I love to play live, sometimes it's with a band and sometimes it's solo. Currently, I play regionally around Ohio and in Nashville.

I will have been able to reach a large number of people with my music and hopefully, will be able to play live for lots of people, that's my passion.

The internet and the current compression technology enables more people to have access to fairly high fidelity versions of songs than ever before...it's instantaneous. The music industry (and it is a big business) still has to come to grips with how to regulate the internet in a way that will give songwriters, publishers, record labels and artists the royalties and compensation they are due (this is hard work and most of us have been doing it a long time) without being totally controlling. And another thing, let's keep the government out of it.

Yes, that is my ultimate short-term goal.

The artistry of Zack Thomas begins with the songs: lyrical narratives suspended on insistent hooks and memorable melodies. It's an accessible
and economical sound, strung between tight, rocking rhythms and taut chords, fully charged with the undeniable power of commitment.

Zack states simply, "I write songs that come out of who I am."

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he knew by age ten that music was his calling. With a converted record player as an amplifier, he and his and his fledgling band made their debut performing at backyard parties and dances. It was enough to start the fire. After high school Zack relocated to Dallas, Texas. Sharing management with T-Bone Burnett's Alpha Band, success across the Southwest--opening shows and packing clubs soon followed. “It got real big, real fast," Zack recalls. But success had a darker side. He remembers thinking "this is taking control of my life." Inevitably, the band broke up. Fortunately travel, relocation and real-life experience
followed. A road map of Zack's adopted hometowns includes Houston, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. When he returned full cycle to Cincinnati, it was with a renewed devotion to the art of songwriting.

I was thinking about my life," says Zack, "and what is really important. It never stopped being music. I never stopped playing."

It was only a short drive southward--so Zack moved to Nashville.

“It was great to be in a town where song writing is king," recalls Zack, “and I got serious." He co-wrote, performed at writer's nights at the
Boardwalk and The Bluebird, got married...but the road was still calling.

"I was more pop-oriented," he explains, "and I started thinking California."

On his self-titled debut CD/EP Zack's Tennessee friends, including some of the most noted session players in town are very much in evidence. From demos of twenty-five songs, he selected four to record for a fully-mastered radio-ready release.
These tracks, cut live in a studio near downtown Nashville, possesses the vibrant energy made only by live musicians in total touch with the music.

Back in California, Zack's focus is now on live performance. In addition to playing out with his band he's also doing the occasional solo gig, meeting the people, getting feedback on the songs, and once again connecting with the passionate heart of a new audience.

Zack concludes. "People try to categorize writers and artists. I struggled with that a long time. Then I said 'why not just be me?' Everything that comes out is a product of all I've heard or played in my life."

by Dan Kimpel

My influences range from Tom Petty and Steely Dan to Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tears for Fears, Van Halen and The Gin Blossoms. Edgy, pop/rock music with deeper lyrics and strong guitars.

It's tought to narrow down to one place but I think it's Del Mar, California, my adopted home town.

I am not electronica or techno, but I use Fender (Strats)and Gibson (Les Paul) electrics, Guild and Taylor acoustics, Marshall and MosValve (TubeWorks) amps, Alesis effects (and others) and Celestion speakers