Rapid rise still amazes Zac Brown bandmates

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

Country music fans aren’t the only ones amazed at the sudden rise of the Zac Brown Band from the somewhat obscure “Chicken Fried” outfit to amphitheater headliner.

“It’s definitely amazing and a dream come true for us,” said fiddle player Jimmy De Martini, calling from his tour-bus bunk in Virginia Beach, Va. “And the crowds are still getting bigger. Every night that we play, I’ll just catch myself looking up and thinking, ‘Wow, there are people all the way back there on the lawn and you can barely see them.’”

He added, “Every now and then, I’ll look back on a calendar we kept to see where we were playing. I remember two years ago I was looking at it, and it said we were playing a high school graduation party at a pool. And also in that year we played an 8-year-old’s birthday party at a pool in Carrolton, Georgia. I’m like. ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’”

Those pool parties were in 2007, which wasn’t too much of an achievement, considering the group got its start in 2002. However, what followed in the past three years for the Zac Brown Band has been nothing short of extraordinary. The outfit’s multiplatinum 2008 effort “The Foundation” yielded No. 1 country hits “Chicken Fried,” “Toes,” “Highway 20 Ride” and “Free,” with “Whatever It Is” reaching No. 2.

Now the outfit is focused on continuing its success with new album “You Get What You Give,” which is due out Sept. 21. However, the group is not opposed to taking risks, with De Martini proudly announcing his favorite new tunes include the Jimmy Buffet duet “Knee Deep,” the country “As She’s Walking Away” (with Alan Jackson), the jamming “Who Knows,” the ballad “Colder Weather” and the Motown-esque “Keep me in Mind.”

“We’re not going to write this kind of a song or that kind of a song,” De Martini said. “The song just kind of becomes itself, and certainly if there’s a song that can live on a pop station or a rock station instead of a country genre then we’ll want the most people possible to hear it.”

Apparently getting more people to listen to the band hasn’t been a problem so far for the increasingly popular group. Luckily for local Zac Brown Band fans, they’ve been able to watch part of that rocket ship ride with memorable – and sold out – shows at the House of Blue in Cleveland.

“We love Ohio because people are such a blue-collar working people and they just enjoy a good time,” De Martini said. “They are not Yuppies or anything like that. They’re there for good music, good beer and just having a good time.”

Sure De Martini’s Buckeye State love may seem clich d — it turns out every band coming to our state loves the area — but here’s the reason why it’s included in this story: So what does De Martini have to say about the band’s triumphant headlining show Friday at Blossom Music Center?

“I’d get their early and drink a lot of water,” De Martini said. “It’s probably going to be hot. It’s going to be a party and a long show. So you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.”

Wait, you just said Northeast Ohioans like to drink beer yet you’re telling us to drink water. What gives?

“Oh yeah,” De Martini laughed. “Well, drink a water in between each beer.”