“I do the Bad Boy Boogie all over town”
Zack Bouchard is 18 years old and lives in Rhode Island, USA. I had the honor of meeting Zack at a 1-week songwriting program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusets. Zack has one of the most spunky, fun-loving and unique personalities I’ve ever met. Immediately when I met Zack, I was in awe of his musical talents. With his exemplary guitar skills and a killer voice, musically, he has so much to offer. I could not go another week without asking Zack some questions, so here you go…you’re welcome.
Q: How old were you when you started singing?
A: Well…a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…nah I’m just playing. I started singing when I was in the second grade, heard little things from movies like Alvin & The Chipmunks and I’d sing little ditties here n there.
Q: Which musical artist inspires you the most and why?
A: That is a very difficult question…there’s probably 4 artists that come to mind, and they all inspire me for something different. AC/DC inspired me to be a better guitarist and keep some serious groove with just a guitar. The Beatles inspired me to pick up the guitar and pretty much started it all for me. Queen inspires me to be better at singing because of course everyone has wanted to sound like Freddie Mercury at least once before. And lastly, Green Day inspires me to write songs with hidden meanings in them and to make sure the lyrics have real meaning to them instead of just some words that rhyme but have no meaning to them.
Q: How old were you when you really began to take music seriously?
A: Most likely the 7th grade, I mean I had been playing guitar and singing for about 2 1/2 years beforehand, but 7th grade was when days upon days of being in school listening to nothing but Green Day really fueled me and made me think “This is exactly what I wanna do with my life”. That year I started forming a band or at least trying to, and by freshman year of high school, I was playing gigs with them.
Q: How old were you when you actually started writing music? What do you usually write about and what inspires it?
A: I remember the first song I ever wrote was this short little blues thingy, and the lyrics were god awful because I ripped off the lyrics of the song that Mary Jane sings at the end of Spider-Man 3. However, the first song I wrote when I was serious about music was a song called “Cold Hearted B**ch” about an ex who I found out was cheating on me on my birthday.
Q: What does the songwriting process look like for you?
A: That actually varies quite often for me. It depends on what comes first: the riff or the lyrics. Usually, it’s easier if the riff comes to my head first because then I can put the lyrics to it, but if the lyrics come first then I go nuts and just write a sh*t ton of verses n choruses and when it comes time to record it, usually 50% of what’s on the song isn’t all of what was on the paper.
Q: What do you want to be when you’re older? Do you plan on making music into a career?
A: I honestly just want to make music. Getting money out of it would be a sweet bonus, but I just want to be able to write songs, record ‘em, and play gigs because the energy that a crowd can give off can drive you to places you’d never have thought to exist.
Q: So far, what have been your biggest accomplishments when it comes to music?
A: I’d say my biggest accomplishment so far is the album I’m working on. It’s a rock opera, which is when played from the first song to the last, tells a story of a character. In my case, it’s telling the story of a teenager by the name of Johnny Backlash who has just had enough with all the b.s. from everyone in his town. He meets this girl by the name of Cinderella and the antagonist of the story is one of Johnny’s friends-turned-enemy known as The Maestro. The title track of the album is one of my prouder songs as it has 5 different sections of music and lyrics and spans at a staggering 11 minutes long. But the best part about it is that the lyrics aren’t all just “bla bla bla”, they actually mean something, which is something I’m very proud of.
Q: What does music mean to you, and why is it such a big part of your life?
A: Music means everything to me. In my darkest moments I’d probably go batshit crazy without being able to go home, pick up my guitar, turn the amp up to 11 and jam to the riffs of Angus & Malcolm Young or Billie Joe Armstrong. I say this to everyone and I mean it: music is pretty much the only thing I’m good at.
Q: If you could collaborate with any musical artist, who would it be?
A: I’d love to collaborate with Green Day. Just the idea of writing songs with my favorite modern musicians and then professionally recording and producing them would be amazing.
Q: Which genre of music do you find yourself the most attracted to?
A: Usually I’ll listen to stripped-down, cacophonous, skull-crushing rock n roll, but I’m pretty much an open book I listen to a lot of that stuff like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Cream, punk rock bands like The Clash, The Ramones, and The Sex Pistols. But I also listen to alternative stuff like Green Day, Imagine Dragons and a LOT of blues such as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson. And some modern stuff like Post Malone, Hoodie Allen, A Boogie, Drake, and Eminem.
Q: Which instruments do you play and which do you find the most useful?
A: I play guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard. I find the guitar to be most useful because that’s where all my songs start, with my guitar. Everything else comes afterward if I feel like the song needs it.
Q: If it wasn’t music what would you be pursuing?
A: Probably meteorology.
Q: Other than music, what are some things that you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I like to play video games like your average teenage boy, read comic books, and spend time with friends.
Q: Last question, whats one word of advice you would give to aspiring music artists?
A: Be yourself, but not in the way that everyone makes it out to be. For example, as a guitarist, I take a lot of inspiration from my heroes such as Angus Young. I use the same licks and riffs as he does but in my own way. If you can do that in the same way, taking something that you hear that makes you think “not gonna lie, but that just screams ‘me’” then don’t hold back and friggin’ do it.
for the record 