The Catalyst interview: Clay Cook, of the Zac Brown Band

Guitarist, singer and keyboard player Clay Cook is a cornerstone of the Zac Brown Band, the Atlanta-based country music outfit that’s landed 14 No. 1 singles and four multi-platinum albums since 2005.

Brown, the enigmatic, bearded bear of a vocalist (and songwriter) is the central figure in the group, but each of its nine members plays a key role in creating the dynamics of what has become one of the top concert attractions in the United States. In a way, they’re all cornerstones.

The Zac Brown Band plays two successive nights – Friday and Saturday (Nov. 3 and 4) at Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa.

Next week, the high-energy group’s third live album, From the Road, Vol. 1 will be released. It’s a collection of cover songs that prove that the versatile Brown and company are the E Street Band of country music (they’ve played Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Prince, Dan Fogelberg, Rolling Stones and Billy Joel songs onstage, along with all manner of re-imagined country songs).

Three advance singles – not “country” by anyone’s definition – have already dropped from this new album: Stunning ZBB versions of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (recorded at Wembley Stadium in the U.K., no less), the Who’s iconic “Baba O’Riley” and, improbably, the Great American Songbook hit “The Way You Look Tonight” (with Brown channeling Frank Sinatra).

Cook, whose roommate at Boston’s Berklee College of Music (and early musical collaborator) was John Mayer, joined the Zac Brown Band in 2009. Still, he tells us, “There’s times I still think I’m the new guy.”

St. Pete Catalyst: Why does the band cover other people’s songs?

Clay Cook: I think we love music more than anybody I’ve ever met. Every single one of us loves it. And yes, we do have an avenue where we perform for our fans, and it’s a little bit country, it’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll [laugh]. It’s a little bit modern pop. It’s a little bit of everything.

But when we choose to tackle some of these classic songs, we try to make them maybe not exactly perfect … if you look back on “Baba O’Riley,” that was one of those things where we were kind of tired of trying to make everything perfect like the record. And we wanted to put our own twist on it.

And so every cover has a reason – this is who we are. We’re a conglomeration of all sorts of things, even just individually. And then, there’s nine of us onstage. John Hopkins doing “Enter Sandman” was always a favorite for a really long time, Jimmy (De Martini) doing “Sabotage,” or Rage Against the Machine or whatever – because he’s got that really high-pitched rap voice.

I saw you singing “Whipping Post” on some video.

Yeah, so I have a bit of a Southern Rock background. My uncle Doug Gray is the lead singer, and has been since the beginning, of the Marshall Tucker Band. I grew up with those records playing around the house because that’s my mom’s brother! So every weekend, while we were cleaning the house all together as a family, we would put on the Marshall Tucker Band. And then when I learned to play guitar, those were the first songs that I wanted to learn how to play. And when I first got a band, I wanted to learn those songs with the band. It’s just been a part of my fabric.

Then I was fortunate enough to go and tour with them for a long time, and play alongside not only these great musicians my uncle had in the band … but Bill Payne [of Little Feat] taught me how to play Hammond organ. Rusty Young, from Poco, taught me the beginnings of playing pedal steel. He didn’t have to do that.

So yes, I’m doing “Whipping Post.” I did it with my high school band. So I’ve been singing that song since I was 15 years old.

What was the impetus to go to Berklee?

My high school band teacher saw a lot of potential in me. They didn’t have guitar in high school; I was melodically inclined, but I also wanted to be a drummer! This guy just look me under his shoulder, because he saw that I had an overflowing interest in music. I spent two years with him taking music theory and AP music theory … I just had a lot of great musical mentors growing up.

Both of my parents really wanted me to be the first in my family to graduate college. I tried, I really did, but my younger brother ended up being the one who graduated.

I went there and looked around and I thought: Wow, all these people are living and breathing music. You can kind of make your own path there. The day that I got there, I auditioned as a drummer. And the day that I got there I was like “I think I’m gonna learn more on guitar.” And so I switched my major to guitar on the day I got there. And they were not having it. I was like “Just let me audition, right now.” And I auditioned with, literally, one of the judge’s guitars. It went great.

I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish while I was there, in four years. And, long story short, I did it in two.

What exactly did you get from Berklee?

I think everything I learned up until the moment that I walked into the Zac Brown Band prepared me for being in this band. So, being able to communicate with other musicians, using musical terms, listening to something and knowing what it is … those things I picked up at Berklee.

And then also playing with other musicians. I just made it to where I could be a professional musician. And honestly, the guys in this band, we could go play for anybody. It’s not like it’s proprietary just to Zac’s music.

The band was already pretty successful when you joined in 2009. What’s that journey been like, reaching one higher plateau after another?

Really, what it’s all about for us is going out there and putting on the best show. And not repeating ourselves from tour to tour. Because I’ve seen some of my favorite bands multiple times, and for a lot of them it’s pretty much the same show every night. And I’ll say that even with all the improvisation that was happening in Marshall Tucker Band, eighty percent of the songs were the same.

“Play the hits,” right. “Can’t You See.”

Yeah, and it’s understandable because you look out in the audience and people are just elated. But we’re lucky enough to be … we were still on the radio two years ago. I look out in the crowd and we have late teens, kids, loving this stuff because it’s the stuff their parents were listening to when they were little.

When someone searches your band, it comes up: Country music band. But you’re so much more than that. Do you find that a limited descriptor? You are, but you aren’t.

It’s a little frustrating but you know, if they gotta put us somewhere, at the end of the day we’re all southern boys – well, Caroline’s not a boy, and she’s also from Connecticut, but she really does fit really well with us.

Zac and I have a pretty deep love and background in bluegrass music. We just absolutely love traditional country music. I would argue that most country music of the last 15 years is very much like Bon Jovi.

I’ve been arguing that for years – country radio is basically pop radio with a little fiddle and pedal steel.

It’s true. And we could either sit here and complain about it and get frustrated, or we could be just like “That’s what the people want,” or that’s what they consider country music because that’s what’s been given to them. And they’re fine with it! They love it.

Even today, you’ve got Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen selling out stadiums … stadiums, man! Alabama didn’t do stadiums.

Find tickets for the Nov. 3 and 4 concerts here.