Zac Farro is on the cover of the October issue of Modern Drummer Magazine. The drummer of Paramore talks touring with Taylor Swift, winning Grammy, growing up on tour and the gear he uses to play. You cna read the interview here – after subscribing to the magazine – and find some quotes below.
On opening for Taylor Swift:
There were so many different emotions. We hadn’t really been a support band since the No Doubt tour in 2009. It was a long time since we played for 45 minutes, and we’d be done playing by 8:00 pm. Some nights we’d leave and grab dinner. We’re normally playing for two hours on our own. We got to see so many cool places with the downtime we had. I’d never been to places like Poland. We’d get to check out museums and parks and play tennis. Being on a tour of that scale is something that we’ll never forget. It’ll prove to be a huge historical event. It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around it.
It was cool to play pretty short sets. We hadn’t done that since we were kids playing Warped Tour. Something funny happened at the second to last Eras Tour show at Wembley. My goal was to not have a massive screw-up the whole tour, but as I was thinking if I had messed up, I couldn’t remember what chorus we were going into in “Ain’t it Fun.” This was while I was thinking, “Have I royally messed up?”Thankfully I caught it. It was cool to have a consistent set, and we play so tight together now. They were going by so quick. 45 minutes is only like eight songs. It was surreal playing the biggest tour ever and playing the shortest sets we had in a while.
On writing new music
When you’re just playing the same songs from when you were a kid, you want to make some new stuff. Hopefully we can move into that creation mode after we sleep for a couple months.
On growing up on tour
We all met when we were 11, I started playing drums at nine, and I was touring by 14. Those were the days when most of our friends were playing football and had a band on the side. Then they went to college and became a therapist or something. They had the time to figure their lives out while we were on tour. […] I would never change the way we did it. It was just a unique experience. I think we’re still amazed that through every record our fans still love us and the band’s gotten bigger over COVID with the resurgence of pop-rock music.
On the future of Paramore
We’ve been touring for 20 years and we’re still making new music. I don’t know how everybody’s careers are going, but we would put out a record and it would still be growing. […] My mom said her friend’s daughters are fans of Paramore now, and that’s cool. It’s an interesting position to be in.
On winning a Grammy (or two)
We were at me and my girlfriend’s house, it was Taylor, Hayley, and a few buds. We thought it would be cool if we won but there was no way we would win. Then when Rufus Wainwright said, “This is Why… Paramore! I thought, “What band is that? Why does that sound familiar?” I was checked out. We all just freaked out. I haven’t had many of these moments in my life where you’re genuinely surprised. The last time was my birthday this year when my girlfriend had two of my best friends fly into Scotland because we were away all summer. It’s that feeling where you did not think this was going to happen. Your brain can’t put the piece together fast enough. When I stepped away from the band for five years, they got their first Grammy, and I thought that was so sick. I thought if that ever happens again that would be amazing, but l’m not counting on it.