Zach Rudulph
Band – Bassist
Bassist & Musical Director Zach Rudulph hails from the Bay Area in Northern CA and now lives in Los Angeles. Having moved south to attain a music degree, as well as a certificate in recording and engineering, Zach has since cut records and played with many of the top names in pop, hip-hop, gospel and R&B. His credits include Andy Grammer, Cody Simpson, Outasight, Colbie Caillat, The Game, Justin Young, Christafari, Dominic Balli, Fifth Harmony, Gavin Degraw, Jewel and international stars including Jay Park, and Kamran & Hooman to name a few.
1. Who are you on tour with now and what are you doing with them?
I am currently on tour with Andy Grammer moving across America. We started in Seattle and will do a complete circle around the nation and land back at home base in Los Angeles. With Andy, I am the bass player and Musical Director for his team.
2. What do you do when you are not on tour with Andy Grammar?
When I’m not on tour with AG my first priority is attempting to be an awesome husband and father to two wonderful boys (3yrs and 6mo). After being on the road for a while I’m always eager to put the “family hat” back on. Aside from that, I get back on the local hustle around town. There are a few great cover bands that I work with. Everything from local bar gigs to high-end private events and weddings. I am also currently working on getting song writing teams together and trying to get into the world of song placement.
3. Is there any specific gear that you like that most people might not know of?
I’d say the “Mopho”, it’s a lil mini mono-synth made by Dave Smith Instruments. It has some incredible key bass tones. Also, I like the ToneBone by Radial. Many people have heard of Radial, of course, but the Tonebone is vital to my stage set up.
4. What’s your favorite piece of gear that you use?
From a players perspective, I love my Carvin basses and my GK cabs and amps, but honestly one of my favorite pieces of gear is the ToneBone by Radial. Like I mentioned before it’s vital to my set up and gives me the freedom to use either two basses or one bass and Key bass running into the same line. I can easily switch between the two and the sound guys usually appreciate the fact that it’s all coming from the same source. Also, it has a loop section that is activated by a foot switch, so I can add my effects or bypass them completely. Like most tried and true Radial DIs, I take my direct signal from it as well. It’s the mother-ship of my pedal world. However, from a production stand point, my favorite piece of gear is actually the software Ableton. It is very intuitive and since we have been traveling without a dedicated “production guy”, it has made my life a much easier. The learning curve was simple and it’s midi mapping is a breeze. I definitely don’t know all the ins and outs of it, but it has been a solid and consistent piece to our show. Never once has it crashed (knock on wood).
5. Who is your favorite person you’ve ever played music with?
I feel really blessed and privileged to be playing with great players all around me. But one that has really made an impact on me as a person and a player is Ricky Lawson. For those who don’t know, he was the Grammy award winning drummer for countless greats; Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Steely Dan, and a whole lot more. Unfortunately, he passed away abruptly, a year or so ago. The first time I had the chance to play with him, I was just a kid, 18 years old. I didn’t really even know who he was. I played at a church, near the college I attended, and he just happened to be playing with us that evening. Everybody was like “ Ricky… man do you know who that is”. I just played as I normally did at the time, I do remember the groove felt good. Afterwards, he gave me some constructive criticism that has stuck with me since. Very gently, but matter of fact, he said, “you gotta hold down that bass line, why you trying to do stuff way up there on the neck”. It was a blow to my ego at the time, but I really processed what he said. I didn’t play with him again until years later. I became part of a smooth jazz group and played at the hip spots in LA. Ricky, being a friend of our current drummer, played with us on multiple occasions. The last place I played with him happened to be the last place he ever played before he died. His understanding of locking in a bass and drum groove was ridiculous, and I’ve never felt a better groove, while playing, since that day.
6. Where’s your favorite place that you’ve traveled to while on tour?
A few years back I played with some great Persian pop stars, Kamron & Hooman. In the middle-eastern world they are like Justin Timberlake! We played in Dubai, Armenia, and Russia, but the best was Turkey. We were put up in a 7-star hotel for five days, with only one gig on the last day. I didn’t even know that 7-star hotels existed, apparently there are only a handful on the planet. It was crazy! It was also a musical awaking to realize that there is so much popular music around the world that we don’t even know about. Another favorite of mine is a complete night-and-day difference from that previous experience. While in Africa, traveling for a mission, we worked with an orphange. I was in charge of music & entertainment. Playing my guitar for 50-100 folks in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity, while having them sing along, is something I’ll never forget.
7. Do you have any funny stories while you were on tour with Andy Grammer?
On the road with Andy Grammer, we are pushing to make our show bigger and better every chance we get. That’s one thing I really appreciate about Andy. He tries to keep it fresh and entertaining. We have come a long way from a trio and iPod playback! :)! So, we have a lil dance break section where we are messing around and having a good time on stage. I mentioned that I could backflip, with a boost from our keyboard player. Andy was pumped and sure enough we threw it in the show. Well after about 20 or so perfect flips, I guess it was bound to happen. In sweaty, swampy Tampa just a month ago we had a show outdoors. It came to that section where I would flip and our Keys players hands where just soaked in sweat. I went to jump of them and slipped right through like a wet cardboard box. Basically, I went up and came down hard on my side in front of a couple thousand people. Hit my head, smacked my knee; it was terrible. Some how I shook it off, and did it again right after to really get the crowd pumped. Afterwards, people thought it was part of the show.
Thank you! Zach Rudulph, Bassist. It has been an honor to interview you, and a pleasure to get to know you better…
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