Zac & Unwound: Press

With the September release of his second disk, "The Me Before You," local
country/western musician Zac Grooms shows not just his musical potential,
but takes the stage as a mature artist worth listening to.
The new disk features a strong, mature vocal more in keeping with the
sometimes heavy lyrical content of his music. The discord between the
insightful and mature lyrics of his first CD and Grooms' extremely
youthful vocal delivery is no longer apparent on the new disk. His voice and
style, always inventive and well controlled, has lost any hint of youthful
"goofiness" and is a joy to listen to.
The new disk features 11 songs, three written by Grooms, seven by Grooms and
his mother Susie Crosby, and one by Grooms and his sister Katie Crosby.
Katie Crosby also provided the photography for the disk, which features
Grooms standing in a waist-high field of golden wheat, the rolling hills of
the Columbia plateau behind.
The song writing on the disk is exceptional, and each song is well
performed. There are a variety of styles, all well within the
country/western genre, each one featuring guitar, acoustic and electric,
strong vocals and backup vocals by Grooms and Susie Crosby.
* Knock Me Down by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby.
This song brings "Make My Day" toughness into the realm of reality, where
ordinary people demonstrate their courage in the face of adversity, whether
its an individual standing against a school bully or a nation against a
terrorist plot,
"Knock me down, so that I can get up. You think that I'll just lick my
wounds or turn around and run. Well look again, there's something you don't
see...so go ahead, make my day and knock me down."
A nice electric guitar lead, flying high against a sparse acoustic rhythm,
introduces the song and threads throughout to the end.
* Shoulda' Known Better Club by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby. More derivative
than most of the songs on this recording. A nice, bouncy rhythm and engaging
lyrics presented with a full band.
* The Me Before You by Zac Grooms. This is one of the best written songs on
the disk, and shows Grooms as a tough songwriter in his own right. A nice,
simple acoustic song about breaking up...and going back to "The me before
you."
"Because that me didn't need anybody, and that me didn't have to have you
near. So I guess I'll just rewind myself to back before we met...to the me
before you."
* If I had My Way by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby. Another simple acoustic song,
this about the longing of love, and life, and times between.
* My Only Addiction by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby. A lively, but still
acoustic, country song with traditional bass runs on the guitar and blood
harmonies in the background.
* Holding Her Breath, by Zac Groom, Susie Crosby. If you've ever felt
suspended between the past and the future, unable to go forward or back,
then you will enjoy "Holding her breathe." This story song presents a number
of scenarios; a young wife watching her soldier husband leave for war, a
young couple whose child has gone missing.
* "She's just holding her breath, waiting on time, to make up its mind what
to do with her life. She can't turn away, she can't move ahead, suspended in
midair, she's just holding their breath..."How do you go on, knowing what's at stake, knowing this choice isn't yours to make?"
A finger-style acoustic guitar introduces the song and runs through each
verse, shifting nicely into a chorded rhythm for the chorus.
* Survivor, by Zac Grooms. A full band dance tune, "Survivor" plays off the
popular television show and applies it to that other competitive slice of
reality, getting a date.
* In Your Eyes, by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby. A fine love song, played
finger-style on the guitar. Well played, with very nice background vocals by
Susie Crosby...vocals that would sound even better brought forward and given
near equal space with Grooms lead.
* Dream All I Want To, by Zac Grooms, Katie Crosby. A lively acoustic guitar
starts this song off, jumping into the song with a strong but melodic chord
progression."
* Have You Ever Been In Love, by Zac Grooms. Another quite song, "Have you
ever been in love?" is well played on an acoustic guitar and the vocals are
varied and well expressed.
* Lost Cause by Zac Grooms, Susie Crosby. The classic country music theme of
love lost is the theme of this song, but good writing and an intriguing
ending makes this song stand out. "This cause was a lost cause, and the loss
was you.,,I'll go on loving blind, but there will be hell to pay..." Susie
Crosby comes in at the end, adding a second thread of lyrics to the last
verse that really sets this song apart and inspires repeated play. Again,
would her vocals brought forward throughout the disk.
All in all, "The Me Before You" is a great disk on many levels, and should
satisfy fans of Zac Grooms, acoustic country music, and musicians eager to
learn some great new country songs.

At first his voice is a lil new sounding, but after like 5 seconds into the songs you just fall in love with his voice!I hope he goes far into the music industry!! But by the ways he's going now I'm pretty sure he already will! Much Love Britt

I bought this CD after seeing Zac perform in a local concert. Now, I would rather see Zac perform than ANY OTHER COUNTRY STAR. I'm pushing 50, and have seen several big names live including George Strait, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Don Williams, and Willie, and Zac is the best. Every song on the CD tells a story, and it is a story the everyone can recognize and identify with. Now that takes real talent. "The Me Before You" has everything it takes to be a #1 hit. I believe every song on the CD would break the top 20 as a single if it had the exposure. Every song has a story that everyone, EVERYONE can relate to. They are honest and emotional and real. Big stars release records all the time with title songs weaker than ANY SONG on this CD. They back it up with a couple of previously released popular songs and then fill up the rest of the record with weak, uninspired recordings. I have a number of "greatest hits" records by famous names, and none of them are remotely close to having a set of songs as strong as those on this CD. BUY this CD. In a few years, it will be as rare and valuable as the independent records cut by Elvis before his discovery. It is that good.

I cannot say enough about this CD. Every song is a hit and will top the charts before long. I have 45 years of music background and I know good songs when I hear them. Zac is a natural. These songs are warm, soothing and real. He is a star, just not being paid like one yet!