Zach Gill

Zach Gill
Zach Gill performing with Jack Johnson in Christchurch, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Zachary Dylan Gill
Born	(1975-05-18) May 18, 1975 (age 42)
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano, accordion, melodica, ukulele, guitar, banjo, vibraphone
Labels	Brushfire Records
Website	www.zachgill.com

Zach Gill (born May 18, 1975) is a multi instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/member of the rock band ALO and a member of Jack Johnson's band. He also performs regularly as a solo artist. Zach Gill's songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing.

Encouraged by his family, Zachary Gill began taking piano lessons in the third grade; in seventh grade he began taking guitar lessons as well. In 1987 Zach formed the band "One Percent Away" with classmates Dan Lebowitz, Steve Adams, Matt West and James Chung. Gill played rhythm guitar and sang, the group performed mainly cover material.

In 1989, the band broke up, but reformed under the name Django. Django began performing original material and Gill became the groups keyboardist and main vocalist. Throughout high school Gill performed in a number of groups as both a singer and an instrumentalist and even acted in a few musicals, receiving the lead role of Tevye in the Saratoga High School production of Fiddler on the Roof. In 1993, Django released a cassette of original music. That same year Gill moved with his bandmates from Saratoga, California to Isla Vista, California where he became a student at UCSB.

At UCSB, Gill became a prominent figure in the university town's vibrant music culture, performing regularly with The UCSB Gospel Choir, The UCSB Jazz Ensemble and The UCSB Middle East Ensemble. In 1994, Django released a full-length CD and became a favorite band of the Isla Vista party scene. Django was the rival of Jack Johnson's band Soil (not to be confused with the heavy metal band of the same name).

In the winter of 1995, Django's drummer Matt West left the band and was replaced by David Brogan of Evil Farmer. In the summer of 1996 Django toured across the country, eventually basing themselves in Augusta, Georgia for the rest of that summer. While in Augusta they built up a local following and received the blessing of the Godfather of soul himself, James Brown. Mr. Brown encouraged the boys to finish school before embarking on a music career. Taking his advice they headed back to Isla Vista. Upon arriving home, Django officially disbanded. Gill continued to play music with Lebowitz and Adams, forming numerous other bands from the fall of 96 through the winter of 97, before emerging as the Animal Liberation Orchestra and the Free Range Horns in the spring of 98.