The Dualist: Zachary Harris sings his way through DeKalb

Zachary Harris (Beck Diefenbach - bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com)

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Zachary Harris just likes music.

So when the 31-year-old DeKalb singer gets the chance to perform, whether with the accompaniment of the DeKalb Municipal Band in Hopkins Park or at open mic nights at The House Cafe or Otto’s Niteclub & Underground in downtown DeKalb, he usually takes it. Billed by DeKalb Municipal Band director Dee Palmer as resembling Nat King Cole in style and known to many downtown as the piano man, Harris leads a kind of double life as a performer.

He’s played with Palmer and the band in the park four times in the last two years, tending to sing popular jazz chosen by Palmer. He also hosts open mic night at Otto’s each week and often takes the stage at The House’s open mic night on Mondays. He played this summer at the downtown DeKalb farmers market stage and also has performed at Borders Nite Out at the store in DeKalb. As this limited sample of his resume illustrates, Harris isn’t confined to just one scene.

While he is comfortable in these different types of venues doing different types of music, Harris isn’t a lifetime performer or anything like that. He came to DeKalb for school in 2004, and soon after that started learning piano and pursuing live singing gigs.

“Once I got over the initial fear of performing in front of people, it’s what I knew I wanted to do,” Harris said recently in an interview at The House. “I just knew that I wanted to sing.”

And while many know him as the piano-playing singer in downtown DeKalb, he doesn’t exactly see it that way.

“I don’t consider myself a piano player,” he said. “I consider myself a vocalist, and I accompany myself.”

Harris also honed his skills along the way with involvement in Stage Coach Players and as a praise and worship leader for a now-defunct area church. He started pursuing paid gigs around 2007, mainly in DeKalb and the surrounding area.

While he does play at many different venues throughout the year, they each have something to offer Harris.

“I think the bandshell is pretty much tops,” he said. “It makes me feel in my element.”

And that’s a good thing, because Dee Palmer just contacted him in the last week about performing with the band next year, something Harris said he’s already excited about.

Another thing he likes about the Hopkins Park shows is the atmosphere and the people who attend the concerts. The good thing about playing for a more mature audience, he said, is the way those in the crowd tend to really listen to the music and respect the performance.

Then again, Harris explained how it can be liberating to play at bar-type venues downtown, with people looking to have a good time and enjoy music in a more indirect way. But wherever he plays, one thing remains the same.

“Live music gives a town life; anyone can put a CD in,” Harris said.

Looking to the future, Harris would like to someday have his own studio. He said he’d love the chance to express his own ideas throughout the production process, rather than primarily at the front end of it as the performer.

But whatever role his life finds him in, he’ll always have the lessons learned as a performer here in DeKalb, summed up in only a few words:

“You never really know what to expect.”

Know more

For more information on where Zachary Harris can be found performing in DeKalb or to obtain a copy of his recent CD, contact him at 815-901-4268 or songface04@hotmail.com. You also can find him at www.myspace.com/mrzacharyharris.