The Trust (music production duo)
The Trust is a record production and songwriting duo composed of multi-instrumentalists Tommy Hubbard and Rich Zahniser. The duo currently operates out of their private recording facility in Southern California, primarily working with pop, country, and rock acts with an emphasis on live instrumentation recordings. Hubbard and Zahniser have individually and collectively worked with several mainstream and popular indie artists including the Latin group The Gipsy Kings, French pop singer Maude, blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, funk musician Bootsy Collins, South African singer Lira, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Company of Thieves frontwoman Genevieve, Smash Mouth, Rufio and the punk rock supergroups Rx Bandits and The Sound of Animals Fighting. The duo co-wrote and produced Maude's 2014 album #HoldUp, which spawned three successful singles that were co-written/produced by The Trust including her debut #1 song "Love Is What You Make of It". Soon after the success of the singles, Maude was nominated for two NRJ Music Awards in France.
The Trust have composed original musical pieces for television shows and movies such as The Voice, American Idol, TMZ, TMZ Sports, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, E! Entertainment TV, The Real, Chelsea Lately, Good Morning America, Extra, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Stitchers, Les Anges de la téléréalité and the Disney Channel film Bad Hair Day.
Hubbard and Zahniser are also active in the live side of the music industry. Hubbard is a live concert impresario who has produced or co-produced concerts and festivals featuring artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Alesso, Buddy Guy, Marky Ramone, Eric Burdon, Nelly, Tyga, Snoop Dogg, Natasha Bedingfield, Joe Nichols, Edgar Winter, Walter Trout, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Boyz II Men. Zahniser has performed as a live backing musician for several bands including The Black Eyed Peas, Goldfinger and Home Grown. He was a member of the underground ska/punk band The Hippos which played a significant role in popularizing the resurgence of the pop/punk scene in the late '90s and early 2000s, touring with bands such as No Doubt, Blink 182, New Found Glory, MxPx, Bloodhound Gang, NOFX, Goldfinger, The Aquabats and Jimmy Eat World.
In 2003, Tommy Hubbard was the first-place winner of the Riffathon, an international guitar competition judged by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Brian May of Queen. The 2003 Riffathon finals took place at the University of Surrey in Guildford, England which is widely reported as the venue where Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham performed their first gig together under the name "Led Zeppelin" in October 1968.
