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10 Questions with Coy Bowles from Zac Brown Band
The motto is: Do what you love, love what you do. That certainly seems to be the way the members of Grammy-Award winning Zac Brown Band look at life. The band’s debut album, The Foundation, is platinum certified, and played a big role in landing the boys with a Best New Artist award in 2009. Their hit singles “Chicken Fried,” “Whatever It Is” and “Toes,” all peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Chart, and “Highway 20 Ride” is still all over the airwaves. On Sept. 21, the band will release its sophomore album, You Get What You Give, featuring “Colder Weather,” “Who Knows” and “As She’s Walking Away.” Country Music Pride snagged some of guitar/organ player Coy Bowles’ time while on the road, and chatted about touring, summertime fun and what fans can expect at the band’s upcoming Sailing Southern Ground cruise.
CMP: What’s your favorite summertime activity when
you’re not on the road?
CB: Floating the Flint River in my hometown. I float
it almost every time I come home.
CMP: Any cool vacation plans? And who throws the
best backyard barbecues?
CB: I plan to go out to San Diego this October to hang
with my pro surfer friend Peter King. When I was a kid I was huge into
skateboards. I met Peter through making music videos with ZBB and he
hangs out with all my skateboard heroes from when I was a kid. Bob
Taylor, from Taylor guitars, is also out in San Diego, and he’s invited
me out to tour his factory and maybe go on a desert safari ride. Bob
went to Iraq with us and has since become very close friends with the
band.
I’d say Mr Zac Brown throws the best BBQ I know. Zac knows food and
knows how to do it up right.
CMP: You guys seem to play a lot of festival-type
shows. Do you enjoy that more than a regular concert that you headline?
CB: I personally enjoy them all. Each one has its own
advantage. For example: we usually play 90-minute to two-hour sets at
festivals. We go out and hit it hard. But on our shows, we play three to
four hours, so we have time to let loose and relax a little and do
different songs and whatnot. But I enjoy each one. You know moderation
and balance are the key to life.
CMP: Around Labor Day you’re hosting the first-ever
Sailing Southern Ground cruise. Who came up with that, and who chose
Grand Cayman as the destination?
CB: I’m pretty sure Zac had in the back of his mind,
“one day I’ll do my own boat,” as soon as he step foot on the first Rock
Boat that ZBB ever did. Zac’s just like that if he sees someone do
something then he’s gonna wanna do it, but do it his way. I have that in
me, too. If someone else can do it, then I usually think I can do it,
too. I’m not exactly sure who chose Grand Cayman.
CMP: How will you prepare for the five-day festival?
CB: We’ve had multiple sit-downs with everyone in the
band and been passing around e-mails for months about what would be
cool. It ultimately boiled down into a list of things that were cool and
possible. Each band member threw out things that they were good at and
interested in doing. Like, for example, I taught guitar for years, so
I’m doing that on the boat. Jimmy D. is big into working out, so he’s
doing workout classes. Basically, everybody in the band is doing
something that they like and enjoy, and giving that experience with the
fans. I’m stoked about it. ZBB is a good group of guys.
CMP: What are five things you MUST bring with you on
the ship?
CB: 1) Money for booze. 2) Suntan lotion. 3) Advil for
waking up from having too much fun. 4) Sunglasses 5) Swimsuit.
CMP: Who gets the worst sunburn?
CB: I think I have got the worst sunburn of anyone in
the band. We had a gig in Hawaii one time. I started snorkeling at like
10 a.m. and didn’t come out of the water till almost dark. I was out
there swimming with sea turtles, which by the way, might be on my top 10
list of coolest things I’ve done. I was so burnt that I put Aloe on my
back every 10 minutes. I think I used about four bottles of Aloe before
bed. And it hurt so bad to lie on the bed to sleep that I finally woke
up in the middle of the night and squirted the Aloe all over the top
sheet of the bed to form a film of Aloe to lie in. It was nasty, but it
worked.
CMP: Are there any surprises in store for fans
aboard the ship? And will you be testing out any new music while you’re
there?
CB: There are definitely surprises on the ship. If I
say then they won’t be surprises. But you can expect us to pull out all
the stops. Zac can play music longer than anyone I know, so you can
expect to see a lot of Zac brown sitting in and jamming with other
people. ZBB has invites to all of our closest and best musical friends
on the boat, so you can expect to see every member playing with other
bands all the time.
CMP: You’re not a “no-name” band with fewer than 200
fans. Why on earth would you want to lock yourselves away on a cruise
ship full of 2,000 crazy fans for five days?
CB: I think the one thing that separates us from a lot
of other bands is that we want to be accessible. The bigger things get
the harder that is to do. So this is a perfect chance for us to have a
controlled environment where we get to be close and hands-on with the
fans. We didn’t start doing this to be famous. We play music because we
are artists and it’s in our hearts to express ourselves via music. It
just so happens to be that we are all country as hell and a bunch of
nuts, too.
CMP: You’ve previously performed on the Rock Boat.
What’s your best/worst memory from that? And has a fan ever stalked you
on the ship?
CB: This is gonna be good. I tore my ACL one year
before the cruise. I think it was the Skynyrd cruise. I was on crutches
and on a cruise — not a winning combination by the way; it was horrible.
Everyone kept leaving me and walking up steps, and by the time I’d get
there, they would be getting ready to go somewhere else. About a year
later, we went on the Rock Boat. I walked on the boat crutch-free and
thankful for my recovery. I saw a guy in crutches and walked up to him
and said, “Man, it sucks to be on a cruise on crutches.” He said, “Tell
me about it.” I replied, “Yeah, I was on the Skynyrd boat last year on
crutches.” I said, “I was on crutches for eight weeks.” I then asked how
long he had been in crutches for … you know … I was trying to make
small talk. He said, “I’ve been on crutches for 17 years now.” Without
thinking I said, “Man, you really must have messed yourself up.” This is
where I opened up my mouth and stuck my foot all the way in. It didn’t
occur to me in that moment that you can be on crutches for multiple
reasons. It finally hit me that the guy had a physical ailment that had
caused him to be on crutches. I then started backpedaling and trying to
over explain myself and whatnot. He said, “Man, I don’t care, I’m just
happy to be on this boat.” I said, “Me too, brother man.” He asked if he
could buy me a beer, and I said there’s no way, I owe you one. He
said, “I won’t drink it unless I buy.” I said, “Well I guess you’re
buying me a beer. Life is good today.”
