Tulsa transplant talks American Idol, the art of collaboration, and making Music City home.
Hit songwriter and one-time frontman of post-grunge rockers the Nixons, Zac Maloy recently celebrated his first No. 1 song with “Temporary Home,” recorded and co-written by Carrie Underwood. The single, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on April 10, 2010, marks Maloy’s successful expansion into the country format from his previous extensive work in the pop/rock genre. He’s also had songs recorded by artists including David Cook, DAUGHTRY, Plain White T’s, Jason Castro and Bowling for Soup, among many others. Recently, we caught up with Maloy at his Nashville studio and chatted about American Idol as a portal for songwriter discovery, the art of collaboration, the importance of tenacity in ambition and his recent—and enthusiastic—decision to make Music City his new home.
You just moved to Nashville from Tulsa, Oklahoma. What inspired your move here?
Well, I was in a band in the ‘90s, and we dissolved between 2001 and 2002. Since I’m from Oklahoma, my family and I stayed in Tulsa, not really knowing where we wanted to go. We thought about the possibility of L.A. or New York, but we had kids and just stayed in Tulsa. We got into a routine there, and I built a studio. Artists would come to me, and I would travel. And as things began to snowball in my career and the traveling began to pile up, we decided that we needed to get to a music town like L.A. and New York. Even though I love both towns, they just didn’t feel like the right place for us to live. I came to Nashville on a couple of different trips and wrote with Tom Douglas, who is my favorite writer of all time. Then we wrote a little with different writers via Sony and 19 Entertainment, and I started to fall in love with the town. I brought my wife to visit, and then we put our house on the market and just came to Nashville, again realizing that I needed to be in a town with more music energy.
How do you view the creative community in Nashville compared to that of New York and L.A.?
It’s amazing. Actually, it’s the healthiest I’ve ever seen, personally. I’ve been here for over five months, and I feel like everyone has been amazing and welcoming. And it’s been this way not only with my family, which is important, but with me, too. I’ve written with writers from almost all of the publishing companies that I would want to—and certainly Sony. I’m signed to Sony, so they’ve been amazing. My A&R girl there, [Sony/ATV Publishing Nashville Creative Director] Abbey Burkhalter, has really played an important role in getting me going in Nashville. With [Craig Wiseman’s publishing company] Big Loud Shirt, I wrote with one of their writers, and then the next thing I know, I’m writing there once or twice a week, which then leads to writing with people down the street. And it goes on and on and on. It’s just been amazing, and everyone’s so nice.
You collaborated with Carrie Underwood and Luke Laird on the No. 1 hit “Temporary Home.” How did all of that come about?
Well, my previous writing resume is with rock bands. I’ve written with Train, DAUGHTRY, David Cook, Jason Castro, and a lot of those are 19 writers. At one point, Iain Pirieat the 19 Entertainment office in L.A. said, “Would you want to write with Carrie?” And I, of course, said, “Yes, just tell me where and when.” So they brought me out, and I wrote with her and Luke for a couple of days. We wrote some great songs, including “Temporary Home.” Carrie and I actually wrote again together a couple more times. That first writing session was awesome.
It just falls into the same category with everyone else I just mentioned. Everyone at 19 has been amazing to have written with. A lot of their other writers, such as Jerry Flowers and Barry Dean—both of whom came to Tulsa when I was living there—have just been so cool. The writers, of course, have talent, but I even called Barry to ask where I should bank when I moved to Nashville. I knew nothing about this town, and everyone has been really helpful in that way. Again, I was doing those little one-day writing sessions at 19, and the next thing I know, I’m buddies with everyone there. It’s really cool.
The subject matter of “Temporary Home” is pretty intense and even a little dark. What is the story behind that?
Carrie had had this thought that, I believe, she read about in a book that life is a temporary home. I think it’s an amazing song and feel pretty proud to be a part of the writing process for a song like that. I hear so many people talk about how they were so touched by it. I had messages on my e-mail, Facebook and Twitter saying, “This song helped me get through something traumatic.” I think the song is great and is a beautiful three-part story about how [everything is] OK; this is just temporary, and you’ll get through it.
You’ve written with a lot of American Idol alums. Do you think the show is a significant vehicle for discovering new songwriters outside its role as a talent show?
Absolutely. I already had a few cuts when I first signed with Sony, and then my friend [Atlantic Records Executive Vice President] Pete Ganbarg, who was doing A&R for the DAUGHTRY record, asked me if I had anything to send for consideration. I gave him an mp3 of a song, and it made the album. So, in some respects, it helped me turn a little spark into something more. That was, by far, my biggest cut. Another friend of mine got a cut on the latest DAUGHTRY album and is now writing with David Cook, and I think he also wrote with [American Idol Season 8 winner] Kris Allen. For him it was the same thing: He was just a songwriter sitting in his little place in Virginia and landed a song on the DAUGHTRY album. So, the show is an amazing forum for artists and singers, but it creates more opportunities for writers to get out there and write in all different genres.
You were an artist as frontman for the Nixons, and then you made the transition into writing and producing. How do you think being an artist informed what you do now?
Well, it’s everything for me, but I can’t speak for other people who were artists or dabbled in performing. I was on tour for 11 years of my life. That was like a master’s program in the music business, because we did everything from recording albums all over the country in different studios with different vibes from L.A. to Boston. Then we did mixing and mastering, playing and singing, and meeting with our record label’s president, then the promotion companies. I’ve gotten to see every facet of the business. So for me, it informed everything I’ve done.
What do you look for when you decide to collaborate with a certain band or artist, whether they’re already singed to a label or have a production deal? Do you use that—gauging their work ethic—to decide who to work with, or is it all artistically and randomly based?
It’s a little bit of everything. There are bands that I’ve never heard of before when they show up and ring my doorbell. Then there are bands that I go watch live and talk to the A&R guy to see if I can help them or work well with them. For instance, there’s a band called Rocket to the Moon signed the Fueled by Ramen label. They weren’t really embracing the songwriting thing, but they were OK with me because I had been in a band and knew where they were coming from. And I’m going to write in Kentucky with a band called Blackstone Cherry who, to my knowledge, have never done any co-writing, ever, and they don’t really want to. But, they were familiar with the Nixons and are able to sort of let their guard down because I’ve been there.
So, in collaborating with all of these artists you get different personalities, writing styles and approaches. What do you think the key to collaboration is?
My wife has a psychology degree, so maybe I should ask her! It really is just a random crapshoot of the situation when someone walks into the room. It’s not just that way with bands but with other writers, too. I’ll go write with one writer who’s from the middle-of-nowhere in Alabama, and then the next day I’ll go write with someone from London from an affluent family. And that’s what I actually love about it. I get to see so many different personalities. That’s probably the best way to do it, because it keeps me guessing a little bit. Ideas can come from all different places. Today, in about 45 minutes, a band called the Rogue is coming in from Denver. They’re [in the process of] signing to Atlantic Records. I listened to their music after I saw them play at South by Southwest and they’re great, but who knows what will happen? That’s the exciting part of the writing process.
Because you collaborate so much, how do you keep things fresh? What keeps you going and keeps new ideas coming to you?
I don’t know! That’s a great question. I always think one day I’ll just wake up and just not have anything to say. But I woke up today with a song idea in my head and wrote another song with another writer last night. That’s what we do and, luckily, the ideas just keep on coming.
Looking back, how did you become interested in music and songwriting? Who are you musical and songwriting heroes?
Well, my first musical hero was my grandfather; he was a country singer. By the time I was 5 or 6 and was able to understand he was a singer, he wasn’t touring anymore and was just playing Fourth of July picnics in the park. But just seeing him sit around with a guitar and playing Johnny Cash songs and country music was my first education. Then, like tons of kids in small towns, I was discovering Van Halen and rock ‘n’ roll bands. And then I got into a rock band. So my musical heroes have been everyone from my granddad to artists like Robert Plant, David Lee Roth—on into the ‘90s. I really loved all the bands from the grunge era, but I have to say Chris Cornell is maybe the best singer ever. And I loved Pearl Jam and still love their energy and spirit.
So did you learn to play guitar first?
I really was the singer in my band and then played a little guitar. I started to play more and more, though, as we needed more guitars in live shows. [My guitar playing] was more out of necessity.
What is your process and approach when you write a song? Does it come all at once, or do you write starting with lyrics or melody first?
It’s different every time. I’m brought into situations slightly more often for lyric and melody. I have a laptop full of ideas, but then again, I can just sit, grab a guitar and start strumming, and maybe that song is an idea as well. It really does happen in a number of different ways. I collaborate so often, and that’s cool, too. [Songwriter] Chris Tompkins is a great piano player. He can just start playing and, inevitably, something will explode out of there.
You obviously have a lot going on. What’s on the horizon?
What I’ve been doing since I moved is collaborating a lot with Nashville writers. But David Cook was here for the last two weeks and just left a few days ago. Hopefully we’ll get a song or two on that album. And I just had a couple of songs come out on the Jason Castro album. In fact, the current Jason Castro single is my song. Then I’ve been writing with a series of bands. There’s a new band out called New Medicine and a band called The Maine, who I wrote with in L.A. and whose album is coming out soon. And speaking of Nashville not just being about country, there’s another band I’ve collaborated with called Fighting with Wire. This is a loud, sweaty, punk-rock band from Northern Ireland. They’ve written and are recording in Nashville with Nick Raskulinecz, who’s an amazing rock producer who also lives here.
For those wanting a career as a professional songwriter, what advice would you give?
Anything I say will probably sound cliché, but for me, it really has been about pushing to keep on going. I kept on going, even when I didn’t have any cuts, or maybe just little ones here and there. But then something would happen and I’d get one song, and that’d make me think, “OK, I can do it a little while longer.” My wife even jokes sometimes that it’s like last man standing if you just keep at it. And obviously, I work hard at what I do, so it’s not just about sticking around and toughing it out. It’s about working hard and believing in yourself.
To date, what professional achievement are you most proud of?
Oh my gosh, I really feel lucky. With my band, I’m really proud of the little mark we made. We got to open for bands like KISS and Radiohead and played at Madison Square Garden, where we probably had no business being at all (laughs). But as a writer, I’m really proud of a lot of the songs I’ve written. “Temporary Home” is the most fresh in my mind, so I’d probably have to say it’s the one I’m most proud of. It’s my first No. 1 song, and as I mentioned, I think it’s an important song that means something to a lot of people.
