We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zack Lemons a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Zack, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

The first instrument I learned was the guitar. I did this the old fashioned way by sitting on the end of my bed for hours on end listening and trying to recreate the essence of my favorite guitar players. Moving the tracker of my ipod nano back seconds at a time until I got the right notes to match. By doing so I trained my ear very well to recognize certain scales, intervals, and progressions. A skill which has been incredibly beneficial to my life as a musician and I don’t know how I would’ve obtained that skillset if i had taken lessons or learned off of youtube. Buy teaching myself how to play guitar and interpreting it through my own dialogue, I feel like I developed my own style and feel on the instrument that I don’t necessarily hear in other players. It is the end result of my failing to sound like Jimi Hendrix…

Zack, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

This may sound a little deep, but the main reason I got into music was because it allows me to live forever. All artist have that ability. When we listen to music, gaze into a painting, or read a book, the creator of that work, and the emotion that they portrayed in that moment feels very much alive within us. (side note: they don’t have to be deceased to conjure this feeling). I find it truly remarkable that, for example, Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” has the same effect on people as it did in 1964 and will most likely do so in 2064. In essence, I became an artist to time travel.

That desire has led me down the rabbit hole of many musical endeavors. I like to promote/pride myself on being a one-stop-shop artist. I do the writing/arranging, recording of all the instruments/vocals, and the production as well. It’s taken almost a decade to get all of those talents to the point proficiency. Many long nights and early mornings. The one thing (aside from caffeine) that keeps me disciplined and motivated is my sheer love for the craft. There is absolutely no better feeling than when all facets of what I do meet at the end of the maze…

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Hiring them locally. Most major artist get a following locally before branching off into the mainstream. There are so many people putting out art nowadays and not enough slices of the pie to eat from. I’ve always believed that good art will find its way, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t use a little help.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I think they are some pretty expensive 1’s and 0’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zacklemonsmusic.com/
• Instagram: when.life.gives.you.zack
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacklemonsmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0kd_jnTju4RwwQhFo-GvOA