There’s a distinct narrative to “Runnin’ Dry”—and it doesn’t run deep. “It’s mostly about your local pub running out of beer and not being very happy about it,” says the Zac Schulze Gang’s namesake. “We were inspired by Dr. Feelgood and those other sweaty, blood-stained, pub-rock bands of the ’70s.”
Born and raised in Kent, England, Schulze is an accomplished young guitarist who’s loath to sacrifice a great song for a killer solo. After sampling his home region’s DIY punk scene, he founded the Zac Schulze Gang with his drummer brother Ben and bassist Ant Greenwell. The rough-and-tumble blues power trio made a lasting impression at the 2022 tribute festival in Ireland for their idol, Rory Gallagher. It wasn’t long before the Gang was playing as many as 250 shows a year throughout Europe and the U.K., opening for the likes of Eddie 9V and Samantha Fish and even landing a 2023 slot in Eric Clapton’s Guitar Crossroads Festival in Los Angeles. Not long after, Schulze and Co. were named Emerging Act Of The Year (2024) and Young Blues Artist Of The Year (2025) at the UK Blues Awards.
Produced by Ian Sadler (Suds, Ohhms), their upcoming debut, Straight To It, is set for release Friday via Ruf. “We first went into the studio for five days and recorded ‘Runnin’ Dry’ and two other songs,” says Schulze. “We did it live without a click track to capture a raw feel to the songs—as if you were hearing us performing them live for the first time. We wanted to modernize ‘Runnin’ Dry’ with a super-fast hardcore beat not dissimilar to hardcore legends Turnstile. It’s also our nod to Feelgood, Nine Below Zero, etc. We respect their music and work ethic, and we like to relay that in our band.”
We’re proud to premiere Zac Schulze Gang’s “Runnin’ Dry.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Zac Schulze Gang live.
