Music Video Coverage on BackFortyPresents.com
March 10, 2010
Zach Kadro has a calming personality. He chooses his words carefully and asks thoughtful questions. His music is much the same.
Kadro grew up in metro Detroit. Unlike many of the Michigan transplants you’ll meet across the country, he has embraced the region that nurtured him during his earlier years and has found beauty in an area that many people find dreadful. He’s no homebody though. Zach has lived in India, Jamaica, Brazil and spent time in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. One could assume his travels have given him the gift of perspective.
Kadro recently released a music video for “Look For Better Ways,” the first single on his debut album Changes in Time. See full Story - backfortypresents.com
Real Detroit Weekly
Ear Candy (January 6, 2010)
Jan 5, 2010, 12:36
Romantic Anthropology
Zach Kadro
Changes in Time
Self-released
“Spread some love around,” advises Zach Kadro as a positive preface to a psychedelic jam on his latest record Changes in Time. Having lived in enough countries to provide him with a wider scope on the world (such as India, Jamaica and Brazil, as well as spending some quality time in Europe and the Middle East), this formidable musician has accomplished his fair share of love spreading. It seems appropriate that he would be the one to encourage you to do the same.
When I listened to Changes in Time I was conflicted by a contrast that led me in a circle back to an overall appreciation of the record. You can hear the character and charisma of old amazing rock, garage, surf and psychedelia, however, the recording quality is so streamlined that it leaves little to the imagination. The title track of the record sounds like a late-1960s Beatles homage recorded in Santana's studio in 2000, but the strange thing is that I like it. One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Geoff Farina, once sang: "We only give the sweetest looks / And we only steal from the greatest books."
Zach Kadro is a good looking, charismatic dude with a handsome innocence and inviting smile. He also draws influence from a mountain of arguably perfect music that he tenaciously makes his own.
Kadro is a University of Michigan graduate, a man of the world, a man of love, a man of music and a man of the people. You can listen to four new songs for free and purchase his new record for $12 at ZachKadro.com. He is also kind. Check this out: $2 from each sale will be donated to Forgotten Harvest, the non-profit group whose main goal is to "relieve hunger in the Detroit metropolitan community by rescuing prepared and perishable food and donating it to emergency food providers.”
You can also check him out with backing band the Outliers throughout metro-Detroit. Or you can catch his solo acoustic performance on January 9 at Peabody’s in Birmingham. (Some of us from Real Detroit will be there. We've been fans of this songwriter since his teen years and have enjoyed watching his musicianship evolve.)
Kadro is currently shooting a music video for the song “Look for Better Ways,” which serves as an anthem for the nostalgic apologist. “What’s done is done / Can’t be undone / You felt so strong / What went so wrong / Look for better ways / If you’re stuck in yesterday today.” Each verse is separated by a screeching "Free Bird"-ian melody that coaxes you back to the lyric break like a siren with a bottle of whiskey. (Look at screenshots of the shoot, on location in and around Detroit on his website.)
This music is a shot in the arm for those of us that love the simplistic beauty of melody with an edge and a moral. This multi-instrumentalist and producer has a gift for making you chill out and feel, or get up and do, based on your current mood. Our changes in mood make us eclectic as a people, but our opinions of said moods are always our own. Take a chance on my man Zach, he has the goods to get you through the doldrums. — Ryan Clancy
Zach Kadro • 1/9 • Peabody’s, Birmingham
Album Reviews
Reviewed by Matt Johnson - 93.9 The River Radio
From the minute I started listening to local musician Zach Kadro's record "Changes in Time" I found myself tapping my feet to the infectious groove of what could easily be a radio ready song "Look for Better Ways" Not only does the chorus get implanted in your head, but I think the main message of the song that Zach is trying to convey is something we could all live by: Do your best to move on from the negativity that you encounter in life, and instead focus on the positives!
From there we are introduced to the title track and to me, it def. sounds like Jim James of My Morning Jacket could've had a hand in the feel of this tune. What I enjoy about this one is the fact that both the guitars and vocal harmonies compliment the song so nicely without ever seeming overpowering, which I believe is a good thing. A few songs later is where I really think Zach hits the nail right on the head with "Over and over again". The lyrics really stand out, and there is an interesting theme going on here within the song. The line "You're looking healthy now you seem to be just fine... after a season down in Hell where we toed the line" Brilliant. The next verse is almost the polar opposite of this, so it really makes it interesting to try to decipher what he's trying to say. Is it another relationship gone wrong song, or something deeper? Great song with thought provoking lyrics.
I can picture Mr. Kadro holed up somewhere listening to the U2 catalogue when he penned track 7 "Building Walls"... very Edge'esque in the guitar work. It sounds to me like there is a persistant message of hope throughout this track with the line "If you're building walls... know that at some point the walls that you build will come down" Perfect song to listen to for someone battling themselves, maybe trying to break out of their shell and just live life. With nods to bands that came before him (Beatles, U2, Flaming Lips, Phish, etc.) but keeping an original touch throughout, this record from this incredibly talented musician shouldn't be missed....
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/25/2010 “An Uncommon Seed”
Detroit Recording Artist Zach Kadro teams up with Axis Media Detroit and Creates Uplifting Music Video that Sheds Positive Light on the City of Detroit and its People.
“An uncommon seed always creates an uncommon harvest. Thank you for sowing an uncommon seed in me,” was the text message Dewayne Gatewood sent to Detroit Musician Zach Kadro after seeing the music video for Zach’s song “Look For Better Ways.” Dewayne went on to say “Everyone is going to it, they love the song, it gives us hope and the video brings that hope alive, we love you man.”
The two men met a few months earlier at a River Front park on the west side of Downtown Detroit. After being chased out of what they thought was an abandoned factory by security guards, Zach and the crew quickly packed up their gear and headed to the park. What happened after was a stroke of good luck.
Zach had an acoustic guitar and was singing along to “Look For Better Ways,” which was playing loudly out of the car stereo. After the song finished Dewayne Gatewood, who was fishing a few yards away, asked what song that was, and said he liked the song. Zach went over and introduced himself and asked Dewayne if he wanted to sing along with him in the video. Joel Warren and Carl Ballou framed in a beautiful shot with the two men in the foreground, the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit River, and the Skyline of Downtown in the background, and they shot one take of the song. At the end of the song Zach and Dewayne spontaneously shook hands and pulled each other into a hug.
The story of Zach and Dewayne is telling of the process by which the music video was shot. After the first day of shooting the crew abandoned the initial script and decided to head downtown and engage the people they encountered. They were overjoyed at how open and friendly people were to take a few minutes out of their day to just be themselves and be part of the video. The end result is a music video that some viewers have described as “A Love Letter to Detroit,” “A Visual Poem.”
Armed with a shoestring budget, raised through a fundraising dinner with members of the community, a 50 year old Harmony Acoustic Guitar, a couple cameras, and inspiration, this group of artists embarked on journey that has left them smiling and full of hope. They wanted to show that Detroit, despite its often negative portrayal in the media, is still a vibrant place full of beautiful architecture, a busy downtown, and courageous people, who in spite of going through difficult economic times, remain warm, friendly, hard working, and optimistic about the possibilities for a brighter future.
The “Look For Better Ways,” Music Video Link
