Check Out Zach Comer’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Comer.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My musical journey started at a very young age around 3 or 4 as I remember using my mom’s pots and pans as drums. On my 8th birthday is when my Aunt Jane and Uncle Joe gifted me my first drum set. Talk about excitement, my passion for performance and music was overflowing from that day forward.

Two years later at age 10, I had beaten my drum set to the point it was no longer playable (busted all the drum heads). That is when I gave the guitar a try. I mustered up the courage to ask my older brother Dave to teach me some chords. After a few attempts, he finally agreed and showed me the chords to Free Fallin by Tom Petty.

That would be the first song I ever learned to play and sing. I would practice every night and annoy my little brother Spencer while he tried to watch SpongeBob. Later that year, I would receive a brand new drum set and I would practice both instruments each night in my room. I taught myself totally by ear and feel. I wouldn’t learn to read music until I joined the choir in High School.

Even though I had a new drum set I still gravitated to the guitar and singing. To help with my practice routine I would write and make up songs. I didn’t realize at that young age what I was doing, but it was challenging and fun. From there, I would go on a form a band in Jr. High named Detour. We played one show, but that moment made me realize that my heart was with music and I would do my very best to become a professional musician.

In high school, I would form another band named Zeke and the Geeks. I taught my two best friends how to play their instruments and we continued to jam before we finally got the courage to book a show. We would go on and play for many years. Playing locally in Indiana we even got to play at the Chicago House Of Blues. We played through college and recorded 2 EPs.

Unfortunately, after graduation, we all agreed to split the band. At that point I had lost hope in my silly little dream and gave up on music. 6 years later in 2019, I decided to quit drinking for good and change my lifestyle. Thank god for my beautiful wife Emily for giving me the courage and confidence to set myself free and to start performing again.

During that 6 year’s hiatus, I was still playing and writing music and my wife realized that music is and will always be a part of me and we embraced it 100%. We haven’t looked back since. There’s a lot more to my story, but you get the gist of it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have seen the valleys and I have tried to climb to the top.

For me, my biggest obstacle was my own self-doubt. Drinking also played a part in that. Once I awoke that demon he was hard to avoid. Fortunately, my loving wife and family got me back on track and I have been rolling ever since.

A good friend of mine gifted me a bracelet after I told him my life-changing moment that reads “one day at a time” and that’s how I live each and every day!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. I have taught myself how to play, drums, percussion, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, and harmonica. If it makes noise I was to play it. I am most proud of my journey to this point.

It was a long and winding road with many bumps and detours. Luckily, I found my true calling and won’t stop until I take my final breath. What sets me about from others is I write and sing about my personal life or others. I love the craft of storytelling and making my songs personable and relatable to listeners.

Music is also my form of therapy. It helps me work through my shortcomings and life in general. So when people see or hear my play they will know right away that I am not hiding anymore. What you see is what you get. I want to use music to help others. It’s a universal language we all speak.

In 2019 I started performing live again and saved the money to go in and record my debut album Someday. Those songs span 15 years of my life. The song Funky was the first song I wrote and remember from when I was 16 years old. Others were written between then and 2019. It was something I had to put out into the world as I couldn’t fear what people thought of me and my music anymore. It was the first time in a long time where I felt a sense of accomplishment and realized I am my own worse enemy and started taking things one day at a time.  I am currently in the works on my follow up record which will tell my story from the beginning of my sobriety and how my outlook on life has changed and the peaks and valleys of my sobriety which is over 3 years now. My life is an open book and my hope is by telling my story that it may help someone else get through whatever is going on in there life. Music is a beautiful thing. As it literally saved my life.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The music industry is ever-changing and can be misleading sometimes.

For artists like me streaming and social media have been a huge benefit, but on the other side of that everyone is doing it so you have to get creative with it to draw in potential fans into your world.

I think more great artists will be discovered with these tools. I think we will see a shift for artists to go independent and own their own music and labels.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @funkycomer
• Facebook: @zachcomermusic
• Youtube: Zach Comer Music

Image Credits:
@McGowanphotography