Zack of Tidal Bay (Maddy)
Maddy: Lets start off with you giving us some background information on Tidal Bay, such as how the name came about and how TB formed.
Zack: Alright. Well, I did most of my growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I was always around the music scene there. I went to high school with Jordan W. and George T. of The Ready Set, so I was constantly around the scene. So, one day I decided that I no longer wanted to just be a friend of the bands; I wanted to either be in a band or have a solo project. So around late 2007, I started writing some songs in my basement in Fort Wayne but had to put a halt on it because I moved down to Florida. So for a while, I kind of just sat in back and didn’t put too much time into the music scene down in Florida. Then over this summer, I went back up to Indiana for about a month and called my friend Mike to help me finish and record some of the songs I had previously written. As far as the name Tidal Bay goes, I honestly have no idea where it came from. I wanted something that sounded peaceful and yet something with an edge, so after a few failed attempts at creating a name, I finally settled on Tidal Bay.
Maddy: That's awesome! But why did you let Florida stop you from creating music?
Zack: Well, the full story is: I was born in Indiana. Then at age 3, I moved down to Florida. While down there, I found my way into the world of music as a drummer. Then at about age 8, we found out my mom had cancer, so through the years, we did everything we could to help her. Then around age 13, it was announced my mom had very limited time left. We moved back up to Indiana, so she could be near all of the family. This is when I met Jordan and George for the first time. Then at about age 14, my mom passed away, which put a huge damper on my motivation for just about anything. I started writing music as a way to clam and relax myself. Then after my mom passed, my dad and I moved back down to Florida. For a while, I just found myself trying to fit in down here. There I was: a little kid from middle Indiana trying to fit in with big city kids. After a while, I started playing guitar for people, and they seemed to love it. I started writing again and eventually the birth of Tidal Bay came along.
Maddy: I'm sorry to hear about your mom, but you seem to have an amazing story. It's pretty motivating! It's good that you let your feelings flow through Tidal Bay, and I take it that your mother is a huge influence on your music. Is there anything/anyone else that also influences you?
Zack: I wouldn’t say the music is written directly for or about anyone. I take experiences I’ve had through life and just take the feelings I get from the experiences and turn them into songs. Also, I love to do what I call people watching. I’ll just go to a park and watch how people interact with each other and nature and write about that. Basically, if I’ve ever talked to you, you’re highly an influence to my songs
Maddy: Props to you! Not many people take the time to sit down and watch the world around them. Everyone seems to be caught up in the world of technology and all the gadgets it has to offer. Have you ever noticed how people can't even seem to put their cell phones away during shows when musicians are on stage? What's your opinion on that? How would you feel if you were on stage playing the music you worked hard on and seeing people in the audience on their cell phones?
Zack: On that subject, I kind of feel bittersweet. That could go one of two ways in my eyes. One, it could show they’re bored with your music. In that case, I think they should just leave the show because you go to shows to hear the music and not your best friend talk about how hot her neighbor is. It also could be a good thing though because it could be people texting friends saying, “Wow! This band is great! Get out here! You’ll want to hear this!”. In general, I feel that if you’re going to go to a show, only use your phone to take pictures or make calls and texts between bands.
Maddy: I agree. They paid for the show, so they should give their full attention when the bands are on stage. Have you ever played a show? If so, where?
Zack: Nope. Sadly, Tidal Bay has not played any shows… YET! However, I’m working with a booking company and a few other bands right now, and we’re planning a tour in the near future. In fact, one of the bands is based out of Chicago.
Maddy: That's exciting! Where would you like to play your first show? What are you expecting it to be like?
Zack: I would love to play my first show at a venue here in town called The Talent Farm. Honestly, I expect my first show to be mostly just close friends, but hopefully as time goes on and the name and music gets out there, more and more people will join the fan base and attend the shows.
Maddy: Why do you want your first show to be at The Talent Farm?
Zack: It’s just a great environment there. They have a great stage, and they do live interviews before you perform. They also broadcast your entire performance over the internet.
Maddy: That's really awesome! Once you start playing shows and bringing people in, where do you expect TB to be within the next few years?
Zack: I hope to be touring mostly full time. My goal is to, at some point, play a show in every state. No matter where I am as far as the music, I’ll always keep in touch with my friends and fans because wherever I happen to end up, it’s directly because of them.
Maddy: I hope you achieve and stick with that goal. It's a shame when bands get bigger than they expected and forget all about their fans and friends due to fame. It's important to remember that they're the reason you got so big in the first place. What do you want your fans to get out of your music? Do you want to portray any certain message or vibe?
Zack: The only thing I really want my fans to see and get out of the music is the same joy it brings me. I want them to love the art of music as much as I do. My music is written to be happy, so I hope it puts a smile on your face when you listen to it. I hope at some point I’ll be the band you listen to when you’re down to try to cheer you up.
Maddy: That's good! I'd like to wrap up the interview with one last thought. When do you plan on releasing new music?
Zack: I’m working on a lot of new material, so hopefully I’ll be releasing a full CD soon!
Maddy: Thank you for your time.
Zack: Thank you. It was great talking to you.
myspace.com/tidalbay
