Zac Baird (born Zachary Baird, February 16, 1971) is an American keyboardist and musician, best known for his long-term collaboration with the nu metal band Korn. He is also noted for his use of the Moog synthesizer and the Ondes Martenot.
Early Life
Zac Baird was born on February 16, 1971, in Orange County, California. He graduated from the Arts Magnet, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.
Career
Baird's first musical project was a 15-piece funk band called Whitey. He later joined the band Billy Goat in 1990 and remained a member for six years. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in numerous other projects and bands, including Cottonmouth Texas, Decadent Dub Team, HairyApesBMX, and Maimou.
Baird has collaborated with a wide range of artists across various genres, including Edie Brickell, Everlast, Evanescence (providing programming for their debut album Fallen), Colin Hay, Daniel Powter, Mike Dillon, and Stone Gossard. He toured with pop singer Daniel Powter through Europe in 2005. In late 2009 and early 2010, Baird was part of Adam Lambert's band, serving as music director, programmer, and keyboardist. He also worked as a keyboard tech for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour in 2023.
Work with Korn
Baird has worked extensively with the nu metal band Korn. He toured with them worldwide as a masked performer (referred to by the nickname "Horse") during the See You on the Other Side tour and the 2006 Family Values Tour. He temporarily joined the band for their eighth studio album (the 2007 Untitled album). On December 9, 2006, Baird performed with Korn on MTV Unplugged: Korn, playing piano. He continued to work with Korn frontman Jonathan Davis on the Alone I Play tour as part of his backing band SFA. In 2011, Baird played keyboards on Korn guitarist Munky's side project, Fear and the Nervous System. He also toured with Korn during the 2013 The Paradigm Shift tour and the 20th Anniversary Tour from 2014 through 2015. Spotify credits Baird as a composer on Korn's 2007 Untitled album.
Slipknot
In 2025, Baird joined Slipknot as their keyboardist.
Discography (Selected)
- 1992 – Bush Roaming Mammals – Billy Goat
- 1997 – Anti-Social Butterfly – Cottonmouth, Texas
- 2000 – Expatriape – HairyApesBMX
- 2001 – Bayleaf – Stone Gossard
- 2003 – Fallen – Evanescence (programming)
- 2006 – Chopped, Screwed, Live and Unglued – Korn
- 2007 – MTV Unplugged: Korn – Korn
- 2007 – Untitled – Korn
- 2007 – Alone I Play – Jonathan Davis and the SFA
- 2011 – Fear and the Nervous System – Fear and the Nervous System
- 2012 – The Truth About Love – Pink
- 2013 – Afraid of Heights – Wavves
TV Appearances
Baird has performed on numerous television programs, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, MTV Unplugged, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Good Morning America, among others.
