Growing up in Shamong seemed like a dream come true on the surface for Zach Wood.
“It was such a perfect little town to grow up in,” Wood said. “It’s a one of a kind and there’s nothing like it anywhere else.”
However, as he grew older, he couldn’t help but notice an emerging void in his life.
Between his father being heavily involved in the music industry and his mother always influencing him to stay involved with an instrument, Wood was constantly around music as a kid.
After giving up on piano in third grade, Wood knew he had to start over with a new instrument but didn’t know which one would best fit his skill set. He began taking drum lessons with several teachers throughout Shamong, and he noticed it felt very natural to him.
Keith Styers, the current marching band director at Seneca High School, was one of those teachers who played a large role in getting Wood hooked on music.
“He taught me about the feeling and emotion that comes along with music, and that hooked me,” he said.
Wood recalled a time when Styers played a popular song to his class by the band All American Rejects, and it instantly changed the mood of the class.
“I thought to myself, I want to do something that influences people like this does,” he said.
However, as he grew up, he also noticed music in the area was not something the other kids were very interested in.
“I noticed how few kids played instruments in Shamong,” Wood said. “The town was mostly into football and lacrosse.”
After graduating from Indian Mills Memorial School in 2010, Wood was preparing for the big jump to high school when he received news that would change his life forever.
His father informed him he would be taking a job in Los Angeles, so the family packed up their bags and headed west. At the time, his father was working with a band named Creed. Creed had a young up-and-coming hard rock band from Auckland, New Zealand, called Like A Storm opening for them on tour.
Formed by brothers Chris, Matt and Kent Brooks, the band has shared American and European stages with popular rock bands such as Alter Bridge, Korn, Shinedown, Black Veil Brides, Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Staind, Sick Puppies and many others, as well as touring North America extensively as a headline act.
Wood’s father was able to pull some strings one day at a local show in California that allowed his son backstage access to meet the members of Like A Storm.
Wood was amazed at how cool they were and how much he got along with the group, so he did what he could to keep in contact with the band over time. He even had the opportunity to play with the band after learning a few of their songs.
“I emailed them and brought up the idea of jamming with them one day and they were all for it,” he said.
He really took to the west coast lifestyle, and his appreciation for music grew through the opportunities the area offered.
“The second I moved out here, I noticed sports were not as big of a thing. Everything here revolves around modeling, acting and music,” he said. “It made me feel more accepted and normal to be a part of it.”
Two weeks after Wood graduated from high school, he received an email from Like A Storm notifying him that their drummer had recently left and they were interested in having him come on tour for a few weeks to try it out.
Wood was at a crossroad in his life in which he wasn’t sure what “next step” he wanted to take, so the opportunity came at the perfect time.
There was never a hesitation in his answer: He packed his bags, went on tour and never looked back.
The group is now the highest charting New Zealand hard rock band in American radio history, and both of Like a Storm’s two studio albums, “The End of the Beginning” and “Awaken the Fire,” debuted in the Billboard 200.
They have toured North America extensively and just finished their third tour in Europe.
“Before I started this, I had never seen most of the world, and now I’ve met so many new people who have told me how much our music has changed their lives,” Wood said. “It’s so humbling to hear that.”
He could not say enough about the constant positive support the band receives from their fans.
One fan in particular lives in Europe and does not have the privilege of owning a car but always finds a way to be at every one of their shows when they play near her area.
“Without them, there would be no way of doing what we do,” Wood said.
As far as the future goes, he plans to pursue this opportunity until there is nothing left to pursue, as he put it.
“I just want to keep riding this crazy rollercoaster of an experience as long as I can,” Wood said.
To see when Like A Storm will be in your area or to buy an album, visit their website at www.likeastorm.com or like the Like A Storm Facebook page.
