Shinedown's Zach Myers Defends Using Backing Tracks in Concert

One of the hottest debates within the modern rock and metal scene(s) is whether it’s okay for bands to use backing tracks throughout live shows. In a new interview with American Musical Supply, Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers defended bands using backing tracks during concerts, citing a specific legendary rock act as proof of why it’s acceptable.

What Myers Said

Speaking to AMS’ Ryan Dacey at this year’s Welcome to Rockville festival, Myers discussed a host of topics, including his signature PRS guitar, how Shinedown come up with setlists and being a dad.

Early into their conversation, Myers talked about Shinedown ditching click tracks before mentioning: “There’s some songs, obviously, we still do ‘cause we run string tracks and things like that.”

Dacey responded: “Well, you have to. I mean, if you’re going to recreate something that essentially was perfect in the studio, you wanna bring it there and you wanna represent it as a good representation of it without it being note for note the same exact thing.”

“Absolutely!” Myers replied, adding:

I think there’s a big misconception about, like – I see all these bands that like – it’s become this cool trend to brag about not using tracks. [Myers looks into the camera] Like, shut up, dude! Who cares? Queen did it, so shut up. If Queen did it, shut up. Don’t say anything else, and if you wanna do it, that’s great. But, like, people wanna hear the symphony on “Second Chance,” and I don’t feel like bringing up –

Now, if you’re running vocals and you’re running guitars and you’re not playing things, I’m not for that. That’s – yeah. I think people think that when you run tracks, that’s what you’re doing. I’m like, “Dude, there’s not, like, . . . a guitar track out there. There’s not a bass track. Everything you’re hearing is coming from us unless you hear a cello or a violin.

You can see Myers’ entire interview with AMS – which was uploaded to American Musical Supply’s YouTube channel on June 20 – below.

Also, let us know if you agree with Myers, disagree with him entirely or land somewhere in the middle!

Zach Myers Discusses Backing Tracks + More With American Musical Supply

READ MORE: 6 Big Things That Happened at Welcome to Rockville 2025

Myers' Previous Thoughts on Backing Tracks

Myers previously gave his opinion on bands using backing tracks in a 2024 appearance on The Jeremy White Show. He explained [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]:

We've never been this band that uses . . . I think because we talk about tracks, people think that we are this band that uses all these tracks and that's not true.

Here's the thing: all these people who bitch about it, and even [SiriusXM radio personality] Eddie Trunk [who has been vocal about his dismay for the use of backing tracks during live shows], I agree with certain things they said. If there's a guitar solo going on and the guy's not soloing, dude, that's bullshit. I agree with that. If there's somebody pretending to play the piano, I agree with that. If there's a guy up there just [pretends to be singing without making a sound] and he's not singing, I agree with that. We just use it to fill in . . . We don't wanna hire another bandmember or two more bandmembers. I don't wanna play a xylophone in the two seconds that I'm not playing guitar. I don't wanna be holding the keyboard and hold the guitar at the same time. I can — I do it on “State Of My Head.”

Later, he continued [via Blabbermouth]:

I think that there's ways to do it that are great that you don't want to bring three other people on stage with you and mess up the dynamic of what your band is. And so I definitely think there's a way to do that. I don't get mad at these old “get off my lawn” dudes who are, like, “Oh, well, I don't think it's that way.” The funny thing about Trunk, to me, is two of his favorite bands are Def Leppard and Kiss, and I'm, like, “You don't say shit about them doing it, man.” Dude, Def Leppard invented tracks. Them and Queen. I can't think of two other bands who did it first.

Here's the thing, again: if you're paying money to go see a show and it's all on track — dude, I'm with you, man. That's bullshit. Go see a play. But here's the thing, and I would invite Eddie Trunk to do this: come to our show, grab a set of in-ears, put 'em in and we'll mute the tracks that are rolling and you won't be able to tell a fucking difference. I agree that if bands can go on stage and not do it without it, that's a problem. I can't tell you the amount of shows that our tracks have gone down and no one knows. We know, but no one knows. We've finished so many shows where the system shut down. “All right, we'll just finish the show.”

What Else is New With Shinedown?

Earlier this year, Shinedown released two singles (“Dance, Kid, Dance” and “Three Six Five”) from their upcoming follow-up to 2022’s Planet Zero, and they also launched their 2025 tour in epic fashion back in April.

Plus, Shinedown made our list of 6 Big Things That Happened at Welcome to Rockville 2025 by bringing out guitarist Rickey Medlocke and singer Johnny Van Zant for their famous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man." Medlocke kicked off the song and Van Zant performed lead vocals prior to Shinedown joining in.

More About the Backing Tracks Debate

As already mentioned, people both inside and outside of the industry have long been discussing the pros and cons of bands relying on backing tracks. In fact, there’ve been dozens of rock and metal artists who’ve shared their thoughts on the matter.

For instance, Sebastian Bach told Ultimate Classic Rock in 2021: “There's gonna be a time when those tape bands are gonna have to do it for real, and people are gonna go, 'This is a fucking joke.' And I just know that real musicians hit your heart way more hard than guys miming to a tape.”

In contrast, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx said in a 2019 tweet: “We’ve used technology since 87.Been using sequencers, sub tones,  background vox tracks plus background singers and us. Stuff we can’t tour with like cello parts in ballads etc. Same as NIN and everybody else.We love it and don’t hide it. It’s a great tool to fill out the sound.”

There’ve also been numerous bands who’ve admitted to using backing tracks, such as Shinedown, Falling in Reverse, W.A.S.P. and Fozzy. Yet, in 2023, Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray bluntly called the use of backing tracks an “epidemic” within the industry before detailing how the group manages to retain their studio quality on stage without needing the controversial technological tactic.

“We brought in a utility player — literally — somebody just to help us. But he's really singing, he's really playing guitar,” Gray said of friend and guitar tech Marcus Rafferty. “Our music is fucking honest and our music has to be played that way. And I don't give a shit if anybody says any negative shit about us having Marcus. That was our answer to trying to be like other bands that just aren't doing it anymore."