Crave: Doing pretty good, man, what’re you up to? Where you guys at?
Dan: Eh, we did a 14-hour drive…just got done with that.
Crave: That’s good to hear. How’s the STHRESS tour going you guys so far, stacked up with other tours you’ve been on?
Dan: Good. Yeah man, we’re getting along with the bands and all the shows are going well and stuff. It’s still early; only been a week and a half or whatever.
Crave: Good, how was Denver last night?
Dan: We always love playing in Denver so it went well. It was hot, but it’s always hot there in the summer.
Crave: You guys have quite the impressive discography, capped off recently with “Funeral of God.” What’s next for the band? What path do you want to go down for the next CD?
Dan: We’ve been talking about it lately…we were talking about how it’s kinda hard to describe because a lot of us musically don’t listen to tons of heavy stuff. So it’s hard to say how we’re going to make this or this because we don’t want to rush things sound-wise. We go back to a lot of weird elements because we’ve been talking to a lot of people about their favorite old stuff and whatnot…so we’re going to bring a lot of that back. We’re going to capture a lot of what people liked in their favorite old songs by us.
Crave: That sounds pretty cool to me.
Dan: Yeah, we were talking about it yesterday a lot…we play it by ear a lot once we start writing. If someone’s got a small idea then we run with it but most of the time it’s all up in the air when we sit down to write something.
Crave: Right, right. What are ZAO’s primary influences in terms of other bands?
Dan: It’s always been old Neurosis, Machine Head, Pantera…some local bands around our area too. We got into a lot of local bands a few years ago and we’re still listening to them today. More of the non-heavy music but it still influences us in weird ways. We listen to a lot of classic rock too.
Crave: Awesome. So for your lyrics, what do you use as your lyrical fuel? Do you mix it up with personal experiences and your own form of poetry/storytelling or do you blend a lot of different elements?
Dan: Yeah, it’s changed here and there but it contains a lot of personal standpoints on things…I’ve been reading a lot and over the years I’ve added a lot of political stuff which is personal, I guess.
Crave: What’ve you been reading lately?
Dan: A lot of Hunter S. Thompson and literature. Thompson’s always been one of my favorites because of what he writes about and the imagery he uses and stuff like that. Kinda strange but I try to relate a lot of that back to the music, such as the political stuff.
Crave: I ask a lot of vocalists this and it’s kind of a crazy question…If you could describe your vocals in one word, what would it be and why?
Dan: I’d say “serpent.” I’ve had a lot of weird people give me comments about that. It’s really strange when people come up to me, like this one lady who came up to me and said I sounded like a serpent. I guess it’s because serpents can’t really talk or something.
Crave: I’ve never heard that before…that’s pretty damn cool. So, what do you have in your CD player or MP3 player right now?
Dan: Right now, really early music from Pentagram…The National as well. The new Clutch for sure too.
Crave: Oh yeah, I picked up the new Clutch yesterday. It’s pretty damn good.
Dan: Yeah, it’s pretty mellow but I like it. The last album (“Blast Tyrant”) I liked a little better, but I do like the mellowness on this album. It definitely grew on me. I’ve been listening to them for a long time and they help me relax when I’m working.
Crave: Yeah, I hear you there. What was the first album you picked up that really made you say “Hey, I want to be a rock singer”?
Dan: As weird as it sounds, probably a CD by this band called Half Life. I’d say either them or the Misfits. I was young, about 12 or 13. Went to a lot of punk shows and I was into Black Flag and the Misfits and stuff. A lot of Danzig too after the Misfits.
Crave: Definitely, I dig Danzig too. So, moving onto your shows, do you guys have any sort of pre-show ritual that you do before you go out on stage?
Dan: Everyone has their own little ones but we don’t really have a band ritual. I wouldn’t call it stage fright but I definitely get anxious before every show. I don’t have a ritual because I’m so antsy…I just kinda pace around.
Crave: I definitely understand that. What’s your favorite song that you guys perform on stage?
Dan: “Praise for the War Machine.” I like it because I can breathe during that one and take a break. Often when I’m writing songs I don’t think about doing it live, you know.
Crave: Hahaha, yeah, nothing like writing a song and then figuring out later that you forgot to write in a break in the vocals to breathe! When you guys go out and perform, do you have a pet peeve or anything, be it security, hardware, something the audience does, any of that?
Dan: Actually, out of everything, as long as there’s a private bathroom, we’re happy. Sometimes when you have to pee or something before you go on, it’s hard to take five minutes and have to wade through the crowd and back. In all honesty, most bands I think would agree with me.
Crave: That’s funny but I can definitely see why you’d say that. Changing the subject a bit, what are your thoughts on the hardcore scene in general; do you see it progressing for better or worse? Dan: I think of it both ways. I think the positive things are that a lot of different types of people are coming together like the Ozzfest kids, the hardcore kids and even the metal kids coming out to shows together, which is cool anytime. But as for something negative, I think it’s going away from what songs are about and what bands are talking about and getting more into fashion and being cool. So I mean, on one hand you have a bunch of crowds coming together and that’s cool, but at the same time it’s not so much about the words anymore coming from the bands. It’s heading more towards an MTV-like popularity. Definitely I would say it’s progressing towards what you look and dress like. This is unfortunate, because several years back I would look at the words to connect with these bands on a personal level; what they spoke for and what they were against. It’s a good and bad direction at the same time. The scene is definitely getting bigger. When something gets bigger obviously it’s not as personal.
Crave: Sure, you get more bands, more fans, more everything and it gets massive after a while. Dan: Yeah, another crazy thing is the sheer number of bands in the scene. When we first started, man, there were just a couple bands on a little label and now there are tons of bands on just one label.
Crave: Do you know any bands that you think are setting an example for improving the scene? Dan: That’s tough off of the top of my head, you know. When I try to think about that I’ve gotta think through it for a while.
Crave: Well, as an example I picked up the new Darkest Hour joint and I know you guys are touring with them. That was a fantastic album… Dan: Oh yeah, Darkest Hour for sure, I’d definitely agree. I just always worry I’ll name bands and then forget somebody important and feel dumb afterwards.
Crave: Hahaha! Yeah, no worries at all, man. Dan: I mean, there are definitely bands out there doing that. And I don’t think it’s always the band’s fault either. The fans can create an influence often a lot more than the bands can because the fans control a lot of what the scene is as much as the bands do.
Crave: For sure. OK…looking back on your career with ZAO, what’s been the hardest part for you in terms of keeping the band together and coming to an agreement on all the artistic preferences you guys have? Dan: Technically most of us have been on the same page. I think the biggest problem is we have extremely bad luck. This band definitely operates under Murphy’s Law. A lot of times the worst thing that could possibly happen has happened with everything from people quitting to vans breaking down…lot of things falling through which causes stress. We always talk about how there’s a curse on this band.
Crave: But do you think with all the bad stuff happening, don’t you think you guys end up better off as a result whenever you release a new album or go back out on tour? Dan: It definitely has made us better off. A lot of bands put with crap and definitely have put up with a lot…we’ve thought about it multiple times and I don’t want to say could’ve or should’ve but maybe broken up, but I think we’re still all doing this because it’s a part of us now. We really can’t stop doing it.
Crave: Well thanks a lot for the interview man, you guys do a great job and I’ll see you at the show in Portland. Dan: Cool man, thanks a lot.
