American Authors

Alt-rock band American Authors hope to escape the Berklee College of Music curse and make their mark on the New York scene and beyond

American authors popped up on our radar before they were even Shazam-able. Now they’re steadily climbing the charts on Alt Nation’s weekly Alt. 18 off the strength of their catchy song, “Believer.”

We recently caught up with these boys (Zac on vocals, Matt on drums, David on bass and James on guitar/banjo/ mandolin) over Tecates and Don Julio at Mesa Coyoacan in Williamsburg. It was a small bar, and full ofcharacter, which was a good match for the fun energy of these boys.

“You’ve heard of the Berklee College of Music curse, right? That’s real,” said James. Staring blankly at them, I had no idea what they were talking about. “Anyone who graduates from that school never makes it in the real world. John Mayer? Drop out. Gavin Degraw? Drop out.” said Matt.

So, naturally, they did what anyone avoiding that curse would do: They dropped out, too, and headed to New York City to work on music full time.

Two years later, based out of Bushwick Brooklyn, they’re steadily playing venues around New York City, having most recently sold out The Bowery Electric in January.

Asked about their sound, they keep it simple, “We play alternative rock,” said Matt. Sure it’s not pushing any (obnoxious) music genre bending boundaries, but it’s fun, so we can dig it.

Asked what’s coming out next, and they tell me a new EP is on the horizon. Asked about the sound, and they joke, “Country EDM. Heavy, heavy on the Dilpo inspired mandolin.” As we wrap up our south of the border-inspired beverages, David adds, “No really, you can go a million directions, that’s the beauty of art and music, you can do whatever you want. We want to make it as universal as it is important to us. Just create something for people and hopefully it grabs them and they’ll take that feeling with them wherever they go.” —ms