"This thing jumps from the speakers with energy, confidence, and spirit. Cool songs & production, too. Now i know why i've been hearing about zack & his band for awhile." -Walt Wilkins, singer/songwriter "If you've been wondering when the new crop of Texas Music stars are going to bust through look no farther than Zack Walther." -Mattson Rainer, Program Director, KNBT New Braunfels "...contender for soundtrack to the summer of '07." -Glenn Taylor, Program Director, KRVL Kerville, in reference to Live at Tavern In The Gruene. "Zack Walther plays ass clown rock 'n' roll." -anymous sticker found in various New Braunfels men's rooms New Braunfels' hometown band Zack Walther and the Cronkites never thought they'd be playing music that would be referred to as "ass-clown rock 'n' roll," but they are delighted to be doing something new and different. In reality, Zack Walther and his buddies play a distinctly potent yet sweet blend of Americana and modern rock, peppered with pop hooks. Supporters of the Cronkites are often first recruited to the cause by the voice of Zack Walther, which is something like a combination of Pat Green and Eddie Vedder, a little more versatile than the first and a lot more intelligible than the second. The second thing that people notice are the songs, which are thoughtful about life, love, and the tough parts about being a musician in an unknown band. Zack is a plain-spoken songwriter, simple and to the point, but never stupid or too cliched, and that goes for the tunes as well as the words. It needs to be said here and now that The Cronkites aren't just some singer-songwriters' backup guys, either: The Cronkites play as a band. The have plenty of rock 'n' roll energy playing together, and their on-stage camraderie is damn near like brotherhood at times. Chris Comptom (drums) and Mel Nolte (bass) are a dynamic rhythm section, bombastic when necessary, divinely sensitive and quiet at others. The proverbial icing on this band's cake is Luke Leverett on lead guitar, whose parts are virtuosically played but rarely built on speed or flash, but almost always on solid melodic hooks. Oh, and everybody gets to do some singing. June 5, 2007 marks the date that Zack Walther and the Cronkites release their first full-length album, Live at Tavern in the Gruene. It's a home bar and a home crowd, and a great night. The Cronkites lineup was strengthened that night buy guest musicians Ron D'Argenio on keyboards, Deric Garza on acoustic guitar, and Claire Cunningham on vocals. The result is a fuller and slicker version of The Cronkites. You can hear their energy, and their joy in playing, but you also hear their control and sublety. Highlights include their new epic alt-country song, "Get Up," which gets the 3 part harmony treatment at the end and may raise some hairs, a brilliant and spirited cover of Radney Foster's "I'm In," and "Wrapped for Me," an old-fashioned country duet that features the rootsy alto of Claire Cunningham.