Zach Bryan On Why He Didn’t Work w/ Dave Cobb on New Album
Viral songwriter Zach Bryan released his second album on Friday, May 8th called Elisabeth to mostly rave reviews, but some criticisms for taking the same homespun approach he brought to his first album DeAnn. Without any label or representation whatsoever, Zach Bryan and DeAnn blew up into an overnight sensation, receiving millions of streams, and launching a serious music career to where managers, labels, and producers were lining up left and right to work with the Tulsa native.
Along with signing with manager Danny Kang and gaining touring representation with WME, Zach Bryan was also sighted working with Dave Cobb in late November, 2019. Dave Cobb is the Grammy-winning producer known for working with artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Colter Wall, and others. That is why some were surprised when Zach recorded Elisabeth with the same crew of close friends that he did his first record. The making of the new album was captured in a 45-minute documentary about the process where Zach explained in detail why he chose loyalty to his friends over a different, more professional approach to the process.
But one thing the documentary doesn’t touch on is just how much Zach Bryan’s continued commitment as a full-time Navy enlistee precluded him from being able to take a different approach to making the new album.
“I legitimately work 12 hours a day, every day besides the weekend, so the ‘rough around the edges’ sound kind of came from a lack of time, not a disrespect to proper releases,” Zach Bryan explains to Saving Country Music. “I didn’t work with Dave Cobb because I couldn’t get the leave from the Navy to record a full fledged record with him the ways I wanted to. That was all, Cobb and I are still close and he is still willing to record a record with me, but time restraints have kept us from it.”
Elisabeth was recorded in a makeshift studio built in a horse barn in Washington State where Zach Bryan is stationed.
Zach Bryan told Saving Country Music in early September, 2019 after the release of his first album, “My old man was in the Navy, my grandpa was in the Navy, my mom was in the Navy. My family’s just a Navy family … and I love being in the Navy. I think I might just keep being in the Navy and writing songs, and that’s about it—keep writing music that people might like. People have asked me to go on these tours and these mini tours in Texas, and I just can’t. It makes me feel terrible and I wish I could, but God has a way of doing things, and I think he’s doing it right.”
But for those hoping for Zach Bryan to release a properly-produced studio record in the future, that’s not out of the question. “The next album I do will (probably) be a fully produced, proper record,” Zach says. “But I’m also not willing to apologize to anyone for writing and releasing however the hell I want.”
And with the reception Zach Bryan has received so far for his music, and the sense of loyalty he has to his close friends who helped him record now two well-received records while continuing to uphold his commitments to the Navy, no apologies should be needed.
Ronnie Van Zant
May 13, 2020 @ 11:16 am
Really like this response from Zach. True to himself yet also willing to grow and improve. Already excited for his next
The disrespectful, 100% playlist & suggestions free OlaR
May 13, 2020 @ 11:49 am
Well…not as “hot” as Zach Bryan…just a guy with a guitar: Anderson Elswick – Quarantine Knights – EP (6 Tracks) – Released.
Toddxolsen
May 16, 2020 @ 6:51 pm
Yooooooo thank you for this. This album is great.
Tex Hex
May 13, 2020 @ 12:28 pm
So it was a simple logistical issue tied to his military service commitment, not some creative issue everybody who reads and clicks that headline will immediately assume?
Trigger
May 13, 2020 @ 1:16 pm
I can’t speak for what people will assume from the headline. If they assume the wrong thing as opposed to reading to find out, that’s on them. Zach Bryan reached out and wanted to clear this specific matter up from my review, and I felt like it was worthy of addressing.
Tex Hex
May 13, 2020 @ 4:57 pm
Well, four things are probably true:
1. A juicy headline gets clicks.
2. A lot of SCM readers hate on Dave Cobb and like to talk shit about him.
3. A lot of those SCM readers would quickly click on a juicy headline, if only to read an article that might vindicate their distaste for Dave Cobb because a young artist rejected him for creative reasons.
4. Author of said article knows 1-3 to to be true and uses it to their advantage.
Then again, I might be wrong.
Trigger
May 13, 2020 @ 5:55 pm
Look, I definitely recognize how this headline could be seen as a little sexy by some. But it’s also very descriptive of what the article is about. Like I said, I wasn’t planning on posting this article. Zach reached out, and wanted to clarify this point about his relationship with Dave Cobb specifically, and I felt it was newsworthy and warranted. “Click bait” is when a headline is misleading about the subject matter, or specifically includes promises that are not kept by the article itself. Neither of these things are true. Nonetheless, the job of a title is to get people to read. If nobody reads Saving Country Music, it goes away.
And though I agree some around here don’t like Dave Cobb, that was not part of my calculus with the title. Frankly, I think people are too hard on him. Yes, he’s put out some bad records, but the artists deserve the primary criticism there. Cobb has also produced some of the most important records in modern country music history. I’d like to think I write some really good articles. I also probably write some bad ones, even if I thought they were great at the time. That’s the way it goes. Cobb’s body of work will hold up over time.
Di Harris
May 13, 2020 @ 6:22 pm
Pretty cool that Zach reached out to you.
That’s what we call R E S P E C T.
Keep it comin’ Zach.
Reach Deep & Tear It Up.
At YOUR pace
Tex Hex
May 14, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
Apologies, Trigger. Admittedly I was probably being a bit of a troll yesterday, and might’ve gotten the context of your headline/article a bit twisted.
I’m a fan of Dave Cobb. As you imply, he’s had some misses for sure, but his hits have been big. Overall I think he’s been a positive force in country music these past seven or so years. I think a lot of the shit talking about Dave Cobb is unwarranted.
Melissa W
May 13, 2020 @ 12:49 pm
I like Zach Bryan’s attitude.
Sorry to be off topic here. I didn’t know where to post but thought fellow turnpike fans might like to see this.
https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2020/05/12/evan-felker-photographed-looking-happy-healthy-working-on-a-texas-ranch/
Trigger
May 13, 2020 @ 1:14 pm
I saw those pictures being passed around yesterday, and may have something about this coming up soon. I just want to make sure that if Evan Felker has chosen to hide himself on a ranch, inquiring minds don’t get too prying and end up screwing up whatever state of mind he’s in, or is trying to achieve. Evan’s re-emergence should be on his timetable, not ours. Not saying that’s what happening here, but I think given the circumstances, we should be careful.
Melissa W
May 13, 2020 @ 1:18 pm
I completely understand that. After I shared the link I was starting to wonder if they are old photos that someone is trying to post as if they are new. I would be surprised that someone he would be sharing his time with would post without his permission.
Hope he is doing well.
jeannie
May 13, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
Seemed strange to see these Evan Felker photos released……Can we guess there will be more for the Tabloids.
Trigger
May 13, 2020 @ 3:03 pm
Yeah, that’s kind of the reason I wish the photos would have just been out there for people to discover on social media, and left it at that. I definitely don’t blame the photographer for sharing them, and I have spoken to him and he said he had permission. But I’m a little conflicted about posting about them. At the same time, the cat is out of the bag at this point. Better people have the full story instead of leaving it up for speculation. That said, the tabloids don’t give a shit. Now that Miranda’s out of the picture, Evan is just some random redneck to them.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
May 13, 2020 @ 3:28 pm
Still not sure it made sense to rush this half baked album out the door, especially when he already had one out there, but that’s his choice. Waiting until he is on leave next and making a big splash by properly recording and releasing the best 8 – 10 songs would seem to be the preferred route, vs. putting the “this guy has potential, but man, what’s up with the production” taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Who knows, maybe it’s all part of the master plan.
hoptowntiger94
May 14, 2020 @ 4:40 am
I’m not picking on you Bill. A lot of commenters share your same sentiment. But, all artists have albums like this, we just live in an era when they are easily consumed. 20 years ago, the only people who would hear this album would be ones who forked over $20 at a live show. Tyler Childers, Lucinda Williams, Randy Travis, Sturgill Simpson all have low budget albums out there.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
May 14, 2020 @ 8:25 am
True, but the point is that he didn’t need or have to put this out so quickly. He already has plenty of low budget stuff out there, and has the unique opportunity to work with a real producer, and debut these songs in the proper way. Most people put out crappy sounding albums because they don’t have a choice. Taking the time to work on his picking and refining these often repetitive songs into 8-10 much better ones would have been a better path in my opinion.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 14, 2020 @ 10:20 am
He’s about to go on deployment, so he won’t actually have “the unique opportunity to work with a real producer” for quite a while.
Also…he’s 23, and he recorded this with his friends and fiancee.
Maybe his next full length project will be a curated, studio-produced selection of 10-12 tracks from DeAnn and Elisabeth. Maybe it’ll be all new material that he writes over the next year. Maybe it’ll be some mix of the two.
Maybe it’ll be another lo-fi, bootleg joint with his buddies.
Either way, he’s established a dedicated audience (similar weekly plays to WCG on Spotify, more than folks like JTE and Moreland), who will be more than happy if he sticks to his current Bottles and Bibles style of production, rather than going full Country Squire.
Billy Wayne Ruddick
May 18, 2020 @ 8:17 am
He doesn’t have anywhere near the chops to go “full Country Squire”. In any case, if he did, he could go into the studio and knock out an album in 4-5 days like Childers did on both of his last records, which would take away the timing limitation. My guess is that there is more to the story on the Cobb thing, and it didn’t work out for a whole host of reasons. I haven’t seen that he is going on deployment, but even if true, that would be a great opportunity for him to polish up his skills, let his PR guy work his magic, and come back ready to record a proper album. Again, he’s already got plenty of material out there to hold people over, even before this latest release.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 19, 2020 @ 9:03 am
I mean…”the timing limitation” is that he’s active duty military, stationed in Washington State, and, as he states in this article couldn’t get leave to record the album, so flying to Nashville for a week was out of the question, regardless of his “chops.”
Meanwhile, he only had 14 songs available outside of YouTube, before this release.
I think recording this lo-fi with a bunch of friends was a much better option than your proposed solutions of either:
A) Going AWOL for a week to record this in Nashville
or
B) Going two years between releases, with only 14 songs available, rather than capitalizing on his current level of viral visibility.
Cool Lester Smooth
May 14, 2020 @ 9:05 am
I listen to Isbell’s “Live From Alabama” far more often than either “Sirens of the Ditch” or “Here We Rest,” because I prefer those versions of the songs – missed beats, cracking voice and all.
Hell, I’d take an album like this from Margo Price or Jade Bird over their latest releases, which sand down all the jagged edges that make them special performers.
Sam Cody
May 13, 2020 @ 3:51 pm
But now we’re left to wonder which of Cobb’s 3 ProTools presets he would have used to make this album…
Conrad Fisher
May 13, 2020 @ 4:27 pm
“But I’m also not willing to apologize to anyone for writing and releasing however the hell I want.”
Ok cool. I also won’t apologize for saying that the writing and recording are both half-baked. You can do a budget recording that sounds far better. And you can tune your guitar.
There’s so much better music out there, I just don’t have the time. Lamentations, for instance.
Digs
May 13, 2020 @ 5:20 pm
Really great context, thanks for adding it.
Sunny
May 14, 2020 @ 7:14 am
Not all musicians/songwriters want to do it for a living. People tell them they should. But some musicians who have done it say run away. I think a lot of musicians/songwriters will get something out of this quick read from the guy who founded cdbaby. posting the link with your permission Trig:
https://sivers.org/balance
Scott
May 14, 2020 @ 8:07 am
I think he does want to do it as a living and it’s either an image move/faux humility, a genuine feeling that he deserves to be chased, or fear of jinxing it if he admits he really wants it. Sturgill does the same thing but the bottom line is no one is just “discovered”. We know about these guys because they put in serious effort to get themselves heard. Those who don’t want it just drop out (e.g. Bill Withers, Bobbie Gentry). They don’t keep making music and releasing statements to keep one foot in.
It’s a tightrope walk though. It’s easy to pull this kind of talk when everyone’s paying attention. When the hype starts to fade, the antics come out. As we’re seeing with Sturgill. We shall see…
Daniele
May 15, 2020 @ 3:43 am
Agree the recording and writing is half-baked, agree he should have put more attention to pitch and tunings, agree that a lot of songs sound similar. That said i happened to watch the HOPE documentary and i have to say it really captures the commitment, the passion and the reasons for making music.
HankThrilliams
May 18, 2020 @ 4:31 am
Not many have a soul these days. It’s refreshing to see someone like this. It’s a very Waylon and Willie approach: I’m doing it like THIS and THIS is my way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the production as is. It’s an honorable outlaw approach to do it the way he sees fit and not try to get out of the Navy