Local boy An up-close-and-personal look at a struggling Lawrence musician and artist
By Ashley Michaels, Jayplay writer
Photo by Kit Leffler Local musician Zach Newton's surroundings represent his life. He lives among musical instruments and art.
He doesn't sleep. Trying to finish a double major in illustration and graphic design at the University of Kansas and get his music career off the ground, Zach Newton doesn't have time to sleep. One is sure how he spends this time, though his girlfriend says that sometimes he does homework, doodles or writes lyrics. Trying to finish up school with his band, one album and plans for another, Newton has plenty on his mind to entertain his insomnia.
He answers the door in black-rimmed glasses, jeans with holes in the knees, Chuck Taylor shoes and a mohawk. Art by his current band-mate and roommate Paul Flinders hangs on the walls. An old, beat-up couch sits low to the ground. A guitar leaning up against the couch as if at any time some skilled individual might just pick it up and strum a few chords. On the coffee table are two packs of Camels and an empty bottle of Miller High Life. Easy Rider plays on the television.
Newton is a 24-year-old, small-town guy from Wathena. Music has always been his passion, even though he didn't get his first guitar until he was 19. "It was an ibanez Acoustic Electric," Newton says. "I got it at the pawn shop for about $10. At the time I thought it was pretty cool." With a love for music and a drive to learn, he taught himself how to play the guitar using the music of artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.
A high school talent show was the first time Flinders witnessed Newton in action. He was most impressed with Newton's guitar-playing and his ability to carry the band as a vocalist. "He is the best front man I have ever seen," Flinders says. "He can turn a crowd on and get them hard and wet with the first song." He says he was inspired by the way Newton's energy carried over to his band-mates and to the crowd. He compares playing with Newton like strappins himself to a rocket while every hard drug is shooting through his veins.
When he moved to Lawrence in 2001, Newton hooked up with the band The Things. This was the first time Newton got a chance to sing his own songs. With this new-found freedom he began writing more songs, stepping away from the cover-band stigma into a band with its own identity getting the inspiration for his songs through his own experiences. While he was with The Things, Newton also recorded his solo record. Using the name Local Boy, his first record was called Fight the Losers. The entire album consisted solely of Newton's vocals, an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. He recorded the album at home in his recording studio. With his relationship deteriorating, every song on the album was about his girlfriend breaking up with him. Two months later she did. "For my next album I'm going to write all the songs about getting" laid and makin' money," he jokes.
From this album, an opportunity of a lifetime arose. Through a line of connections, Fight the Losers reached the hands of a sound engineer who works with country singer Tim McGraw. The engineer told Newton he liked what he heard and urged him to move to Nashville to start writing songs. "I wasn't ready to take that big of a step," Newton says. "Sometimes I feel stupid, but I'm happy where I'm at right now."
At this point in his life, Newton's music career is on the slow track. He doesn't have much time for his current blues/rock band, Toledo Bend, while he's working two jobs and finishing up school. Plans include the release of his current band's first album. Even though his music career is on hold, it isn't gone forever. Newton says music will always be a part of his life. "I couldn't go one day without it, I feel it in my bones."
14
Jayplay 02.24.05