Press

Big Country Homepage
"When Zach Harmon hit the stage in Sweetwater, everyone couldn't help but jump to their feet and hit the dance floor."

July 22, 2010; Austin Kellerman - Big Country Homepage

99.7 KBCY Radio
"Zach continues to impress audiences, club owners, promotors and me everytime he takes the stage

July 08, 2010; Jb Cloud - 99.7 KBCY Radio


San Angelo LIVE
“Easily one of the most impressive acts I've seen in 2008, two questions come to mind: Why aren't these guys famous yet, and how long until they will be?”

April 18, 2008; Chelsea Schmid - San Angelo LIVE!




Zach Harmon's Band Ready to Take Off
Zach Harmon may not have released his first album, “Road To Nowhere,” last December if it were not for the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

“The reason why I started playing (at age 12) is I idolized Elvis as a kid. I just thought Elvis was the coolest thing ever. And then I guess at one point I said, ‘I want to be like Elvis,’” Harmon recalled in a recent telephone interview.

Then came the Eagles.

“I think everybody at least at one point wanted to be in a band,” he said.

And now Harmon has made his dream a reality as he and fellow Abilenian Aaron Watson perform Saturday night at the Lucky Mule Saloon as a part of the venue’s Hometown Hero show.

“I think it is going to be a really great show. I am pretty sure it’s going to be packed,” Harmon said. “I like playing in front of a lot of people versus not many people.”

Recording “Road to Nowhere” a decade after he first took to the stage at the age of 14 was a fun process for Harmon, as he loves working in the recording studio. The fun, though, was mixed with a lot of time and hard work.

“It seemed like it was more work trying to figure out what to do after you have recorded than when you are just trying to write music,” Harmon said. “Like getting copyrights, that kind of stuff.”

Harmon said he expects that by the time he becomes a seasoned studio recording artist the fun will wear off.

“It’s fun still, but now it’s business and now you have got to ... work on every little thing versus just setting up and playing guitar,” he said.

Scuttlebutt has it that “Road To Nowhere” is a good album but still doesn’t compare to Harmon and his band’s live show, he said.

“It’s a lot better to hear that than ... ‘You don’t sound as good as you do on the album,’” Harmon said. “I want everybody to compliment the album. I haven’t heard anybody say that it is bad.”

Harmon released “Road To Nowhere” in December and is about to release his first single later this month. That will be followed by a heavy radio tour and — hopefully — lots of airplay and gigs.

Harmon said he hopes the single will expand his horizons, and thus his fan base, outside Abilene and San Angelo.

“I am real excited about it. The last few months I have been kind of in a limbo state playing gigs and just waiting for the single to be released,” Harmon said.

He said the next album will have a similar sound to “Road To Nowhere,” but not too similar.

“Kind of like everybody’s first album is different from where they progress. Because I think the musicians actually figure out what they are versus what they think people want to hear,” he said.

Harmon said his goal is to play arenas.

“That’s the dream. I still have got a regular job working to try to pay for everything else,” he said.

Source: http://www.reporternews.com/news/2010/aug/18/ready-to-take-off/. By Dru Willis. August 18, 2010


Recommendation: Road To Nowhere-Zach Harmon
Early adulthood is often regarded as a time for exploration and experimentation. Through the process of learning about themselves, perhaps more importantly, people also discover who they are not. Only in his early twenties, Zach Harmon is still developing a musical identity, which comes through on his debut album Road to Nowhere. Nonetheless, there’s something quite charming about witnessing that growth process. In a world that unfortunately has far too many wannabes seeking to fill specific roles, refreshingly, Harmon is who he says he is.


Who is he? At this moment, a kind of musical jack-of-all trades. Harmon mixes his country with a healthy dose of pop, rock, and a splash of blues. Listeners won’t find him name-checking Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash (even though he counts Nelson among his influences) in a bid to establish his credentials. Harmon’s own description of his music sometimes resembling Restless Heart may be one of the more honest self-assessments, although it doesn’t entirely reflect his sound. He is neither outlaw, traditionalist, nor completely sensitive balladeer, although these categories certainly are not exclusive of one another. His songs grapple with issues of freedom, mortality, the loss of innocence, and impending change. While the album offers nods to the past, several of the songs could be played alongside current radio hits.

Harmon handles the bulk of the songwriting duties on Road to Nowhere, although he isn’t adverse to turning to outside sources for a good song. His lyrics are simple and straightforward, and while he occasionally lapses into cliches, nothing he produces is too cringe-worthy.

In terms of sound, the album is beautifully mixed and appropriately highlights the talents of the fine musicians backing Harmon’s smooth vocals. Alongside co-producer Terry Mashburn, Harmon makes a strong case for himself as an up-and-coming talent.



The first three songs on the album are pleasant, but not particularly memorable. The album really gets started around the groovy uptempo “For Once, Forgive Me” where a man expresses his contrition to his significant other with the delightfully backhanded apology “I’ll be doing what you’re wanting, not having any fun and everything will be fine.” Little splashes of personality like this make all the difference in leaving a lasting impression. Coupled with fantastic guitar work, Harmon and his backing musicians infuse the number with gusto. They’re clearly having a blast and, in turn, the audience will, too.

While Harmon shines on the shuffle “Lonely Cowboy,” the spotlight in this number really belongs to featured musical hero Johnny Rodriguez. The hiccup in Rodriguez’s vocals provides a poignant contrast to Harmon’s youthful observations of a man nearing the end of his life. Rodriguez lends the song an additional layer of gravitas underlined by well-placed fiddle, mandolin, and steel guitar.

The Paul Cook and Gordon Cotten-penned “Coming Home” also deals with mortality, albeit with an adult contemporary bent. Considerably more optimistic than “Lonely Cowboy,” the song centers around the promises of the afterlife. Harmon refrains from oversinging, relying instead on Cotten’s rich piano playing and his own understated delivery to carry the song’s emotional weight.

As with most twenty-somethings, Harmon’s thoughts turn toward the transition between the naivete of youth and greater responsibilities that come with age and time. He expresses some ambivalence toward change in “Sing to Me” while songwriter Greg Young conjures up nostalgia in “Those Stars Still Shine (Over Abilene)” but also turns a hopeful eye toward the unknown. Both pieces speak of (seemingly) simpler times, although the yearning is greater in Harmon’s piece.

Young is also responsible for composing one of the album’s best numbers. On the gorgeous ballad “Say Surrender“ Harmon and pianist Cotten channel a bit of Elton John while gently seeking for a mutual declaration of love. It’s an eloquent performance that becomes all the more powerful due to Harmon’s graceful phrasing and Cotten’s playing which eventually fades into a hush that manages to convey nearly as much meaning as the lyrics.

Road to Nowhere is by no means a perfect record (if such a thing even exists) but it does speak well of Harmon’s potential. As an introduction, it largely succeeds in exposing him as an artist with promise. Regardless of the directions in which he chooses to take his sound in the future, this first recording hints that even better things are ahead.

Source: www.melodicsunburst.com, By Carolyn Dixon, February 20, 2010 http://melodicsunburst.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/road-to-nowhere-zach-harmon/#respond


This Star Will Shine
As a huge music fan, one of the things I think is the most fun is being able to see an act early in their career before they really hit it big. I remember the episode of American Idol when Carrie Underwood first auditioned as just another sweet country girl who liked to sing. Now she is a multi-platinum, award winning country artist. I have recently had the same feelings of growing success with Abilene country singer Zach Harmon.
Harmon has been playing his guitar and singing songs around Abilene since he was 14. At first it was just playing classic rock and oldies but in the past couple years he has embraced the rising Texas Country genre. I first saw him perform as one of the opening acts for Cross Canadian Ragweed at the Taylor County Expo Center. I did not know who he was at the time, but I told my friend I thought he would do well because he has what is known as the “total package.” He played great guitar, had great songs and he definitely had the look of a star.
Don’t call me a genius yet, but his career has just flourished since that show. In 2007, he was named the Entertainer of the Year by the Abilene Reporter; an award for local artists. Last year, his song “Those Stars Still Shine” was the 2nd most played Texas Country song on KBCY radio. It helps that he mentions the hometown of Abilene in the song but it is really impressive when you consider all the big hit songs from Cross Canadian Ragweed, Randy Rogers and Casey Donahew last year. This song was also the background song for KTAB TV’s Christmas food drive. This has only helped him expand his fan base in the Big Country.
Just last month, Zach released his debut CD with “Road To Nowhere.” It’s a fun batch of songs that show great diversity with pop-country, two steppin’ and old west vibes. Half of the titles are self written and the others from local songwriters. I have always been amazed by how songwriters meld music and words to make a song, so I asked him recently what his song writing process is. He told me that most of his song ideas just come to him out of the blue. He will either have words and get a melody to go with it or even the opposite way; just humming a song, like it and make a song out of it. Sounds like a very simple process, but I know with the quality of his songs, it still takes time to refine it. My two favorite songs on the CD that he wrote himself are the title track and the emotional ballad, “Tears of an Angel.” When I heard him play “Angel” at his recent CD release concert, I thought it was a cover song because it was so good. I guess that illustrates how impressive a songwriter he is.
The rest of the songs on the CD are from other songwriters. For an artist that is pretty good and has a following, songwriters just start showing up with songs. Guess you can say it’s similar to the old stories of actors and directors getting beseeched by desperate screenwriters. Zach, however, found the good songwriters which helped with the success of “Stars Still Shine” and the other titles he used on the CD.
To complete the “total package” theory I brought up earlier, a musician really needs to know how to bring his music out to his audience. After seeing Zach perform three times at three different types of venues, you can see that his main concern when performing is his fans. It seems to be a mutual feeling at his shows; he loves the support of the fans and his fans love to hear him sing. It easy to understand his stage comfort level when he told me he has always enjoyed performing and he can’t imagine not entertaining on stage. At his recent show at the Lucky Mule in Abilene, he did an excellent job of mixing his new songs with the cover songs that his fans like to hear him play. When the dance floor seemed too empty, he knew to get a good two steppin’ song playing. And finally to keep his long time fans happy, he closed his performance with an imaginative version of the Prince song “Purple Rain.”
If I have stirred you up enough and want to hear his music, you can find samples on his myspace or at zachharmon.com. The CD, Road to Nowhere, can be purchased at cdbaby.com, ITunes, digstation.com or at the Hastings in Abilene. I would like to try and find a place he can perform in Sweetwater, but until then you can catch him soon at the Belle Opry in Snyder and the Railhead Icehouse in Colorado City. If I am actually correct in my talent assessment, you too can say you saw Zach Harmon before he became a really big star.

Source: Sweetwater Reporter News, By Michael Coleman, March 14, 2010 http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/193486/106/