without calling ahead and making sure homemagazinenorthgeorgia.com
he’s got a private room. People just walk up and you don’t get the personal experience when you’re that recognized, that well-known. We can go anywhere we want and maybe one person all night will say something. Q. Well, your distinctive facial hair probably gives you away more than you think. How do you maintain the “chops?” A. These last couple of years it’s a little easier to look at me and see I’m in a crazy rock band I guess. … They do go through changes once in a while. I’ll take off the mustache once in a while and then it grows back in a month. I have to kind of trim them sometimes; they don’t feel even so I’ll trim one side more than the other. It’s just like cutting your own hair. But the good thing is you can see it all. I like having the chin exposed because you can still see my face. I’m not totally covered up like a Grizzly Adams. It sort of reminds me of playing a character in theater. It’s starting to become something of a trademark; I may be stuck with it for a while. Q. Do you have a favorite song that you like to play? A. I’m a big fan of bluegrass. When I was playing the bass, my favorite song to play was “Goodbye in Her Eyes” because I was playing with a pick and I’d wear the strap lower. It’s more of a mid-tempo, U2 rocker ballad. It’s just an emotional roller coaster and I really enjoyed playing that on the bass. And then when I switched to guitar. I’m enjoying more of the things like “The Wind” and “Whiskey’s Gone” and even playing “Chicken Fried” on the guitar, which I’ve never done in my life except for the last six months. The faster tunes, the ones that are more bluegrass-oriented, are the ones I really enjoy on the guitar. Q. What’s it like touring with the band? A. We’re pretty much rolling in a luxury submarine. It can feel a little cramped sometimes but most of the time it’s pretty cool. We’ve got a different way of touring than some bands. Like these jam bands that never stop and just keep going and going and going. We take like three days off a week or a whole week off so that way we get to see our families every week and we’re not gone for three months at a time. The disconnect on that much time away would be pretty staggering. In order for us to keep salaries and keep a constant business thriving, we want to always be working on it and always be thriving so we just stay on the road. That also gives us about 100 dates a year where lots of bands would go past that on a single tour. Q. You’ve got a wife and three young daughters. How do you maintain your family life while you’re on the road? A. We’ve got it good and we know it. We’re very appreciative of where we are and thankful to have the opportunities that we do. It’s a crazy, timeconsuming life and it’s a very blessed life. We’re grateful to have families that are excited about our careers and are fans of the music. Not just fans of Daddy but fans of the band. So that’s really exciting. It would be tough to do a gig that our families didn’t like. If we were this big aggressive band that scared the kids, it’d be more difficult to be a part of. The twins are 20 months and they’re starting to recognize whenever we do something on TV with the band they’ll say “Daddy!” you know. Grace is 5 and she’s all over. She’s been to lots of shows. We bring our kids to shows whenever we can. Q. Where was your favorite place to hang out in Gainesville growing up? A. My big summer, my 16th year, I had my license and was working in the stock room at Belk at Lakeshore Mall. In the evenings when I wasn’t March | April 2014
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