| NEWS MUSIC MULTIMEDIA BAND HISTORY REVIEWS INTERVIEWS LIVE JOIN LINKS CONTACT |
2008 Portuguese Radio Interview Part 1 - Podcast of Portugal's Rock Radio feature of Zip Tang and Pank including a long distance, in depth interview with Felipe Santos about the band, the writing & recording of Pank, Portuguese wine, and what to expect on the next album - on his radio show Pais Relativo RUA 102.7FM radio Portugal. skip to about 22:00, and 43:00 for the interview Part 2 - skip to about 2:30 if you don't speak Portuguese. |
|
|
2007 Interview with Argentinian Music Publication: Interview with Perry Merrit, guitar and vocals of this excellent alternative fusion jazz rock band By Sergio Vilar The progressive world mainly knows you as a member of Zip Tang; what can we expect from this band? Will you farther detach from your original rock background? We're currently writing several new songs in various stages of development and pre-production for our 2nd album. We don't really have a long term plan or strategy as to writing or performing until we finish this next round of recording. We seem to be gravitating towards heavier material lately compared to the earlier music, before “Luminiferous Ether”, that was a little more Steely Dan-ish. Which aspects of your music do you think are really innovative elements? Which ones are taken from the tradition or comparable to other artists works? I guess the innovation in our sound is mainly a by product of our various musical backgrounds. Fred Faller (drums, percussion) and Marcus Padgett (sax,keys,vocals) have more of a Jazz background, and Rick Wolfe (bass,vocals) and I come from more of a Rock / Blues background. I think that combination comes out in our music in interesting and unpredictable ways. <>The interplay between sax and guitar for instance is somewhat unique, although has been done by King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan and a few others to a degree. In our case, often the sax is more like a second lead guitar, sometimes playing unison lines with me, like two lead guitars, which there will be more of on the next CD. Also, I think the Jazz inflected drums with the straighter Rock bass makes for a somewhat unique rhythm section. Then, which is the musical essence of Zip Tang? I think it's basically the sum of our different influences and styles. Most importantly, not trying to sound like anyone else in particular and just letting our own sound come out. Would I like that we speak of “Luminiferous Ether”, your album. How was the creative process of this work? Well it's really a true collaborative process. Some of the songs simply started as jams or improvisations. Marcus had done some writing before joining Zip Tang and has a catalogue of unused concepts, riffs and chord changes that he'll draw on and bring in to the sessions. Sometimes we'll start sessions with Rick and Fred just coming up with a groove off the top of their heads while warming up, or one of them will come in with an idea or groove, and we'll just join in and jam a while. We record the jams and save the good ones for later reference. “Doctor Plush” is an example of a song based on two jams. Marcus brought in a chord progression to jam with - Am Dm G C F Dm E. I later came up with the “Doctor Plush” lyrics and melody which eventually became the 2nd half of the song. Rick wrote some lyrics and shaped the first half of the song based on another jam. Everyone has equal input and makes suggestions and contributions as the song is developed. Another example is “Tower Of Tuna”. I wrote the lyrics late one night, after dinner and a FEW drinks with Rick our bass player. Marcus took them and came up with the melody and general structure, and then we all just kind of filled in the rest. Marcus has been writing most of the other lyrics and brings in alot of the general concepts for songs. Rarely does anyone write an entire song alone and bring it in to the band. An exception might be “Nothing Here” which Marcus wrote most of on his own. Or “Missed The Beginning” which he had also brought in as a fairly developed concept, but evolved into quite a different animal once the rest of us got a hold of it. They main thing is that they all have to evolve regardless of how they started. We have to play them for months, in the studio and live, for them to really grow and bloom before recording. What feelings or ideas want to express through the songs? Each song is very different. Most are more about the instrumentation than the words or a specific feeling or idea, or at least started out that way, and are just meant to be enjoyed and fun or interesting to listen to. But a few have a little deeper meaning. “Tower Of Tuna” for example is just pure silliness and fun, with a thinly veiled double meaning. :-) The music on your album are very interesting. Where do you get your inspiration? I guess personally, it comes from life. It comes from everything, everyday experiences, every piece of music I ever heard, every movie I've watched and every painting I've ever seen. Good and bad. Musically, we all have very diverse tastes and influences including Rock, Jazz, Progressive, Fusion, Classical and even some Pop.:-) What's your personal perception of your music? Is it a vehicle for your feelings, a sort of different side of your personality or what else? Well different songs reflect the personality of the band member or members that had the most influence on it. That's probably why they're all so different. It's also a vehicle to release our creative juices, and some emotional juices that aren't released in our everyday lives. :-) You regularly play live? Is the way you approach live performances very different from your studio work? We haven't been playing live regulary. For the last couple of years we've been using our limited time to keep writing and recording. Our approach is totally different for live performances, which is probably the main reason we haven't played out much. We need at least 4-6 rehearsals to prepare for a show and have to switch from creative mode to technical mode. As long as the creative mode is productive, we want to ride it as long as we can and keep writing and recording for a while. How has the Internet influenced your musical career and the promotion of your music? Being self produced and unsigned, it's the only means we have currently to get our music heard outside of our local circle. We depend on sites like yours to help us and other independent artists. Can you please, let me know about your band activities' today? I mean, have you been currently working upon a new project, doing gigs and so forth? We've been mainly writing and developing alot of new material. Is it premature to speak of a new disc? Does new clever material already exist? Yes, we are working on our second album and should start recording this fall. What new additions to the sound are there on the next CD? I guess it's like the next chapter, where this CD leaves off. It will sound familiar after you listen to “Luminiferous Ether”, but it will be different. Like I said, slightly darker. There's been talk of mixing a 5.1 Surround version too. What is your opinion of the music scene right now? What are your views about progressive scene and the music industry in general? Well I think most musicians and music aficionados would agree it's pretty sad, at least from a popular cultural and media standpoint here in the U.S. On the other hand, if you know how to find it, there are vast amounts of good-independent music out there in cyberspace. The internet is leveling the playingfield. What music are you listening at the present time? Something new that can recommend us? We've all been getting into Porcupine Tree lately. Also I've been listening to Radiohead, Primus, Aaron Copeland and various unknown artists from sites like GarageBand's Progressive Chart. I thank them to share this moment with Nucleus. If you want it they can leave some final message to our readers... Thanks for your interest in our music. “Luminiferous Ether” has been a labour of love and I hope your readers buy and enjoy our creation. www.ziptang.net Nucleus interview: 18/08/07 |
|