Zach Cornell

What was a childhood dream of yours?

I think I was different from most kids in that I didn't have a career I dreamed of since I was little bitty. I don't really remember having a big desire to do one thing or another, but I know for a while I wanted to run my own business. My folks run a successful small business back in Texas, and my grandad ran a service station for over 60 years, so I always admired that and just assumed that's where I'd end up. In a way, I guess I did. Just not in a traditional way.

Who do you turn to when you need someone most?

My wife. We kind of have a rule that even if we're at each other's throats, we can always table our own issue to have each other's back. There were times when she was fighting mad at me but she knew I was struggling with some things, so she still cut me some slack even when I probably didn't deserve it. She's been so supportive of this dream since the day we met, and she's always the first one to know when something's going on.

What was the first song you remember playing on repeat that made you want to get into music?

"Speed Trap Town" by Jason Isbell. It was just a half-story song about getting out of a little town, and it's such an overlooked song that my wife still asks me all the time why I love it so much. I think something clicked when I first discovered Jason Isbell, and everything about his songs made me want to do what he was doing. I was a freshman in college and my sister, Jill, sent me a song of his and said I'd love it. He immediately became my favorite artist and I wore out the two solo albums he had out at the time. "Speed Trap Town" was always the one that stuck out the most. I loved how simple it was and how there wasn't really much of a point to a lot of the lyrics, but at the same time they were telling the story of everyone who's ever lived in a speed trap town. I had played and sang casually before then, but that song gave me my first real idea of what I wanted to do for a living. I'd never had any idea up until then, so it was pretty cool to finally have that.

Tell us a story that you laugh about with your friends to this day?

A while back, my buddy Charlie McNeal and I took a trip up to Kentucky for a gig. The show was great, but on the way back the map took us way out into the boonies. We ended up on this little blacktop road in the middle nowhere at about 2 AM, and the road was wooded on both sides and it was just foggy enough that we were a little creeped out. We're miles from any houses, and out of nowhere we just see this guy in full hunting gear walking towards the middle of the road and staring us down, and it scared the life out of us. I sped past him and I'm sure we didn't quit talking about how creepy it was for weeks. Now we make jokes about it every time we see each other. I'm sure everyone else is getting tired of hearing the story by now, but we get a good laugh out of it every time we bring it up.

What is your favorite part of the music industry?

I think it's the way everyone in Nashville is constantly rooting for each other to succeed. Everyone here knows how hard it is to make a living at this, while also understanding that there's plenty of room for all of us to make a living. I've made so many great friends here, some who have been in the music industry longer than I've been alive and some that are new to town. But no matter someone's experience, age, or level of success, nearly everyone I know here is seriously rooting for me to succeed in the same way I'm rooting for them too. It really is like an extended family. I know Nashville gets a lot of hate these days, but honestly I think 99% has to come from the people that have never lived here. I knew a lot of musicians back in Texas that bad-mouthed Nashville, but none of the ones that did has ever made the jump.

What's your least?

My least favorite is probably the way a lot of bars treat musicians. I've had a lot of bar-owners tell me they'll pay me in "exposure," but can't do any kind of tangible payment. I don't know any other industry where that would be acceptable. Imagine if I told my plumber I would pay him by telling my friends he was really good at his job. He'd laugh me out of the room. I think the difference is that there's not a plumber in the world that will work for free, but there's always a musician that wants a gig bad enough that they'll play for free. Luckily, for every place like that there's a place that'll pay an artist fairly and make the bad days worth it. So it's really not that bad at the end of the day.

What is a project you're working on right now?

I'm finishing up a few songs in the studio right now that we're planning on releasing in early '22. I recorded the songs with a good friend and mentor, Jack Gavin, who also produced everything. I think these are going to be my best songs yet, and I'm really excited for y'all to hear everything!

Where can fans find your music?

Anywhere they can stream music, or everything is available as a hard copy or digital download from my website. I also do some cover songs and things of that nature on Youtube. - Charge Music Mag

How are you feeling about this year’s music you’ve put out so far?
I haven’t put anything out this year, but I’ve got a few songs that we’re looking at releasing in early ’22. I released a full album last November (2020) and I can’t wait for y’all to hear the new ones. I really think there’s something special with the new ones.

The year is coming to an end! What are you doing in these last few months musically?
I’ve been in the studio getting these new songs ready. I had some really great players come in to record on these, and everything is sounding great so far. Aside from that, I’m always writing new songs and playing local spots around Nashville. But I’m definitely more focused on these new ones right now.

What are you working on right now in the studio?
We just recorded five new originals. I wrote one with a buddy, Bear Redell, and the other four I wrote alone. We’ve just about wrapped up the studio work, just finishing up a few odds and ends.

What are your studio sessions looking like these days?
I recorded at a different studio than I used for ‘Devil’s Been Working,’ but I’ve been over there several times before. The guy I recorded with, Jack Gavin, plays drums with me downtown a few days a week and we’ve been playing together for a couple years now. He’s really been a good friend and a mentor to me ever since I moved to town, and it was great to finally record at his studio after talking about it off and on for at least a year.

Is it just you when you go to record or do you work with others?
I had a great group of players come in this time. Jack Gavin is producing the songs, so I trusted him to bring in players that he thought would suit my songs and he just went above and beyond. I was fortunate enough to have some real industry giants play on my songs. Most of these guys, including Jack, have been on countless records that I grew up listening to, so it was a pretty cool experience to have those guys on my own songs.

Who is the person that you want to work with next whether it’s putting them on a track or just producing?
I think Dave Cobb is the guy everyone in this style of music would love to work with at least once. He’s produced a lot of my favorite records, from Jason Isbell to Chris Stapleton to John Prine. I think Cobb is one of the most talented producers in Nashville, and it would be kind of surreal to get to do some songs with him.

How are you customizing your sound in your next tracks?
I’m always trying to make sure my music stays true to the sounds that made me love country music in the first place. I brought in pedal steel and some folk instruments for this set of songs, and it definitely helped to keep everything feeling down home and real. In my opinion, not enough music is recorded in a live band setting these days, and I think the little imperfections that come with a live setting make everything sound ten times better.

How do you make sure that you’re customizing your overall vision for your music?
I think it’s about not trying too hard. When I was first starting to write a few decent songs, I tried so hard to make sure they fit into this style or that, and nothing was coming out how I wanted it to. When I started to let my writing style kind of tell me where the song ought to sit, I started coming out with some cool stuff. If you try too hard to write something in particular, it’s never going to end up exactly how you want. It took me a long time to finally realize that and start writing whatever the heck I wanted to write that day, and it’s made a world of difference.

What is your overall vision for yourself!?
I just want to make honest, authentic music that tells the stories that I grew up with. If I can make songs that mean as much to someone else as they do to me, then I think I’m doing something right.

How are you leading with love with your music?
It’s kind of the same thing as before. I try to make real, organic music that isn’t full of fillers. Sure, every song isn’t necessarily a true story, but every song is inspired by my upbringing in the Texas Panhandle in one way or another. Tom T. Hall said that he didn’t write his songs with the intention of having a moral or message, but if someone finds one in there then it was probably meant to be found. I think that’s the best way to send any kind of message. - The Hollywood Digest

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Zach about is newest single, "Stay Awhile," which was released on March 4, 2022.

Hi, Zach! We appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Your new single “Stay Awhile” has a real traditional country vibe to it. Who are some of your musical influences?
Well I don't think I'd even be making country music if it weren't for Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings. To me, those are the best to ever do it and they influence every note I play and every word I sing. But I would say this album in particular has heavy influence from guys like Keith Whitley, Tom T. Hall, and Chris Stapleton to name just a few more. Every song I write is an effort to honor some of my honky tonk heroes in one form or another.

How did growing up in Texas impact your songwriting?
It's no secret Texas has its own brand of country music. A lot of the biggest names to ever play my kind of music came from Texas, and the country music history back home is as rich as it gets. I think the experiences I had in my little speed trap town in Texas shaped the stories I wanted to tell and the ideas that I wanted to use in my songs. I did a lot of things in Texas that my Tennessee friends don't quite understand, just because the culture there really stands on its own and there's not a place in the world like it. So I think I can add a lot to songs just by having those unique experiences and upbringing, and in the right time and situation it helps me to bring a lot to the table as a writer.

Since moving to Nashville, you’re often playing out at some of the local venues. If you could play a show anywhere in the world, where would you pick?
I think I'd stay in Nashville to play a show at the Ryman. This has been a dream of mine for a long time, and now that I really feel like a local in Nashville it would be even more special to me. To most country artists, there's not a more iconic stage in the world. In short, it would absolutely be the highlight of my career.

Do you have a dream duet partner you’d love to perform with?
I'd love to do one with Colter Wall. He is unapologetically country, and he just puts out whatever the heck he wants to, all of it country gold. He's also a hell of a writer, maybe the best out there right now. And I think people overlook that because of how big his voice is and how traditional his sound is.

What else can we expect from you in 2022?
I've got some more songs on the way that I can't wait for y'all to hear. Maybe even a full record if I can get all my ducks in a row!

For more information, visit www.zachcornell.me and connect with Zach on Facebook and Instagram. - Music City Melodies

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? Most of the artists I know spent their whole life knowing they wanted to play music, but that wasn't really the case for me. I guess I should thank my sister for buying an old Ibanez acoustic and pretty much letting me steal it from her. Once I started messing with the guitar, I loved it but even then I didn't get serious about music until about a decade later. Now if I wasn't doing music, I'd either be bartending or driving a forklift somewhere. Those are the only other things I've ever really done, and I actually enjoyed them both for a little while.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity? My wife and I had a baby back in February, so every minute we aren't working we're doing something with baby Morgan. He's always loved being outside, so we spend a lot of time out with the chickens and goats and whatever else we can find. In a roundabout way, it's kind of brought me back to my roots. I've been writing a lot of the stories from Small Town, America that I had never thought to write before. So it's been a nice change of pace from the constant pressure in Nashville to stick to the mainstream song template. I'm writing stories about growing up in the South and I've been liking a lot of the songs that are coming out.

How long has music been your career? Before I moved to Nashville, I played around North Texas on the weekends. That was always a supplemental income to whatever day job I was working. I've been doing music full time for probably a year and a half thanks to the Nashville scene, and I've been a heck of a lot happier.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music? I'm originally from the Texas Panhandle, so of course I was always surrounded by Texas music. There's always been so much of a traditional country sound in Texas, and I hope that never changes. When I moved to Nashville in 2019, I found myself getting more into bluegrass and some of the more underground niches in country music. I think that's resulted in some kind of combination of the Texas and Nashville sound in my writing, and I have to admit I think we're coming up with a cool sound. I'm really liking the music we're getting ready to record.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played. It's hard to pick one show for my best, but I've been doing some acoustic gigs with a good buddy of mine, Charlie McNeal, and we've just been having a ball. I think both of our styles compliment each other really well, and it's a dang good time whenever we get to play together. In this business, I think everyone knows they won't get to play with their buddies forever because a million things start to get in the way. So we've just been having as much fun as we can while we still have the means to keep playing together. It's sure been some of my favorite shows I've ever done. My worst show was probably actually my very first show I ever booked. It was a little coffee shop in Wichita Falls, Texas. They double booked me with another guy and had us switch off every few songs, then they paid me half of what I was promised. And of course a hundred other things went wrong that I just wasn't prepared for because I was so new to this. It was my first experience with two of the most common struggles for indie musicians, but I was a lot more timid then than I am now. It really made me think I was in over my head, but I kept on trucking and was fortunate enough to have some much better experiences shortly after that one.

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already? I really like this place in Printer's Alley called Alley Taps. It was where I played my first writer's round, and one of my first all-original shows in Nashville. You probably can't fit a hundred people inside, but there's just something about that little bar that I've loved since the first time I walked in. It's one of the places I was hoping I'd find when I first moved here - a constant stream of songwriters playing great songs in a bar most people have never heard of. As far as places I haven't played yet, there's two that come to mind. Growing up in Texas, everybody knows about Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. So many incredible artists have played there, and I've been chomping at the bits for an opportunity to join them. I've dreamed of having my own "Live at Billy Bob's Texas" album for years now. Of course I also want to play the Ryman Auditorium just as badly as every other artist in Nashville. There's so much country music history that has happened on that stage, and it's probably my favorite venue in the country. The sound quality is insane, and the crowd is always there to listen to good music, which ironically doesn't happen just anywhere.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket? That's a tough one. I'd probably have to say Chris Stapleton and Travis Tritt. I have the utmost respect for both of them, and they've just done things their own way.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into music? Charlie Daniels said it best - never look at the empty seats. You've got to play like you're playing for a sold out stadium every time you get on a stage. I can't count the number of times I spent a whole set frustrated that no one was listening, just to have someone come up afterwards to tell me how much they enjoyed it. That one person that digs your music is a hundred times more important than whoever didn't. If you're confident in what you're doing and you get really good at it, people are going to follow you. If you really want a career in music, find a way through every obstacle put in your way and use any criticism as fuel for the fire.

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be? Play your guitar more. And don't go looking for a heartache just to get a good song out of it. There's a song to be found in just about everything in life, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a personal experience. I spent a lot of time thinking I could only write a song about something that had happened to me specifically, and I wish I'd realized sooner that that isn't always the case.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? The song that means the most to me is probably 'Birdy's Song'. My wife actually helped me write it, which doesn't happen super often. We wrote it one day when we were talking about the feeling of wishing we could stay together even after we're gone. It's an idea I had wanted to write for a long time and when it finally came out it only took us about 20 minutes to put together. It just has a lot of really simple lines and it's definitely one of my favorite choruses I've ever written.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most? My favorite one to play right now is an unreleased one called 'All I Need.' It's another love song that I wrote just a few months ago, but it might be my favorite song I've ever written. My favorite cover to play is probably Tom T. Hall's 'That's How I Got to Memphis,' just because that song has influenced so much of my writing and I think it's one of the few songs that is just perfect in all aspects. The songs I have requested the most are probably 'Birdy's Song' and 'Next to Mine,' so I guess I need to keep writing love songs.

What is the creative process for you, and what inspires you to write your music?
It's really different for a lot of songs. Sometimes I have a chord progression or a melody before anything and try to run off of that, but a lot of times I start with a hook line and try to write around that. I keep a note in my phone where I write down any good ideas I think of, and then I go through that list when I want to write but don't have something in mind already. I'm really inspired by a good story, and for a couple of reasons. Of course I think a good story deserves to be heard by more and more people. But I also enjoy the challenge of turning a story into a 3 or 4 minute song without losing any good details.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
I don't know that I've ever sat down with the mindset of getting any particular message across. But I think with a small town like mine, some kind of message usually comes through anyways. I'd prefer to let people know how I feel in a subtle way like that. It's really easy for a message to sound forced otherwise, and that probably defeats the whole purpose.

Do you ever have disagreements when collaborating and how do you get past them?
I've had a few pretty strong disagreements about using a particular word or phrase in a song. It's a little tricky when you have two or three people in a room, and everyone thinks their line fits the song better. I usually try to take a step back from my personal writing style, which I know is different than a lot of my co writers, and look at it from a listener's perspective. Most writers in Nashville are good about respecting another writer's lyrics, but of course in any line of work there's people that are just hard to deal with. Sometimes you just don't jive with someone, which usually means you probably shouldn't schedule another write.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
I'm planning on hitting the road a lot more in the future. It's good to have a balance between the local shows in Nashville and some road gigs. As far as music goes, we're getting ready to record at the end of September, so I'm looking forward to having some new music out before long. - Volatile Weekly

Are you making any rounds with testing out new music on the road?

I’m just about to start doing a lot more road dates. I have some new music coming out in early 2022, so I know we’ll try to take that everywhere we can. So far, I know I’m heading to Colorado and Texas, and of course I’m always around Nashville playing.

What stories do you want to tell in your upcoming music?

I try to always tell the same kinds of stories that made me fall in love with country music in the first place. I have a new love song coming out that I hope will remind listeners of the simple things that really matter. And of course I have some stories that aren’t necessarily true, but they make for a good song to give folks a break from their day-to-day life. I have a whole lot of stories to tell, and I’ll have some new ones out pretty quick.

Are there any rules you set for yourself when you know you have to concentrate on making music?

I’m kind of fortunate in this aspect in that I’m consistently writing songs and thinking up new ideas. I know a lot of artists only write songs when they’re getting ready to record, but I almost have to sit down and write at least a couple days a week or I’ll go crazy. If I’m needing to get some songs polished up for recording, I try to avoid the TV and I’ll only listen to the songs I’m considering recording instead of my usual rotation.

Do you ever feel like you need to label yourself as an artist?

Sometimes. Nashville is tricky because everyone writes and everyone sings. So sometimes it’s easy to get labeled as only a writer or only an artist, and I don’t think I want to be limited to just one or the other. I like being on a stage singing my songs, but I also like sitting behind closed doors with some writers putting ideas together. When I’m performing, I’m probably more inclined to make sure people know I’m a writer, and vice versa.

Is letting the work talk for itself a rule of thumb for you?

I’d say so. It’s real easy to tell people how good you are or how cool that new song is. But if that’s not the truth, it doesn’t matter how much talking you do. I try to let my music speak for itself and if folks dig it, I’m doing something right.

What are the interactions with your fans like when you hear feedback from them about your music?

It’s always nice to get to visit with someone who has really been liking my music. I try to make a point to stop and talk to someone who has been into the whole set, because a lot of people don’t realize that it means the world to artists. We’ve all played the empty bar rooms, but it makes our jobs a heck of a lot better when people enjoy what we’re doing.

What is a golden rule in music that you will always uphold?

I will never compromise the music that I believe in to make music I don’t. No matter how tempting it may be if there’s money on the table, I couldn’t imagine singing a bunch of songs I hate for a living. I’ll either sing songs I think are worth singing or I’ll go get a day job.

What’s it like moving forward after a song release?

It’s always cool when a song does well after being released. I like the process of seeing how many streams a song has each day, or who’s digging whatever I just released. There’s a lot of promotion that goes into releasing a song, so it’s usually a pretty busy time too. - Top Buzz Magazine

How do you establish your brand of who you are as a musician?

I think the best way to establish a brand in any business is by being authentic to who you are. I try to be a good, God-fearing man, and I try to write songs about my experience or things that made me who I am. I think by doing that, you establish a brand without really having to try too hard. Being who I am will show people who I am a whole lot quicker than just telling them.

What significance does being able to present yourself to the world through your art have for you?

It’s a different kind of high to me. When someone hears a song that I made up and can relate to it, there’s no feeling like it. I have plenty of songs that helped me get through a tough time or songs that remind me of certain people or feelings, and everyone loves songs like that. When you have the opportunity to be on the other side of that for someone else, you just can’t beat the way that feels. I know everyone that writes says that, but that must mean it’s true.

Do you ever take time to reflect on your career?

I go through seasons where I reflect a lot, and then there’s seasons where I’m so busy with everything that I don’t take that kind of time out. When I get discouraged because I’m not quite where I want to be, I try to look at where I was this time last year. If I’ve walked a little further now than I did a year ago, I think that’s a success. If I haven’t, I know I need to buckle down and start getting after it. And for that reason I think everyone should spend a little time reflecting, no matter their profession.

Putting yourself first is important but do you ever feel like you put the music in that position sometimes at all costs?

I don’t think I’ve actually put myself first in a long time. In college, when I really started diving deep into writing and singing, music was always the number one priority. Then I met my wife, and now we have a son that’s pushing a year, so I have had something to put in front of me for awhile. And I think it’s great. I don’t think my dad ever put himself in front of anyone in his family, and I admired that from the time I was little. If the wife and baby are the first priority, that means they’re taken care of. The same thing with my music. If I put the music first and devote as much attention as possible to that, everything is a little better and runs a little smoother.

What has been the best time spent when creating a song?

One of the songs I have coming out in early 2022 was a lot of fun to create. I love old-timey murder ballads, but you just don’t hear very many of them anymore. The wife and baby were out of town visiting some family in Oklahoma, so I had a little extra alone time. I sat down with this idea of writing a murder ballad, and I took it down every last rabbit hole I could think of. I probably spent six hours straight writing on that one, and if I would have kept everything I wrote it may have been ten minutes long. Of course I ironed it out in the end and I think the record is going to be right at four minutes, but it was the most fun I’d had writing a song in a long time.

Could you tell us a story that sticks with you when it comes to the making of that single?

On the murder ballad, I sat down with no intention of writing something I’d ever record. Sometimes there’s so much pressure to write a great song that nothing comes out. But I was just goofing around with this old Gibson LG-0 I bought in a pawn shop a couple years ago, and playing a little different music than I usually do. Like I said before, I probably wrote enough lyrics for a whole dang book, and it was just nice to write something just for the sake of writing. It doesn’t hurt that it turned into one of my favorites.

How do you make sure you visit your roots as you progress in your career?

I spent my first 23 years in Texas, so I make sure to get back there as often as I can. There’s just a different atmosphere back home, and just setting foot back in Texas is as good a way as any to get back to my roots. When that’s not possible, I try to spend a little extra time outdoors not doing much of anything. The simple things have always been more important to me than anything, and Tennessee ain’t too bad of a place to keep life simple.

We want to know what your fans are listening to right now that they can’t get enough of?

My most-listened to song is ‘Next to Mine.’ I wrote that one about my wife back when we were first dating on the Texas/Oklahoma border awhile back. It’s been getting a lot of great reception lately, and I hope it’s a song folks are falling in love with every day.

What are you considering dropping next?

I have some songs that I just finished up with some of Nashville’s very best players, so those will be coming out come 2022. I’ve got everything from the murder ballad to a new love song to heartbreak and more, and I’m excited for folks to hear everything. - Melody Maker Magazine