Interview: The Zone
The Zone is an alternative rock band from Guildford/Fleet/Basingstoke, UK, Founded by Dave (vocals, guitar), John – JC (bass, vocals) and Jon – JP (drums.) They were formed in 2006, and released recently a new EP “The Time We Have” from Reputation Label.
The first thing I noticed about this music was the guitar skills. They’re solid. And you can hear everything from gentle Italian inspired riffs combined with an acoustic guitar (Pleased To Be Here).
To the total opposite, and what has proved to be the typical sound of The Zone; a steady rhythm with some energetic guitar riffs in “Which Path”, “The Time We Have” and “Years Gone By” – a track that also have a brilliant guitar solo.
I asked Dave some questions;
How and when did The Zone form?
A long, long, time ago I was born in Coventry. When I was a student I got into a few bands in London and carried this on until I got married and the kids arrived. I did a few gigs and recording but with a young family it was difficult. My eldest is 18 now and they all have their own things to do, so that gives me more opportunity to get out and rehearse and gig. The Zone formed back in 2006 when JC popped up in Guildford. We got together for a party to do some covers, then wrote some original stuff and then advertised for a drummer and did our first gig as The Zone in May 2007 at the Dublin Castle in London. I’ve known JC for years (since college), it just was that I was down South and he likes living in the Midlands…
What is your musical background?
As a kid I learned music theory playing the trumpet and then switched to the guitar. My guitar teacher used to love Santana and I think some of that is in my playing somewhere. I was in bands in the late eighties in London and although I did backing vocals I only started singing lead vocal in the nineties. We played all over London in the eighties, supporting bands like “The House Martins”. It was great fun and we clocked up quite a few gigs. At that time the bands were wanting to do pop-rock and techno but I kept introducing a blues riff or two where I could – I recall there was a review that described my guitar as providing “Gilmour laden riffs” – I took that as a compliment!
How would you describe your music?
I think we like to take the feel of Classic rock/blues and give it a twist or two. The twist is generally in the progressive vein, adding in bits and runs and twiddly bits. When I’m jamming with JC and JP (Jon Parry, our new drummer) it all comes quite naturally. I also prefer to avoid “obvious clichés” – there’s so much music where you think “where’s the originality in that?” – I love trying different rhythms and styles and keep things interesting.
What’s your biggest musical influence?
Classic Rock – Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, Cream. And then there were the more progressive rock bands – Pink Floyd, Yes and Rush. My older brother used to play loads of Beatles and Pink Floyd and Caravan, things like that. The first band I remember actively seeking out was Thin Lizzy – saw them in concert a few times, brilliant live. Like most guitarists I could reel out a few names – Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi, Dave Gilmour, Alex Lifeson – I’ve tried to take on things from those guys for sure. Vocal wise I’d say I’ve tried to listen to more recent styles – I like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kaiser Chiefs and Kings of Leon – “singers” rather than “screamers”. I also have listened to a fair amount of Aha – I’m not just saying that because you’re from Norway!
You recently released a new EP “The Time We Have” – what can you tell us about it?
It’s our first release with Reputation and we’re really pleased with it. It’s a bit of a “change-over” as our old drummer Keith plays on two of the tracks and JP plays on the other two. We’re opening live with the title track and getting a great reaction and “Just A Song” (with JP’s drumming) seems to be going down well as well. “Pleased to be here” is something different for us, acoustic guitars and JP played a 12-string acoustic as well as drums on that. “Which Path” is more rock/blues and is another live favourite.
Could you briefly describe your music-making process?
I often get something in my head and try to get a rough recording of it so I can introduce it in a jam session with JC and JP. Sometimes it’s just a lyric or riff but at times it’s a large part of a song. The main thing is get to a guitar before it disappears, listen to Radio 4 – anything but music! – as that is the easiest way to erase the song in your head. Then when we’re jamming some ideas form quickly and others take a lot longer – “Acceptable Risk” took ages, at one stage we had three separate parts and couldn’t work out how they should fit together. But now I think it’s one of the strongest we’ve done – it’s on our Myspace and Reverb Nation pages and on my profile page at Reputation if anyone wants to hear it.
How do you promote your music?
Like most bands we’re open to offers!!! Reputation http://www.reputationlabel.com is a great place and we’re getting songs played on there fairly often. We also get involved with a site called “Rock Til You Drop” http://www.rock-til-you-drop.com where we can. Other than that you will find us regularly messaging fans and prospective fans on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter etc. We’ve had some great comments from fans at our live shows and from Myspace people listening to our songs – it’s really great to get the feedback.
What are your plans for 2010?
We’ve played a couple of gigs in April and our next gig is at the Boileroom in Guildford on Thursday 20th May. We’re supporting Karn8 and it should be a good night! After that we’re planning a few gigs in June/July and in July we’re playing Guilfest on Saturday 17th July – details of our gigs are on Reputation, Myspace and Reverb Nation. We’re also planning to record more songs – we’re currently working on a rocker of a song called “Revelation (Reputation)” which we’re hoping the Reputation people will enjoy! We’d also love to squeeze in a video if we can – plenty of ideas, just need to find the time!
You can follow The Zone on Reputation, MySpace, Twitter, and on Reverbnation.
