Zach Heckendorf Rocks the Ogden Nov. 23

Jenn Cohen | November 1, 2012 | 0 Comments

by: Mac MacKillop

When I was nineteen, I was sleeping through class and trying, unsuccessfully, to grow my first beard. Zach Heckendorf, on the other hand, is wrapping up a year of touring with Rodrigo y Gabriella, ZZ Ward and Michael Franti. He’s played venues across the country, laid down live sessions in KBCO’s Studio C, and performed in front of thousands at that most holy temple of music, Red Rocks. Now he’ll be closing out the year by headlining the Ogden Theatre on November 23. All of this, presumably, before he’s bought his first beer.

For the better part of a year, Heckendorf has had a barrage of tours across the US in support of his most recent album, The Cool Down, which was produced with the help of singer-songwriter Brett Dennen. I can’t help but imagine the glamour of the proverbial rock and roll lifestyle. Kerouac meets Keith Richards in a “Fear and Loathing” fueled odyssey across the country. I might have an overactive imagination on this front. When I caught up with Heckendorf at his home in Denver, his first thought about life on the road was that “it’s a lot of driving.” Still, he says it with a smile. “We have a big van named The Bonefish, I promise that’s not sexual. Anyway, on our last tour we didn’t stay in a hotel the entire time. We would either camp or stay with our moms’ friends, you know, whatever it took. One of them said we should’ve called it the housewife tour.”

Mostly it sounds like a lot of work, and the impression I get is that Heckendorf works hard. “Moving every day, it does weird things to your head. The way you think changes. You get used to moving so frequently that when you get back home it’s hard to stay in one place.” The biggest perk? For Heckendorf it’s been the amazing people along the way. “People always feel the need to show us a good time. We’ve gone water skiing and hiking, a bunch of badass stuff. They would just leave and let us have their houses, not knowing us at all.”

In terms of his sound, Heckendorf is fine ascribing to the label of acoustic rock, at least for the sake of brevity, but within that heading, he has carved out a very distinctive niche. “When people ask, I usually just say, ‘acoustic rock,’ but my head is in so many different places. Sometimes it’s bluesy, then sometimes it’ll be D’Angelo-y, like soul and R&B.” With songs like “All the Right Places,” which layers smooth organ and blues lines over the rhythmic cadence of his acoustic guitar, Heckendorf showcases this dynamic character. His home is an easy shuffle, the kind that summer soundtracks are made for. Still, his sensibilities never seem satisfied, and he creeps playfully through the worlds of R&B, folk, blues, hip-hop, and whatever else he feels in that moment. My personal favorite is a cover of “Forgot about Dre.” Besides being a damn good version, he plays it with a candid enjoyment that is infectious. He is having a blast and I can’t help but join him.

Online at: zachheckendorf.com