It’s hard to describe exactly what type of music Zach Herbert plays. While he describes his genre as “freak-folk,” even that is hard to describe. “Freak-folk is defined as musicians who take elements of folk and do it in a non-traditional way. It’s a pretty big and ambiguous spectrum. There are very few people under that genre because it’s not really a genre,” says Zach. Playing guitar, keys, loop pedal, trumpet, vocals, and “lots of other things that make sound,” Zach is truly a one-man band, giving himself the freedom to fully improvise many of his songs, which he does often. His entire first album was entirely improvised, something that might boggle the minds of other musicians. For Zach, it is completely second nature.
Let’s back up a bit and tell you more about this amazing musician. While learning the trumpet in 6th grade, Zach realized he didn’t enjoy the instrument as intended and began experimenting at home, beginning what would become a life-long passion for improvised playing. In 9th grade, despite not being a singer or guitar player, Zach joined a band as both a singer and guitar player. After the band (inevitably) broke up, Zach continued to play guitar and met Sean Dahlman. The two went on to start the band Toast which then became Of Sound and Color which has now transformed, in a way, into St. Terrible. Confused? While St. Terrible was actually originally a friend’s idea, Zach has transformed it into his own band, featuring guest appearances by friends and whomever else might want to play with him.
This collaborative side of Zach has helped in another of his endeavors, the House of Upside Down, a music and art collective started by Zach and friend Noah Koski. Zach explains, “We really wanted a collective and we had a lot of friends in this Valley that no one really knew of but were insane musicians or artists. We said, ‘We should do something to bring them together.’” And thus, HOUD was born. While the collective is constantly changing, its premise remains the same: bring together artists and musicians. This takes place mostly in the form of concerts where, rather than play separate sets, musicians will all play together in an improvised, live jamming session. Zach utilizes improv in his music whenever he can, including when he plays with the Sheep Bridge Jumpers. “With Sheep Bridge Jumpers, it’s great to play in a band where I’m not the singer or writer. If I want to play shakers for a whole song and run around in the audience, I can.”
There you have it folks. The man with a hand in a little bit of everything or, as Zach says he is, “floating around in a musical form of ambiguity.” Did I mention he’s also the “kombucha guy” at Nourish Me? Yup, he’s a genius.
Facebook: St. Terrible
Website: http://stterrible.tumblr.com
