Zach Bryan is opening up about his sobriety journey in a new interview with Matthew McConaughey.
The 30-year-old country star sat down with the Oscar-winning actor for a two-hour conversation, reflecting on his relationship with alcohol and the experience that ultimately led him to quit drinking.
“I always thought sobriety was a joke because it’s people who couldn’t control themselves celebrating not being able to control themselves,” Bryan told McConaughey. “When I was drinking a lot, I thought, ‘Why can’t you control yourself?’ I never realized I had a problem.”
The interview arrives following the release of Bryan’s new eight-song EP, Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs, which dropped Friday (Oct. 16) through Warner Records.
In the conversation, uploaded to Bryan’s YouTube channel Friday, the singer-songwriter recounted a month-long motorcycle trip he planned to take with friends from New York City to Los Angeles. When his friends couldn’t make it, he decided to hit the road alone.
“One night I was drinking at the Grisly, this bar in the West Village and I was like, ‘I’m leaving tomorrow’ … I wake up, get on my motorcycle and I stayed at all these national parks,” Bryan said.
Although the trip included memorable experiences, such as dining with veterans and skydiving from vintage planes, Bryan said he spent much of his time drinking at local bars.
“I was stopping at all these bars and drinking myself to sleep,” the musician said. “Waking up every morning, getting on my motorcycle thinking I was on some sort of soul journey.”
The trip took a turn when Bryan arrived in Seattle. After weeks on the road, he found himself sitting outside a truck stop with a beer, questioning what the experience had actually given him.
“After all this beautiful scenery, all these nights, all these bars I’ve been to, all this s—t that I’ve done, I was at this Pilot truck stop right outside of Seattle. I’ll never forget this for as long as I live,” he said. “I go into this Pilot and I grab a 40 Budweiser and I’m sitting on the curb with my motorcycle in front of me. I’m drinking [the beer] and I’m thinking ‘What the hell was all that worth? Why did I do any of that? I feel emptier than when I left.’”
Bryan said he felt he had “wasted 30 days” chasing a defining moment, prompting him to confront his drinking habits.
“It was just me in a f—king truck stop parking lot. And that’s when I said, ‘Why am I drinking right now? What am I celebrating?’ That’s when I kind of looked in the mirror,” he said. “I’m not the f—king sober type either.”
Despite once believing sobriety wasn’t for him, Bryan said giving up alcohol has left him happier and more creatively fulfilled.
“Quitting drinking has been really great. I’ve had a lot of fun,” he said. “I enjoy writing again, I haven’t felt [like this] since I was 17. I feel like a kid again. I wake up and I’m ready to go, I want to jump in the pond. I want to play with the dog. I want to do everything.”
Bryan’s Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs features collaborations with Lana Del Rey (“Lies”) and Turnpike Troubadours (“Plainsman”), along with tracks including “Robot Killed the Working Man” and “Backwards.” The EP marks his first new music since his sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in January.
Watch Bryan’s full interview with McConaughey below.
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