Zach Bryan shares his music royalties with his former Navy commanding officer.
The 30-year-old country music superstar enlisted at the age of 17 and served eight years from 2013 to 2021, achieving the rank of Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class.
During his time in the Navy, his commanding officer Alba encouraged him to pursue music and Zach now gives Alba a cut of his song royalties, saying, “I thought it was justified, man. He’s the reason I have any music at all.”
Speaking to Matthew McConaughey in the Young Manhood Other Donatable Organs — On The Porch conversation: “He’s the reason, man. He’s the reason I recorded any songs ever at all.
“I wouldn’t be who I was without him f****** looking at me and saying I can record those songs. His kids call me their uncle, he comes to shows all the time and I give him a percentage of every song that I release.”
And Alba has now been able to retire thanks to the generosity of his friend.
Zach said: “He is “living well now” [and retired from the Navy]. Because that’s how much that meant to me. Him believing in me enough to do that for me. We see each other when we can.”
Zach released his first two albums, 2019’s DeAnn and 2020’s Elisabeth, and two EPs while still enlisted and received an honorable discharge in 2021 to pursue music full-time, following the success of his song Heading South.
He has nothing but fond memories of his time in the Navy, telling McConaughey: “I do miss the structure of being in the military. It was nice. I was really proud of being in the Navy.
“I was really proud to be in the Navy because I was in the boots of my grandfather and in the boots of my father. The Navy made a man out of me.
Meanwhile, Zach previously revealed he feels more creatively fulfilled after giving up alcohol.
Zach said on his YouTube channel: “I always thought sobriety was a joke because it’s people who couldn’t control themselves celebrating not being able to control themselves. When I was drinking a lot, I thought, ‘Why can’t you control yourself?’ I never knew I had a problem.”
Zach understood the extent of his drinking issues amid a month-long motorcycle trip from New York to Los Angeles.
The musician – who originally intended to share the journey with friends – spent much of his time drinking alone in bars.
He recalled: “I was stopping at all these bars and drinking myself to sleep. Waking up every morning, getting on my motorcycle thinking I was on some sort of soul journey.”
Zach’s ultimate turning point arrived in Seattle, where he contemplated whether the effort of his trip was even worth it.
He explained: “After all this beautiful scenery, all these nights, all these bars I’ve been to, all this s*** that I’ve done, I was at this Pilot truck stop right outside of Seattle. I’ll never forget this for as long as I live.
“I go into this Pilot and I grab a 40 Budweiser and I’m sitting on the curb with my motorcycle in front of me. I’m drinking [the beer] and I’m thinking ‘What the hell was all that worth? Why did I do any of that? I feel emptier than when I left.’”
Zach subsequently quit drinking and he believes that it’s helped his music career.