Recently the guys of Remedy Drive stopped by Brioland to talk about their latest album, Daylight Is Coming, and what it’s like to be in a band of brothers (literally!). The four Zach brothers, who began their rock roots in Lincoln, Neb., have been touring on their own for years. Now, with a record label behind them and a new album, they’re ready to rock even more! Listen in as David (vocals, keys, guitar), Paul (vocals, guitars), Philip (vocals, bass) and Daniel (drums) talk about hope, the kingdom to come and who’s the better tennis player.
Brio: How did you get your start as a band?
Daniel: We started when we were in high school. David had already played the piano some, and the rest of us just picked it up and started jamming in our basement. Then we invited our friends to come over.
David: When I got the sense from Dan, even just a hint, that we could do this full-time, I was all in. Four years ago we decided, “Let’s just do this.” And we were just scraping by financially, little luxuries came here and there: a bus eventually and a sound guy and a tour manager. Making a career out of it, it’s definitely a business, but it’s also a ministry. But first and foremost it’s making music and then using that music to impact lives.
Is there a message you hope people take away from a Remedy Drive show?
David: Excitement. I hope a song will inspire someone to live for a kingdom that’s coming and make them realize that there’s something exciting going on. If a fan takes away, “That guy doesn’t have it all figured out, but he’s excited about something, even if he can’t see it,” then we’re excited about it.
And hopefully it’s something that’s fun; there’s no problem with having fun at a concert. But the message is, “Hey, it’s not rock ‘n roll. It’s not what you own. It’s not the American dream. It’s something more real than flesh and blood. It’s something more real than anything we can even imagine.”
Is there an overall message behind your album, Daylight Is Coming?
David: It’s hope. There’s a song called “Hope,” and obviously “Daylight” is about when everything you’ve counted on has let you down, and there’s another song that says, “All our castles in the sand are washed away.” I thought that having a career in rock music would make me happy. But then we realized that’s not it. There’s something bigger, there’s something else that we’re made for.
Is my hope in something that’s made to last? Or is my hope in something that’s gonna wear out or break down or fade away like our dreams or let us down like everybody in our lives?
Am I putting my trust in a relationship or is my hope in the kingdom that’s coming? And if it’s in the kingdom, then what does that look like? I don’t know exactly.
A fire isn’t going to take my hope away if my hope isn’t in things that can be burned down, and the same with floods and hurricanes. If my hope is in something that can be destroyed by a natural disaster, then I don’t have much to hope in. No matter how shiny it is, it’s still going to break down or rust, so that’s the message of Daylight Is Coming.
What’s your songwriting process like?
David: We got to write with some great people on this record. Before Daylight Is Coming, we’d never written with anyone outside the band. But we got to write with Ian Eskelin of All Star United, as well as last year’s Songwriter of the Year Jason Ingram. So that was a different experience.
What we’re used to doing is how “Daylight” came about: Paul and I in our basement, and we write a guitar riff. And then that guitar riff is there, and the band comes down, and we have a jam around it. And then I try to fit that jam around four different songs. That’s the way we like to write the most—writing from a jam. It seems more honest that way, because the guitar riff drives the writing.
Paul: We wrote like 70 songs for this album.
How do you narrow it down to the songs that are on the album?
Phil: We learned a lot about songwriting this time because we had so many people speaking into the process—people who really know what they’re talking about in their certain realm added their two cents.
Paul: A lot of people just saying, “No, next one.”
Have you always gotten along and wanted to be in a band
together, or do you appreciate each other more now that you’re older?
Dan: We still fight!
David: Communication is the main problem, as with most relationships. You can be saying the same thing and not even know it, but we’re getting systems in place so we’re less tempted to argue about things. But all bands fight, and all bands argue, and all brothers fight, and all brothers argue.
But the good thing is we’re all on the same page with our goals. You hear a lot of horror stories about bands that have opposite goals about what they want to do long-term and what they want their message to be. We’re all committed to the band.
Remedy Drive on . . . Remedy Drive
Keep reading to find out how the guys describe each other.
PAUL
Phil: Paul’s got a gift of creating a fun atmosphere with little to no props.
Dan: Paul is the kid who shows up at the swimming pool and within five minutes has everyone under the age of 8 in a game playing together.
David: Paul, musically, is a one-man symphony on the guitar. He’s tenacious on the phones and e-mail for bookings, which is his role.
Phil: I would say Paul’s a pretty amiable guy.
PHIL
Paul: Phil’s a talker.
David: Phil has skill with people. If you poll one of our aunts, Phil will probably be the favorite of most of them, because he knows to make people feel special in a genuine way. He learns things quickly. Besides one game on Playstation, he’s probably better at video games than I. But at tennis, I think I have the upper hand.
Dan: Phil’s the most skilled with people out of all of us.
Paul: He’s good at the funk bass.
DAN
Paul: Our nickname for Dan is Daniel the Manual.
Phil: He usually knows what to do when a situation arises. He likes to be deliberate. He’s a pros-and-cons man.
David: He always knows where we are on a map. He’s good at explaining why, like if you want something well-thought-through, solid and well-rehearsed.
Paul: He reminds me of our dad. He’s steady, firm.
DAVID
Dan: Wild-child. Tenacious. Typically you can tell what Dave’s thinking because it’s coming out his mouth. He has enough passion for 10 bands.
Paul: He’s a great songwriter. And a talker. If he’s driving and you barely open the door to sit down, he’ll start talking and he won’t stop until he’s done. If you’re bored, it’s a great thing.
Phil: He flip-flops on decisions. He’ll be 100 percent against a decision, and the next day he’s 100 percent for it. But a lot of his unpredictability comes in our favor, because we’re a rock band.
