Today’s Local Spins Artist Spotlight and feature on up-and-coming Michigan musicians focuses on Grand Rapids drummer Zach Dubay, who’s been turning heads with several different acclaimed bands.
‘A Crazy Year Ahead’: Zach Dubay behind his kit yet again. (Photo/Enrique Olmos)
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS OF ZACH DUBAY WITH POCKET WATCH, HANNAH ROSE GRAVES
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
I’m not sure what year I first saw Zach Dubay play drums.
Chiefing on a Breeze Pro lodged in his mouth, a fog of smoke clouded his silhouette — not unlike the historic jazz drummers he idolizes.
A nicotine fiend and obsessive perfectionist percussionist, he’s regarded as one of the best in town, aka, Grand Rapids.
When we meet for an interview on a Monday afternoon, we take a stroll to one of his favorite Westside joints, Turnstiles.
On Stage: With Brian Vander Ark and The Verve Pipe. (Courtesy Photo)
“I’ve played here so much it feels like home. If you get this place packed out it’s wild,” Dubay says before a big bite from his own signature Turnstiles burger.
As for the vape-drumming, he says this:
“I feel like a douchebag talking about it. I don’t think it’s a good thing, but I started vaping when I was 13 or 14 and got pretty hooked at 16. It never interfered too much, but at some point I just started doing it.”
“I just wanted to hit as I was playing. Not for the look, but … it definitely adds a little ambiance. If there’s no smoke machine I can f—ing make it happen. But again, that was never the goal.”
Dubay’s current roster of Michigan bands he plays with is exhaustive and goes like this: Pocket Watch, Nathan Walton & the Remedy, The Verve Pipe, The Marsupials, Distant Stars, Hannah Rose Graves, Cosmic Knot, Austin Benzing, Bradley Sinclair, Earth Radio, Elijah Russ and The Blue Water Kings.
He boasts an arsenal of around 15 drum sets, but his weapon of choice is a red Gretsch Catalina Maple.
“For a mid-tier setup, it sounds great with some pro heads, that’s my go to for anything I get to play fast and crazy fusion/punk stuff. Also, love my Gretsch Catalina club for jazz, and my PDP Wood Hoop kit for big rock sounds I use for Verve Pipe and Nate Walton.”
VIDEO: Pocket Watch, “Cantaloupe Island” (Winner of 2023 Walk the Beat)
‘I PRACTICE ALL DAY, FROM THE MOMENT I WAKE UP UNTIL I GO TO SLEEP’
After Dubay finishes eating his “Dubay Burger” at Turnstiles — a combo of egg, bacon and burger that he ordered so often the establishment dubbed it his signature burger and made it his namesake — we hop in his SUV and amble over to the home studio of Noah Snyder, the previous longtime drummer of The Outer Vibe. Snyder produces these days.
Dubay gets behind the kit without skipping a beat. His skill is a bit dizzying. He is playful, yes, but also obsessive and nearly compulsive about practicing.
“I practice all day, from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. When I was younger, I would wake up and play the kit all day, like literally all day and have some breaks,” Dubay says.
Nothing in the World He’s Rather Do: Dubay (Photo/Enrique Olmos)
“It’s that like, cracked-out, 110-percent mentality. It is obsessive. It’s completely, like one track mind. Like everybody growing up, told me like, do you care about one thing and that’s gonna bite you in the ass. And I was like, ‘Okay, watch me.’”
Even backstage, Dubay can be seen ticking away on a rubber drum pad, a discipline that can be traced to his marching band days. When I ask him about his influences, his family comes up first.
His parents, Kevin and Tresia Dubay, have been incredibly supportive of his musical endeavors, making tight household finances work to nurture his percussive abilities.
Kevin is a musician, and Dubay’s brother, Jared, had a major impact on encouraging him to unlock his potential at a young age. Even separated by years, his now-33-year-old brother greatly influenced his life. You can hear the pure admiration in Dubay’s voice when he talks about him.
“My brother was always this badass in my life. I guess that I look up to him for motivation in life. He never explicitly stated anything about it, but he’s just such a driven guy. And, you know, he’s got like, a huge personality, and he’s always been just f—ing going. So that rubbed off on me.”
The drummer’s musical influences include Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band, Rush’s Neil Peart, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, jazz cats Philly Joe Jones, Ron Bruner and JD Beck, Justin Tyson, Vinnie Calaiuta and “the list goes on.”
Dubay first picked up the wooden sticks when he was a toddler.
“I’ve been playing since I was a wee child. I remember sitting on my dad’s lap tapping the drums either at a year old or before; it’s crazy that’s my earliest memory. But I think I really started playing more around 3 or 4, and got serious at 12 or 13,” he says.
Dubay has graced some incredible stages. He recalls performing for over 5,000 fans at a festival in Illinois and marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Still, humility is important. When he gets “cocky” he makes silly mistakes.
Pocket Watch: Pouring a lot of energy into this project. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
“I’ve found if I’m cocky, I play worse,” Dubay says. “Because any little f—up I have, I look past it. It’s just kind of more fun to be really nice to people and just show them how you play with your skill. I do it because I love to do it. And there’s nothing in the world that I’d rather do.”
For 2024, Dubay, who is a full-time musician, says his plans are the same as last year: “Play better drums, be a better person, and keep building relationships in the industry. I’ve had the huge honor of meeting some of my heroes at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) thanks to my mentor Scott Pellegrom (of Grand Haven), and I’m using those to learn and grow on my instrument and in the business of booking and promoting as well.”
He’s currently pouring most of his creative and business energy into his original group, Pocket Watch, an award-winning jazz fusion band.
“We have quite a few tours coming up this year. Also I’m stoked to play some insane shows with The Verve Pipe that I’ll get to travel for, as well as some amazing opportunities with Nathan Walton & the Remedy, Hannah Rose Graves and The Marsupials. It’s gonna be a crazy year.”
VIDEO: Hannah Rose Graves, “Addictions” (Local Legend Recording)
Copyright 2024, Spins on Music LLC
