WAIM #119: Zach Schwartz of Rogue Wave

After finishing the bulk of recording on his first album, Zach Schwartz was on a flight bound for the west coast praying that the plane would stay in the air long enough to get him safely home. With this record in hand, for the first time in his life, Zach felt he’d made something worthwhile and meaningful. Sitting in his aisle seat on that plane headed for Oakland, he prayed that he might get the chance to share that something special with the world.Eventually, those recordings would become the first Rogue Wave album, Out Of The Shadow. The album came about through the help of a friend and recording engineer who helped Zach make his album overnights when the studio where, his friend was working, was closed. The pair would begin work each night around midnight or one and work until the sun came up. Through a stroke of luck, the album made its way to the powers that be at the vaunted indie label, Sub Pop records. Not only would Zach survive to share his album, but he would have the help of a label with massive influence to help get the word out.As Rogue Wave gained more and more traction in the circles of indie rock, Zach began finding himself wondering how he had wound up with his songs in major movie soundtracks and video games. The big tours with headline acts and massive festivals were exciting, but they also brought on a sense of imposter syndrome for Zach. We dive deeply into the head trip that is finding the success that you have been dreaming for your whole life.Zach’s friend, collaborator, and longtime Rogue Wave bandmate, Pat Spurgeon has figured heavily into Zach’s career and into his life. The duo are the beating heart of Rogue Wave. Their story was chronicled, in part, in a documentary called D-Tour. The film follows Rogue Wave on tour while Pat is in the midst of kidney failure. As he awaited a new kidney, Pat performed self-administered dialysis on the road. The doc is a harrowing look at resiliency, friendship, tragedy, and the enduring power of music.Sub Pop is now slated to reissue vinyl editions of Out Of The Shadow as well as Descended Like Vultures, the band’s follow up LP, to celebrate 20 years of Rogue Wave. Zach discusses the process of looking back on the beginning of his musical career, this pair of early albums, and how he feels that he has changed as an artist and as a human being in the interim. We talk about the pendular nature of life, and examine how parenthood and aging have changed Zach’s songwriting and overall perspective.Cheers,Matty C Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe