Pheaturing Kyle Weber From Zelazowa

PHIRST OF

Hey there, welcome to another entry of the Phile. I have a really good entry for you today with Kyle Weber from the band Zelazowa. I think on the last entry I called him Kyle Chamber instead. So, how are you? They’re giving out the swine flu vaccine according to a priority list: doctors, nurses, pregnant women, then children, regular people, cats, dogs, then Baldwins. All the celebrities are trying to get the shot because they think there’s Botox in it. They’re saying sneeze into your elbow to avoid spreading it. Square dances will be wiped out across America!

Well, Halloween is tomorrow. Halloween is not for me. I am not pagan, so I don't take part. It's like I am not Irish, so I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I don't like to work so I don't celebrate Labor Day. In San Diego a burglar threw poop at the jurors during his trial. He got sentenced to 31 years. You know things are not going to end well when you start throwing feces at the jury. This wasn’t his first crime — he had a mile-long crap sheet. We should be fair, though. After all, he’s entitled to du-due process. His lawyer was expecting a dung jury. After months of debate, a healthcare reform bill now exists! The new bill is called the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The bill’s official title is actually HR-3692. 3692, of course, stands for the year they expect the bill to pass. The bill is 1,990 pages long. To put that into words everyone can understand, that's like 5 million tweets. In a new book, President Obama’s former campaign manager said that Bill Clinton ruined Hillary’s chances of becoming vice president. Hillary's very angry at him. In fact to punish him, she made him move from the couch to their bed. CNN’s Lou Dobbs revealed on his radio show that shots were fired at his home three weeks ago. But good news — police have narrowed the list of suspects down to 50 million Latinos. I don't like mentioning Kanye West on the Phile, because he gets to much attention as it is, but once again he showed up at my work. This time he walked into my office and said Beyonce can do my job better. Yeah, right. Anyway, here's proof he was there.

What an ass. Thanks for Jeff for taking that pic and capturing the moment. So, Disney is coming out with a new Winnie The Pooh movie, and they decided to make the film a little more realistic to meet with the times. Take a look at this screen shot from the new film, kids.

Pretty weird, right? I just want to know why is the background all green if it's a screen shot? In the past I have shown you different inspirational or motivational posters that are a little odd and that's out on he market. Here's the latest one I found.

1938

CBS radio announces that glistening, black-eyed Martians have landed at Grover's Mill, New Jersey. Luckily for the extraterrestrials, the news is announced during a Mercury Theatre program and later discounted as a work of fiction. Needless to say, the event causes widespread panic before the government manages to clamp a lid on it.
1944
Anne Frank deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. (If you're reading the diary, she dies in the end.)
1945
Natalis Fonzii Henry Winkler is born in New York City.
1961
Due to his "violations of Lenin's precepts," Soviet leaders decree that Josef Stalin's body be quietly removed from its place of honor inside Lenin's tomb. They bury the Man of Steel with a plain granite marker near the Kremlin wall.
1966
The Zodiac kills his first victim, 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates, in the library parking lot of a community college in Riverside, California. Zodiac stabs her to death with a small knife, nearly decapitating Bates in the process.
2002
Jason William Mizell, aka Run-D.M.C.'s legendary DJ Jam Master Jay, is shot dead in the lounge of his Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Queens. The masked culprit, who gave Mizell a close-range .40-caliber gunshot wound behind the left ear, remains at large to this day.

Today's guest is the guitarist for the really cool band Zelazowa. They're new album "Elephants On A Mousehunt" is available at F.Y.E., iTunes, CDBaby and Amazon. They'll be playing on November 11th at The Diamond Club at Citizens Bank Park - 7th Annual Make a Celebrity PAL in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please welcome to the Phile... Kyle Weber.

Me: Hi there, Kyle, welcome to the Phile. Hey, that rhymes. So, how are you?

Kyle: I'm doing well. Thank you for asking.

Me: I have to ask you about the band name Zelazowa. I like the sound of it. Zelazowa. Zelazowa. Zelazowa. What does it mean?

Kyle: Zelazowa Wola is the birthplace of Frederic Chopin, the romantic composer, and is a town located outside of Warsaw in Poland. We took the first part, Americanized the word a bit, and ended with ZELAZOWA. It roughly translates to steel will in Polish.

Me: I purchased the band's CD off iTunes and really liked it, Kyle. When was it recorded, and how long did it take to make? By the way, who did the drawing? It'll look cool on a t-shirt.

Kyle: Thank you so much for the compliment. We are very happy with the results ourselves. We recorded it from June 17th to July 17th (2008) in a home studio in Nashville, TN with two very talented friends of ours Patrick Himes and Rosemary Haskins. The drawings (front and back) were actually done by Bryan's and my mother (we are brothers by the way).

Me: The album's title "Elephants On A Mousehunt" is a lyric from one of the band's songs, right? How did you pick those lyrics for the album out of all the other lyrics?

Kyle: Not really sure. Bryan just presented it to the rest of us and we all liked it, so it stuck. He is the one to answer that.

Me: I noticed you have two other releases on iTunes, Kyle. How has the band changed over the years?

Kyle: The band has changed a lot over the years, but I would say the biggest difference between the most recent release and our older albums is the production value. The newest one is leagues above the rest. I guess that is what happens when you have time on your side rather than working against you.

Me: I would love to hear a live album from you guys. Any in the works?

Kyle: Album? Probably not any time soon unless someone bootlegs one, hahaha. We do have several live tracks though. Some of which have already poked their head out on our Myspace page. As far as live takes go, we recently did a pretty top notch video recording of a recent hometown show, which you can check out at www.youtube.com/zelazowafilm.

Me: Let's talk about who is in the band. Who are they, and how did you guys all get together?

Kyle: It's pretty easy actually. Bryan and I are brothers and Terry and Ian are cousins. Bryan met Terry in junior high gym class and things just went from there.

Me: Are you all from Philly? You must really love cream cheese, right?

Kyle: We are all from outside of Philly. About 45 minutes. Bryan, Terry, and I grew up in Downingtown and Ian grew up a little closer to the city in Norristown. Yes, we do all love cream cheese, but probaby cheese steaks and pretzels even more, hahaha.

Me: You guys played all over the States, right? Ever been to Florida? What is your favorite show you have done?

Kyle: Correct. We have played in all 48 of the continental United States and 15 countries in Europe. Let's just say we have been around. Florida, yes: Orlando, Tampa, Naples, Jacksonville, and Pensacola (a bunch of times). I think I can speak for everyone when I say that our favorite shows are in Philly and New York City because we always have a great crowd with our hometown crowds. Other than them: Bristol, TN; Norman, OK; Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Dayton, OH; Paris; Prague; Munich; and on and on.

Me: You also hit Europe? Did you play festivals or clubs?

Kyle: We played both actually and it is as good as everyone says.

Me: Where in Europe did you go?

Kyle: France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and the Czech Republic. As I said before, we get around.

Me: Did I read there is a documentary film about the band? How did that come about?

Kyle: You did read correctly. The film is called, "What You Want Us To Be, We Cannot Always Be", and is a Ship King Media Production. Basically, our video/photo/web/everything guy sat us down during one of our trips to Pittsburgh and pitched us the idea and we said sure. It basically encompasses all of his footage and our footage from our first year and a half of touring.

Me: Is it available on DVD anywhere?

Kyle: Yes: http://www.filmbaby.com/films/2318 or just grab us at one of the shows. We always have them with us.

Me: Okay, Kyle, is there any websites or anything you wanna plug? I hope to see you on the road sometime and thanks for doing this interview. Take care, man.

Kyle: Yes actually. Obviously, www.myspace.com/zelazowa and www.zelazowa.com, but also I want to plug www.indieonthemove.com. It is our, ZELAZOWA's, latest venture. It is a 100% FREE venue database of clubs all over the US that entails an internal emailing system, club reviews, and much more. Thanks again for your time and all the best.

PHINALLY

Thanks to Kyle for a really good interview. Check out their CD "Elephnats On A Mousehunt", it is very good. I bet Kyle and his fellow band mates are excited about the World Series. Thanks also to Wikipedia and my friend Jeff for the Kanye and myself pic. Okay, the Phile will be back on Monday next week with singer Dean Lee. Have a safe weekend, and spread the word, not the turd.