you, this hot band has
been around the block for
over six years and they
have played the famous NY
club CBGB's. Zerohour is
a band to be reckoned
with and if you have never
heard of them, look out
here they come!
Zerohour has been
together for six years, the
band formed when you all
what motivates you as an artist?
I think its because we all love to play
Theres no reason for us not to play. We have been friends a long
time and have known each other all of our lives. It's kind of
natural for us to just be together.
How did you come up with the name of the band?
We were all over Austin house and I was looking through the
dictionary and we wanted to pick a name that started with either
the letter A or letter Z, so it would be easy to find in a record
store. The name Zerohour came up, it meant the time before attack
Its a military time.
How old were each of you when you started the band?
I was in sixth grade and was twelve years old.
I was eleven.
I was nine.
I was fifteen when I joined the band, it had been together a couple
years.
What instruments did you play when you started the band?
I played guitar and still do. Austin still plays the drums. Sarah
played the keyboard.
I played keyboard, I used to play a bass line on keyboard, I did that
until our second CD. Thats when I started playing bass guitar and
have been playing ever since.
Do you think that helps being that everyone is multi talented with
playing more than one instrument?
Derek out of all of us plays the most variety of instruments. He
played the drums first, then played saxophone, keyboard, and
guitar.
and bagpipes (group laughs).
I listen to everything.
I'll listen to everything except country.
Derek, you have the classic rock background, he likes the doors.
Tell me a little bit about your creative process when writing your
own music, do you do it as a group, or does everyone have their
own niche to contribute?
Usually one or two of us will come up with a basic riff or an idea.
Typically, at the beginning of band practice we just kinda jam
around, getting tuned and warmed up and everyone will join in.
Sean writes our lyrics.
We'll kinda skat over the music, mumble singing to find the tone we
are looking for. Once we have the full arrangement then I'll add
the lyrics.
Who in your personal life has inspired you musically?
My mom plays the piano. My dad started playing guitar the same
time that I did.
I had four drum teachers who were
different. One was into the
rudiments of the snare that helped
me allot. They each had their own
style which taught me allot.
I have had three different guitar
teachers. The first one was classic
rock, the second was more blue grass,
and the third is into Latino and Salsa
music. I've grown up with parents around
classic rock, my dad plays the guitar, he
used to play in a band.
Describe the bands style, if someone has
never been to a Zerohour concert what
should they expect to experience?
One of the strong points of our band is
that not all of our songs sound the same.
Allot of times if you go out to a concert,
in the beginning the band sounds really
good but by the end you get tired of it
because the songs sound the same.
What do each of you hope to do with your lives outside of the
music industry?
I recently got accepted into Virginia Tech, school of engineering.
I'm really into computer programming and engineering. That's my
back up plan if the music thing does not work out.
I'm not really sure right now, maybe be a sound engineer
Music will always be a major part of our
lives. I do want to go to Virginia Tech., to
their veterinarian school. I am definitely
an animal person and would be fun for me
to be a vet.
No matter what happens I always see myself
in some kind of a band.
You have played NY, CA, TX, PA, and MD,
whats it like going out on the road, out of
the comfort zone of your family and friends
in your hometown, is it all the same or does
Definitely each venue has its own vibe. When we go out of state its
always a risk because you don't know what to expect, having never
been there before.
It could be a complete waste of time.
Yea, like when we went to Pennsylvania, there was probably about
twenty people in the place.
But still we always make the fun out of it.
Its always an adventure.
What did your parents say when they learned you were serious
about putting together a band?
Our dad has always been a big part, he manages us and has always
been excited about helping us, managing, getting us gigs, income.
My parents just agreed with it and
thought it was cool.
Our parents are all very supportive.
Being a young band, is it tough to get
gigs ?
We can't go into some bars to play
because we are not old enough.
Typically we will have our parents with
us and they will let us play just about
anywhere. Actually Maryland is very
strict about it, once we drove all the way
up to Maryland, and when we got there
band! The club owner said you still can't come in. Eventually, he
let us come and do our gig, and as soon as we were done we had to
leave. We can't stick around some times.
Its also nice being young, because most people don't expect much.
Once we play they are shocked.
Its always fun, there are allot times we'll be setting up, we can
hear random comments in the crowd, the kid band.
A little high school band.
What is everyone's current age?
18.
17.
Is there allot of support for bands in the Richmond area?
It's definitely getting bigger.
It still needs allot of improvement though.
I think it has the potential to be, I think it needs better advertising.
I never hear about any of this stuff, except for Innsbrook after
hours thats it. That the only major music venue you hear about.
And some things are sponsored by local radio stations.
There are small groups that really support local music, and think
there needs to be more of that, but it has improved.
What is a favorite song of your own that you wrote?
My favorite song because of the lyrics is Same Difference.
Take It From The Top, it's really different and diverse from our
other songs.
One of my favorite songs to play, it does not have lyrics I just like
the way it is arranged, it's called Algebraic Expression. It's just a
fun song.
Two of my favorite songs are Take it From The Top and Algebraic
Expression.
Tell me about your current CD that you are working on, where is it
available?
Its just about done, we are waiting on the art work to be finished.
We have been working it for a while. We actually have already
started on our 4th CD.
The one that is coming currently is tilted I Want It All. Our next
CD will be titled Still Want More. We would like to have a back
to back release.
The Cd's are available at Plan 9 Music on Cary Steet, Amazon.com
and our web site www.zerohour00.com.
What was it like to play at New York's CBGB's?
They had like twenty bands playing there that night..
We were actually one of the last bands to play, we went on a
1AM and it was actually prime time there the best time to play. We
were supposed to just be on for 15 minutes and they asked us to
play for 45 minutes.
They just said stay on. It was cool, I remember looking at this
book at Barnes and Noble about CBGB's, and they showed all of
the people who played there. We were on the same stage as the
Ramones
It was cool to know that we played the same place as all of these
great bands that we looked up to our whole lives.
Where do you hope to see the band 5 years from now?
It would be sweet to get a deal going, thats what we all are
hoping for. Keep playing get more exposure and have more people
say that they want to come see us.
Pretty much same as Derek, keep playing, get bigger gigs, get a
good following.
I feel the same way as these guys.
We will always enjoy it no matter what we are doing.
*
Photos by Scott E Vision Studios ©
