OneRepublic's Zach Filkins

Zach Filkins, lead guitarist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, has always had great passion for music. He spent a majority of his childhood studying the classical guitar when he was in Barcelona, Spain. During his senior year of high school, Filkins befriended future bandmate, Ryan Tedder. After finding out each other’s musical interests, the two finally decided to form a band in 2002, initially called Republic. After a few changes made, Tedder decided to be the lead singer, Filkins played guitar and sang backing vocals, while welcoming new members Eddie Fisher (drums), Brent Kutzie (bass and cello), and Drew Brown (lead guitar). Despite being first signed with Columbia records, the group was eventually dropped before their album was scheduled to be released. The band decided to release songs on their MySpace page in order to stay on mainstream.

Their work would later grab the attention of rapper/producer Timbaland, who later signed the group, making them the first rock band to be part of Mosely’s Music Group. In 2007, the band’s first single, “Apologize,” was featured on Timbaland’s album Shock Value. The song was a major hit as it peaked at number one on the Billboard Pop 100 charts for eight straight weeks. The song, which was released on their debut album Dream Out Loud, was certified 4X platinum and receiving over 5 million digital downloads. Their debut album also had hit singles such as “Say (All I Need),” “Mercy,” and “Stop and Share.” The group also performed on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol. They also toured with Maroon 5 and Brandi Carlisle.

The solid start was just the beginning as their second album, Waking Up, was released in 2009 to generally positive reviews. Hit singles such as “All The Right Moves,” “Secrets,” “Marchin’ On” and “Good Life” helped the album become a huge success. They have supported artists such as Pink, and U2, and have had their songs featured in several television shows such as Lost, One Tree Hill, and Gossip Girl.

In our exclusive with the band’s lead guitarist, he talks about topics such as how different their upcoming album will be, favorite places to perform, his favorite artists, and much more!