We all know someone whose dream is to become a rockstar, but Keene State College senior Zack Erra made power moves towards his dream of fame when he played in front of thousands of cheering faces as he toured the country with big-name pop-punk band All Time Low on their Last Young Renegade World Tour this past summer. Erra was specifically touring with pop-punk band Waterparks.
Contributed by Zack Erra
Erra was given this opportunity by his guitarist, who is also the manager for Waterparks. The tour kicked off on June 30 in Houston, Texas, and closed Aug. 6 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, hitting everywhere in between. “My favorite part was traveling to different cities and meeting people that knew me, as well as stealing some of the All Time Low fans for my own,” Erra said.
“I had actually seen him on tour with All Time Low on two separate occasions: once in Anaheim, California, and again at the SummerStage in Central Park,” Nicholas Chasse, one of Erra’s friends in Keene, said. “It was pretty inspiring to see someone so deeply submerged in their element.”
A few summers back, Erra met his manager Austin Michaels while living in Hollywood. “He showed me some of the songs he was working on and I knew he had something, and I wanted to help him show the world,” Michaels said. Since then, the two have teamed up and worked hard to get his name out there. Erra has worked with multiple producers, such as Skytailor. Michaels also shared he’s had his music played half a million times in Europe, on the radio in Sweden and was even featured in the national magazine “Music Connection.”
When he lived in Los Angeles, Erra shared he remembers waking up to a call from his manager at three in the morning telling him that he was playing on the radio in the U.K.. He said, “I remember thinking it was the greatest feeling in the world to be sleeping and know people are listening to me on the other side of the world.”
Erra has been a part of several bands throughout his career so far and have had multiple opportunities to record at major studios across the country. He and his last band even got the chance to record and rehearse at SwingHouse Records in Hollywood, where rock legend Aerosmith rehearsed at one point. Erra said it was an opportunity like no other, especially when they’d get calls saying Maroon 5 was buying the whole studio for the day, so they needed to reschedule. He also recorded his EDM project at Matrix Studios in North Hollywood with Steve Aoki’s ghost producer.
Although he’s getting his degree in graphic design, his heart has always been in music. “I have no idea what got me into music. It feels like it’s always been there and I was just tapping into it,” he said. “I remember going to concerts when I was little and being jealous that it wasn’t me on the stage.”
Right now, when Erra isn’t scheduling more tours and planning his move out to California after graduation, he is working towards finishing his solo EP, which he claimed will be coming out this summer.
He said, “For me, writing has always been my escape. You can say anything you want. Be whoever you want. And if you do it right, people listen.”
Rachel Blumberg can be contacted at rblumberg@kscequinox.com
