Here’s your introduction to New York-based pop-rock outfit American Authors, who, since releasing their debut album, Oh, What a Life, in 2014, have experienced milestones most bands only dream about.
You’ve watched their music climb to the top of the charts and seen singles go multi-platinum. You’ve seen them play awards shows, hit the stages of legendary venues all over the world, and tour the world with bands such as Andy Grammar, OAR, OneRepublic, The Revivalists, and The Fray.
You know their anthemic hit single, “Best Day of My Life,” has been featured in over 600 movie trailers, TV shows, and commercials and as a theme song for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that lead singer Zac Barnett vows that the best day of their lives is still yet to come: “We just want to keep going,” he says. “We can’t wait to continue this adventure.”
You learn they originally formed in 2006 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, with Zac Barnett [vocals/guitar], Dave Rublin [bass], and Matt Sanchez [drums], and that they eventually dropped out of college and moved to Brooklyn to continue refining their airtight songcraft. You read Barnett’s memory: “My whole reason for attending Berklee College of Music was to find other like-minded musicians to start a band with. I knew I had found those people after the first night we jammed.”
You discover that shortly after moving to Brooklyn, American Authors crossed paths with Shep Goodman while playing a gig in the city, signed with Goodman’s production company Dirty Canvas, and saw “Believer” thrown into rotation on Sirius XM’s Alt Nation. You note that “Best Day of My Life” was featured in a commercial campaign for Lowes and that the band later inked a deal with Island Records.
You see that by 2018 the guys had impressively generated over 1 billion global streams, that “Best Day of My Life” earned a triple-platinum certification from the RIAA and vaulted to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and that their debut, Oh, What A Life, achieved gold status while the follow-up, What We Live For, spawned another Top 20 hit, “Go Big or Go Home.”
You can hear their 5th full-length LP, Call Your Mother, which includes the new folk-tinged singles “Daisies,” “My Last Dime,” and “Can’t Stand the Mourning.” You can also hear their latest single, “Race Car,” which Zac shares. “It’s a song about momentary love and falling for someone fast, even though you know it’s only going to last a season.” It’s that intense feeling of passion you find on a trip or vacation only for it to disintegrate once you get back to reality.”
https://open.spotify.com/track/0VmS32uL8cxbiklLLR0RiA?si=24500bce4e0c495d
https://music.apple.com/us/song/race-car/1829671963
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