Zachary Knowles
Releases Late Summer Anthem “CRUSH”
By Andy Torres-Lopez & Ken Tse
PHOTO CREDIT: PHOENIX JOHNSON
Valentine’s Day is here early thanks to Zachary Knowles’s recent single, “CRUSH.” Accompanied by a candy heart-filled lyric video, which was directed and edited by Knowles himself, and an acoustic video live from a pool hall, “CRUSH” is one of two singles Knowles dropped this year in anticipation of his EP, GOALIE. We got the opportunity to talk to the rising singer-songwriter and learn more about the inspiration behind the song, lessons he’s learned from his collaborators, and what we can expect from the upcoming project.
Hey Zachary! Thanks so much for speaking with us and congrats on the recent release of “CRUSH” – can you walk us through the inspiration for the track?
Thank you! Also thanks for having me, this is awesome. Yeah, I definitely can. I really wanted to write this sort of groovy/chill/RnB-inspired love song. I don’t know exactly, but I wanted it to be romantic while having a little attitude to it. The song started with just an acoustic and felt cool, but also felt like it was missing something. After sitting on it for a while we dove back in and wanted to add some sort of build that would keep you interested while also adding to the nature of the story. I think unintentionally we sort of mimicked the nature of a relationship which is crazy. It starts slow, starts to pick up some steam in the pre-chorus, then later hits you with this groovy sort of high-energy chorus carried through the rest of the song.
Your songs, including this one, often speak to love and longing. Was it difficult at first to show this openness and vulnerability in your songwriting?
I think it’s always a little scary putting something very personal and vulnerable out there. Being an artist has always fascinated me because unlike a lot of other career paths, your work is literally a reflection of who you are. It comes from a very personal place and if someone doesn’t like it or even hates it, it can feel like they’re essentially not vibing with you. I think that’s probably a fear shared among a lot of artists, or maybe it’s just me. At the end of the day though it also feels so cool getting to share personal stuff through the music. Especially when someone really connects with it. It feels like when that happens, there’s a deeper connection there that goes beyond a song because it feels like the listener gets me if that makes sense. Anyway, that was a rant but my answer is yes and no. It was a little scary but the excitement overpowered that at first for sure.
“CRUSH” is a summer anthem at its finest. When do you feel is the perfect occasion to listen to the song?
Every time I’ve listened to it is when I’m either outside hanging out or driving down the road. I sort of think it’s the perfect song for hanging at the beach with some friends. It’s got some chill to it but feels super summery once the beat comes in so I imagine it playing either at the beach with some homies, or while driving with the windows down. Either way, at full blast.
What is one thing that you want listeners to take from the track?
I just want listeners to feel good with this one. I don’t write songs that are nothing but happy energy that often, so when I do it’s always fun getting to share that with people. I just want this song to live in the happy spaces of people's lives. Whether they’re with their crush, out with friends, or whatever it might be, I just want people to associate this song with the happy moments in their lives. I hope it can bring some people joy in some form when they listen to it.
You’ve worked with some amazing pop acts over the years – what has been your most valuable lesson from a collaborator?
I’ve never forgotten hearing “first thought, best thought” in a session. I’ve heard that multiple times and I’m not sure who said it to me first, but that’s incredibly true in a lot of ways. Most of the songs that have come from working with others have stemmed from one of the first ideas that was sung or played in that session. I think instincts just take over sometimes and as a creative and my biggest critic, it’s easy to overthink things. Having someone in the room to hear your ideas blurted out, even if to you they’re messy or don’t seem good, has been a really important part of my process. A lot of my ideas came to fruition because of someone hearing a melody I blurted out at the beginning of a session and had I been alone, who knows if I would’ve thought that melody was worth chasing and turning into something. So yeah, first thought best thought. That’s helped me on so many occasions.
Do you most enjoy making music individually or with a group of songwriters and why?
Definitely with others. Making music by myself is fun and I do it often, but making it with others takes the cake. I think being able to bounce ideas off of each other is super valuable because overthinking things when you’re alone is easy. Also the songs just feel more meaningful when working with others because the connection to them is outside of myself. It involves a crew who all have a personal attachment and a role to play in the song, so it feels like more of a group effort which is really special. Getting to kick it with friends while making music beats making it by myself for sure.
What do you hope to tell your fans with your upcoming EP GOALIE? What is the meaning behind the title?
The title popped into my head one day out of nowhere. The project is about this sort of battle with self. I wrote it after a time in my life that was really tough for me mentally. I struggled with some emotional stuff and once I was at a healthy place to reflect on that, I wrote this project. So it’s very much focused on my thoughts during that time I wasn’t doing my best. One of the biggest things I learned from that time though was how I was essentially the factor that was making things so difficult for myself. It felt like I was at this battle with myself, blocking out a lot of my emotions and struggling to hear myself think. That’s where the idea of “GOALIE” was born. Simply put, I thought the energy and theme of the project matched the nature of a soccer goalie, whose main objective is to block shots. I was being my own goalie. I hope people can relate to a lot of it, and realize that there is peace on the other side of the confusing and hard times in life. I also hope that they can rage out to some of them, and rage with me when I play them live.
You also value connection and aim to foster connections with your music. How has making music changed your community, whatever that means to you?
Meeting other creatives with similar goals and mindsets as my own has been very beneficial and impactful on my journey and the way I see music. I think as humans we’re meant to be in a community. We’re meant to share ideas with each other and create together. Making music has led me into some seriously awesome relationships with people who have become some of my closest friends. It’s shown me the value of community in many ways and has made this whole music thing way more exciting for me. I don’t know if that specifically answers that, but music has changed it a lot in the greatest ways.
Was it a tough decision to quit sports and pursue music full-time? What did the people in your life think about the move and how has that changed over time?
Yeah, it was definitely scary. All of my friendships kind of centered around sports so quitting was pretty intimidating at the time. I think I was just scared of negatively impacting my friendships and looking dumb if nothing happened with music. I didn’t know I’d be pursuing music at that time as a career, I just knew I wanted to spend more time doing it. But I definitely had some mixed opinions. Some thought it was pointless because it was high school and I might as well just play sports, but others respected me pursuing something that early on. Over time I started getting a lot of support. Even at that time once I started putting out music there were a bunch of people from high school that hyped me up.
You’ve been around music your whole life and started writing songs super young. What has been the most significant change in your creative process over the years?
I approach things now with a more long-term perspective I think. I try to really structure each song and project around where I was mentally and emotionally at the time of writing so that I can look back at it in the future and see how I’ve grown as a person. I like to think about what my kids will hear one day, which is something I never used to think about. But I think it’s important to think long term in this industry, and especially with the art because aiming for timeless art I’d say holds a lot of value. Like yes, I’ll change as a person, but I want to look back and be proud of what I created if that makes sense.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve got two things that will stick with me forever.
“If something scares you, do that thing as many times as you can”
“You’ll never regret trying something, but you’ll always regret not trying.”
Along with the release of GOALIE, what else can fans expect for the rest of 2022?
They can definitely expect a bunch of videos surrounding the GOALIE release for one. I’ve been working really hard on some videos I’m excited for people to see alongside the release of the EP. I also plan on playing some shows so fans can expect news about that at some point in 2022. Besides that, I just want to keep dropping music honestly. There might be some new tunes this year, who knows!