Interview: Beach Bound With Zac Brown Band In Atlantic City
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)-- From the stadium to the sand, Zac Brown Band is kicking off Labor Day Weekend in Atlantic City.
After a set of sold out ballpark shows in Boston and New York, Zac Brown and company will be soaking in some sun this Thursday September 1st as part of the Atlantic City Beach Concert Series.
"When you're in a ballpark it's hotdogs, peanuts, and beer - and then when you're on the beach it's like Buffett party time" laughs Zac Brown Band guitarist Clay Cook over the phone on one the band's rare days off.
"Everybody's just having a good time, and half the people are in bathing suits. It's kind of the end of the season - you know, it will start to get cooler soon - so everybody's getting that one last big party throwdown before it gets cold again."
The setting might be different, but the band remains the same. Beyond the borders of country music Zac Brown Band has earned a legion of fans, forged through the sweat of their live performances. The "Homegrown" singers have outgrown genres and labels, always inviting more people into their country-rock revival tent.
"I don't think we set out to not be included in everybody's perception of country music" Cook says of the band's growth. "We try to stretch the boundaries a lot further than some other bands."
The loyalty of country music fans is the foundation that built Zac Brown Band and they're still there - continually wowed by this Georgia collective of skilled musicians - but chances they've taken and their reputation as one of the best in the business on stage has earned them fandom across the spectrum.
"I still feel that we're growing, not only our audience but our musical horizons. That last album we made, Jekyll + Hyde was stylistically all over the place. We probably won't have something that diverse on the next recording, but it just shows you that I guess what we like, other people like. And they like our show."
"At the end of the day, records for us is basically like a business card for people to come see us play live."
For more details on Zac Brown Band and the Atlantic City Beach Concert Series, check out their website. To hear much more from Clay Cook of Zac Brown Band, listen to the full interview below.