The fame being gained by Clouds continues to rise. The song, written by 18-year-old Zach Sobiech of Lakeland as he was dying from a rare form of bone cancer, osteosarcoma, has now gotten a number of hits on You Tube that’s above eight million, about double what it had the last time I wrote about it on this web site.
The song and video, which has been described as very touching, features Zach’s whispy voice and light guitar, and continues to get strong radio play on Twin Cities stations that specialize in pop music.
Zach’s mom, Laura Sobiech of Lakeland, said she doesn’t recall Zach specifically describing the genre in which he writes, but others have termed it as folk, and there are common themes that pervade his composing. Musical influences that he had named included The Lumineers, one of the prominent groups that did a cover video of Clouds, along with American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and Jason Mraz. People magazine said this might be “the most moving celebrity shoutout of all time.”
Other influences named are Ed Sheeran, Bon Iver who hails from just down the interstate in Eau Claire, and Of Monsters and Men.
Are most people aware that Zach not only wrote songs, but also sang them and played instruments? “Yes. Anyone who has Googled Zach’s name knows that he played guitar and sang, and both were strengths,” Laura said.
What was the process in which Zach and songwriting partner Sammy Brown did their composing? “They would just start writing. Sammy would write a line and then Zach would. It was very much like a conversation played out between them,” Laura said. While Clouds is getting most of the attention, other noteworthy collaborations are Fix Me Up, Blueberries and Star Hopping.
The Sobiechs have been members at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Stillwater for 20 years, where the funeral was held, and Clouds could be seen as an ode to going to heaven. “People from our church and community have reached out to us by preparing meals and offering to help us in any way we need. We’ve received hundreds of cards over the past several weeks from people in our community, but also from around the globe,” Laura said.
Does Zach have any other songs that deal with religion, or spirituality, among those he and Brown, another local teenager, have penned? “None, including Clouds, specifically deal with religion, but most deal with their spiritual journey,” Laura said.
Laura said that faith kept the family going during Zach’s illness, and that she can relate to the trials gone through by Mother Mary, who also lost a son, Jesus, to death. Others have cited Zach’s unwavering faith in God as one of his backings.
“Our faith kept us from despair and kept our eyes focused on what is truly important – eternity. We came to a much clearer understanding that this life is not what it’s all about – that the struggles in this life are really about preparing the soul for eternity,” Laura said.
This is not the first time locally that faith and popular music have intersected. The hard rock cover band Decibel, which played Dibbo’s many times, specialized in numbers by singers such as Ronnie James Dio and appreciated offering listeners something spiritual to consider, said its guitarist, named Paul. In fact, lead singer Lance, who once was recruited by a member of Metallica who stopped by Dibbo’s to check out his vocals, said he cut his teeth musically in a Christian metal band.
At the front bar, spirituality and religion often would find their way into conversations, spurred by the lyrics of national acts such as Blue Oyster Cult (Don’t Fear the Reaper) that performed in the back hall, then stayed after their show to talk about music with the patrons until well after bar time.
Also of note is the music of Geno, of Saving Starz, who says he is a Christian and tries to incorporate that into songs. Geno told me that he truly was appreciative that I mentioned that fact in a profile of the band, rather than skirt it under the rug as some would do.