EMQ’s with ZAC CRYE

EMQ’s with ZAC CRYE

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Phoenix, Arizona based, Desert/Stoner Rock Solo Artist, Zac Crye. Huge thanks to, Zac, for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about your History?

My name is Zac Crye, I am a solo artist. My main instruments would be guitar and vocals; I also fancy myself a ‘songwriter.’ I love writing lyrics! For this particular project, I actually wrote and performed every instrument on every track of the EP. When you listen to any of these five tracks your just hearing one guy.

How did you come up with your band name?

After investing so much time and money with other bands and projects, I just got tired of having to rebuild every time something didn’t work out. We’ve all got our own lives, schedules, personal matters; it can be a bit of a hassle to work all of those things out for 3 or 4 people and come together for a common cause. With this solo endeavour, I’m able to cut all the noise and really pursue my own interest, so I figured the best thing to do is just go by own name. I feel it gives me more freedom to work my social media accounts, full creative control; and when I want to do something, I can just do it!

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

I’m living in Phoenix, AZ in the valley. We have a great stoner/doom scene here cultivated by some heavy hitters like Stone Witch, Old Fashion Assassin, Loserfur, Goya, and a ton of others. There’s also a great podcast, Doom Tomb, hosted by Chris Beck, purveyor of all things Stoner/Doom. We had our own festival last year, Planet Mammoth Fest, a three-day stoner/doom extravaganza put together by Chris, Kyle Eades from OFA, and Joe Switchblade who records a lot of these bands in the studio.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

‘All the Same’, the title track from my upcoming 5-track EP is currently on all streaming platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, etc…

I’ve got a music video for that song coming out in Feb that I filmed and edited myself.

We will be releasing one more single in March to promote the EP, “All the Same,” which drops 16/04/2021.

Who have been your greatest influences?

So many artists and bands have influenced me in so many ways. If I could sum it up, I would say the desert rock scene that emerged from the Palm Springs area in California, and all of the bands that came out of that scene. I love the sounds of those bands like Yawning Man, Brant Bjork, Kyuss and what would ultimately become Queens of the Stone Age. The attitude, the vibe, the DIY work ethic. It was very much like the punk rock scene but slower and weirder. I’ve always talked about throwing some desert generator parties.

What first got you into music?

Well, my dad was a touring musician so I’ve always been around it for as long as I can remember.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

I’d love to do a full compilation with a revolving line-up from the same pool of musicians. Like we each collaborate on different songs together. Some guys on one songs, other guys on other songs, all of us on a couple of songs. And I think I would pick musicians from the local stoner scene here in Phoenix. Not unlike what they’ve done with Desert Sessions over the last couple decades. I would love to provide the location and environment for something like that. It’s my grand vision.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

I’d love to play Psycho Las Vegas because of how communal it is for the stoner rock scene here in the States. You go there and you see everyone involved in the scene, and to be on stage in front of those people is a huge opportunity to make new friends, grow your band, and to really prove your abilities to a crucial audience.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

One guy came to the stage while we were playing in San Marcos, TX and started pouring weed all over us. Pot’s still illegal over there so he was removed from the show very quickly, but we manged to scoop up quite a bit and stuff our pockets.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Support your favourite artists directly, try to avoid any ‘third party merch’, go straight to the source. If they have a website or a Bandcamp, those should be the first two avenues of support.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Jim Morrison

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I really love the artistic expression, I love exploring new territories, like finding new colours on your pallet, I love making music with other people and alone. Now days we have so much technology at our fingertips, the possibilities are endless as to what you can do musically.

I guess one of the downfalls of pursuing some sort of career in music is that it’s become increasingly less about the actual music and much more about other trivialities like social media, which I think can be a huge distraction and a time sink as well.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

That’s such a loaded question, I mean music is one of the most exploitive industries. It’s very hard to be an artist in this environment sometimes. I’m sure there are a lot of things to be changed about the music industry, but I wouldn’t know where to begin. First of all, I would say pay the artists for their streams, and then we go from there.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

I love the first Queens of the Stone Age album! It’s got all the elements for me, it’s like post-grunge with the desert vibe, catchy hooks, big riffs, great drums – I love it!

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

I’ve come to prefer vinyl overall, but I dig other formats. I feel like vinyl is the best bang for your buck – you get a physical product along with the digital download; and vinyl holds up a lot longer than CD’s, I think; you get the cool artwork, and they look cool when you’ve got em on a shelf!

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Planet Mammoth last year, it was a micro-psycho Las Vegas experience in terms of playing for a lot of the right people in the scene.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Something creative for sure. I enjoy writing, and I also enjoy messing with film. I work full-time as a solar panel installer.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Bring the fight companion to my house with Joe Rogan, Joey Diaz, Eddie Bravo, and Andrew Schulz – Young Jamie in the back!

What’s next for the project?

I’m currently in the studio recording the follow-up EP for a winter release, perhaps. I’ve also got my band Hudu Akil, who are ready to begin writing a follow-up to our most recent release, “Eye For An Eye”, which we dropped in August and is now streaming all over. I will definitely be tagging back and forth between band releases and solo releases. That’s my plan.

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

www.zaccrye.bandcamp.com/
www.instagram.com/zaccrye/
www.facebook.com/zaccryemusic
www.jamspacepodcast.com/
www.open.spotify.com/artist/51bRATr5YXFkqjj7656oIV

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Jaffa what?

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thanks everyone for your reading! As always, the best way to show support is through our Bandcamp page directly. That’s – www.zaccrye.bandcamp.com/

We’ve got pre-sales up for the EP, “All The Same”, for just $5.00 and you instantly get a download of the title track which is streaming everywhere.

“All The Same” EP, drops 16/04

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