Hey, everybody, welcome to a Thursday entry of the Peverett Phile. Thursday... it's been awhile since I posted onb a Thursday. I have a doctor's appointment today so had a day off work and thought what the heck, I should post an entry. So, here we are. Everyone is watching the big global news story. We’re seeing historic changes rocking one of the most ruthless families on earth. That’s right, Kim Kardashian got married. Man, did you see all that crazy stuff going on in Libya? Some people think Gadhafi will go into exile somewhere harmless where we can keep an eye on him. I’m thinking “Dancing With the Stars.” I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re hoping for an end to the bloodshed, a peaceful transition to democracy, and... cheaper gas. So, did everybody survive that earthquake on the East Coast? After the earthquake on the they found Mayor Bloomberg standing under his desk. They felt the earthquake at Martha’s Vineyard. It was so bad, President Obama nearly missed a putt. The earthquake was so strong in Washington D.C. the Washington Monument is now leaning an inch or two. MSNBC reported that it's leaning to the left, Fox News reported that it's leaning to the right. The next earthquake on the East Coast will be sometime in October when we go to vacation to Washington and I trip up the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial. Just warning you people. Speaking of the earthquake, did you see the P.S.A. poster that the state of Virginia put out? If you didn't I have it here.
Okay, now that the earthquake is over, we have a hurricane on it's way to America this weekend and people are being evacuated. Let's check in to the weather and see if we know where Hurricane Irene is going.
I thought you "The Office" fans would get a kick out of that. And now for some sad news...
Jerry Leiber
April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011
Guess that IS all there is.
Nick Ashford
May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011
Solid... solid as a rock.
The fifth artist to be pheatured in the P.P.A.G. Danielle Soloud and this is one of her pieces of work.
Danielle will be a guest on the Phile in the next entry on Sunday. And now, from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...
Top Ten Signs Congress Just Doesn't Care Anymore
10. Nay votes now signaled using the middle finger.
9. Filibusters replaced by Taco Tuesdays.
8. New desks are all "cable-ready".
7. They spend a week trying to figure out what color to paint the debt ceiling.
6. Their new debt/deficit plan? "Bowling For Trillions".
5. On the issue of the bond rating, passed a resolution that Sean Connery is the best Bond. 4. Voted unanimously to agree to disagree.
3. Every time the stock market takes a dive, they take a shot.
2. Fewer deals being made, more deals being photographed.
And the number one sign Congress doesn't care anymore...
1. Calls in sick almost as often as Peverett does.
Today's guest was last on the Phile on October 30th, 2009 and his time he is joined by his brother. They have a new album out called "Love In Lunacy" which is available on iTunes and will be appearing next at Mojo Main in Newark, Delaware on September 17th. Please welcome to the Phile from the band Zelazowa... Zelazowa, I love that name. From the band Zelazowa... Kyle and Bryan Weber.
Me: Hello, guys, welcome back to the Phile. How are you?
Kyle: Doing really well. And you?
Me: Where do I start? I am hanging in there. Anyway, last time it was just Kyle, Bryan. I am glad you both came along. Anyway, in the past I interviewed bands and duos who are brothers, sisters, husbands and wives, and such, and it always amazes me. I am close to my sisters, and of course my wife but could never fathom working with them, let alone being in the same band. Whose idea was it for you both to be in a band?
Kyle: Ultimately, it was Bryan's (and the other two member's) decision to invite me to join the band. They had already been playing together for about 3 years when I finally became a part of the group. I had secretly always hoped that it would happen, but had to wait until the situation presented itself.
Bryan: Yeah, we used to have another guy that played lead guitar but things just didn't work out. He was on another path and when he chose to leave the picture, it was an easy decision to bring Kyle on board.
Me: I am guessing you get along good, am I right? Any arguments? Sibling rivalry.
Kyle: We get along very well for the most part, but I would be lying if I said we never argue. You have to expect disagreements from time to time when you have people working together that have strong opinions. The thing to remember is that all 4 band members (Bryan and myself and Terry and Ian) are shooting for the same goal - success.
Bryan: Agreed.
Me: Which one of you gets the most groupies?
Bryan: Haha. Good question.
Kyle: Definitely Bryan. He is the singer. Chicks dig singers.
Me: Who else is in the band, and what do they do?
Kyle: Ian Sharkey, vocals and bass, and Terry Sharkey, drums and backing vocals. They are not brothers, but cousins. Yes, we are a family band, hahaha.
Bryan: Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Me: Do you guys both do the songwriting?
Kyle: Yes, but Bryan is a much more prolific songwriter than I. Whether it be him coming up with the backbone of the song or me though, we always end up working out all the details as a unit. Bryan writes all the lyrics now-a-days though.
Me: What do your parents think about you guys being in a band together?
Bryan: We have the greatest parents in the world, hands down.
Kyle: They are very proud and have always told us about the importance of keeping a strong family bond especially as we get older. Bryan and I have two younger brothers that we feel just as close to as well. It is a part of who we are.
Me: Okay, let's talk about the name of the band. Last time you were here on the Phile I commented how much I like the way it sounds. I know I asked before, but for the readers that don't remember and the new readers, go ahead and tell them what Zelazowa means. Also, who came up with the name?
Bryan: Zelazowa loosely translates to "steel will" in Polish and is a word that we took from the birthplace of Frederic Chopin, Zelazowa Wola. No, we are not Polish. This is something that I learned about in college and we all thought it sounded cool, was unique, and fit really well.
Me: You guys have a brand new album out since the last time you were here. "Love is Lunacy", which I downloaded from iTunes and really like. Where did the title come from?
Kyle: It comes from the lyrics of "Come the Black Tide", track #10 on the album. Bryan can further elaborate.
Bryan: True. I think that the real derivation of the phrase though came when we were finalizing some of the album lyrics and were just about to enter the studio to begin tracking. I realized that a lot of the material on the record was written about people that I know, had known, loved, and lost. It's really about how all of the emotions surrounding that word, "love", can really take you to extremes psychologically speaking - in a good and bad way as the case may be.
Me: There's no elephant on the cover on this album, guys. There's a beach picture instead. What does that represent?
Kyle: For me, it kind of represents simplicity on first glance. It is just a picture of the beach on a nice summer day. But, look closer, notice the palm tree is actually plastic and not a real palm tree at all. The picture depicts love in a way - simple on the surface and much more complicated underneath.
Me: The band is based in Philly, right? Do you guys all live there?
Kyle: Correct, but we do not all live there. Bryan and I live in Brooklyn, Terry lives in West Chester, and Ian lives in Philly, so 1 out of 4. I guess that is better than 0 out of 4, hahaha. We all grew up outside of Philly, so we still consider that our base. Also, it is way easier to tell people that you are from Philly than to say "I'm from Downingtown". Where is that?
Bryan: Exactly. Especially when you're touring people have no clue where Downingtown is.
Me: Is that where this new album was recorded? How would you compare "Love is Lunacy" to "Elephants on a Mousehunt"?
Kyle: The new album was recorded right outside of Philly in Conshohocken mostly, but 95% of the vocals were done at a home studio in Upper Darby and the strings at a studio in Oreland. I would say that "Love is Lunacy" is a more mature album than elephants just because we as people are maturing and as a result our songwriting is too. Barring a couple of the really heavy drop D tunes on "Elephants", both albums are relatively comparable though. "Elephants" leads the way to "Love is Lunacy", so it is easy to find some similarities.
Bryan: I agree. I think "Love is Lunacy" really shows how the four of us are getting a little older and experiencing more of what being an adult is. Not to mention that there have been some difficult times over the last couple of years and those experiences definitely seeped into the musical approach that we took.
Me: I have to ask about Indie on the Move. At first when I read it I thought it was Indie on the Movie, as you guys have a documentary out on the band. But, it's Indie on the Move. What is that exactly?
Kyle: Indie on the Move is a 100% FREE, open-source, interactive live music venue database and tour booking resource geared towards independent musicians and booking agents. It is a tool that we created to allow other DIY, independent bands to do what we did from 2006-2009, which was toured our asses off. It is also us doing our part to keep the independent music community connected and thriving. We are a little more than 2.5 years in at this point and we have seen great success currently showing over 20,000 account holders and about 3,500 music venues.
Me: So, you're gonna help other bands? Is there any that you helped with yet?
Kyle: We have helped hundreds if not thousands of bands book successful US tours just by providing them with the information that we publish on Indieonthemove.com.
Me: Any who would be good for the Phile?
Kyle: That is hard to say as we deal with so many bands & venues every day as a result of the website. There is not just one act that jumps out. Check out indieonthemove.com and go to the Gig Swap section of the site to find some acts. You can search by city, state, & genre (or all at once).
Me: And you guys were in 'Sports Illustrated' 2011 Swimsuit issue? What?! Explain, guys.
Kyle: Yeah, pretty cool right? We had a connection in the video department of the company and submitted our material to him. He found a couple of choice spots where he thought our stuff fit and he submitted it to his bosses. They approved the video and decided to mention us in the magazine too. We were pretty excited.
Bryan: The only bummer was that they didn't include our band body paint shot in the mag. Maybe next year (fingers crossed)!
Me: Are you guys still traveling and touring around the world?
Kyle: Not so much around the world anymore as regionally in the northeast. With Indie on the Move and other non-band responsibilities, we find it hard to just hit the road for months/years at a time. Now, would we do it if the right opportunity came along? Of course.
Q: Thanks so much for being here on the Phile again, Kyle, and welcome Bryan. Please come back when the next album comes out. Go ahead and plug your website and anything else. I wish you guys continued success and please come back again.
Kyle: Thanks so much for having us. The new album is out now and is available on iTunes and on CDbaby.com. Musicians - definitely check out Indieonthemove.com. It's FREE, so worse case you hate it and never use it again. I doubt that will be the case though.
Bryan: And don't forget to check out the band at www.zelazowa.com. Thanks a lot, Jason!
Kyle: Doing really well. And you?
Me: Where do I start? I am hanging in there. Anyway, last time it was just Kyle, Bryan. I am glad you both came along. Anyway, in the past I interviewed bands and duos who are brothers, sisters, husbands and wives, and such, and it always amazes me. I am close to my sisters, and of course my wife but could never fathom working with them, let alone being in the same band. Whose idea was it for you both to be in a band?
Kyle: Ultimately, it was Bryan's (and the other two member's) decision to invite me to join the band. They had already been playing together for about 3 years when I finally became a part of the group. I had secretly always hoped that it would happen, but had to wait until the situation presented itself.
Bryan: Yeah, we used to have another guy that played lead guitar but things just didn't work out. He was on another path and when he chose to leave the picture, it was an easy decision to bring Kyle on board.
Me: I am guessing you get along good, am I right? Any arguments? Sibling rivalry.
Kyle: We get along very well for the most part, but I would be lying if I said we never argue. You have to expect disagreements from time to time when you have people working together that have strong opinions. The thing to remember is that all 4 band members (Bryan and myself and Terry and Ian) are shooting for the same goal - success.
Bryan: Agreed.
Me: Which one of you gets the most groupies?
Bryan: Haha. Good question.
Kyle: Definitely Bryan. He is the singer. Chicks dig singers.
Me: Who else is in the band, and what do they do?
Kyle: Ian Sharkey, vocals and bass, and Terry Sharkey, drums and backing vocals. They are not brothers, but cousins. Yes, we are a family band, hahaha.
Bryan: Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Me: Do you guys both do the songwriting?
Kyle: Yes, but Bryan is a much more prolific songwriter than I. Whether it be him coming up with the backbone of the song or me though, we always end up working out all the details as a unit. Bryan writes all the lyrics now-a-days though.
Me: What do your parents think about you guys being in a band together?
Bryan: We have the greatest parents in the world, hands down.
Kyle: They are very proud and have always told us about the importance of keeping a strong family bond especially as we get older. Bryan and I have two younger brothers that we feel just as close to as well. It is a part of who we are.
Me: Okay, let's talk about the name of the band. Last time you were here on the Phile I commented how much I like the way it sounds. I know I asked before, but for the readers that don't remember and the new readers, go ahead and tell them what Zelazowa means. Also, who came up with the name?
Bryan: Zelazowa loosely translates to "steel will" in Polish and is a word that we took from the birthplace of Frederic Chopin, Zelazowa Wola. No, we are not Polish. This is something that I learned about in college and we all thought it sounded cool, was unique, and fit really well.
Me: You guys have a brand new album out since the last time you were here. "Love is Lunacy", which I downloaded from iTunes and really like. Where did the title come from?
Kyle: It comes from the lyrics of "Come the Black Tide", track #10 on the album. Bryan can further elaborate.
Bryan: True. I think that the real derivation of the phrase though came when we were finalizing some of the album lyrics and were just about to enter the studio to begin tracking. I realized that a lot of the material on the record was written about people that I know, had known, loved, and lost. It's really about how all of the emotions surrounding that word, "love", can really take you to extremes psychologically speaking - in a good and bad way as the case may be.
Me: There's no elephant on the cover on this album, guys. There's a beach picture instead. What does that represent?
Kyle: For me, it kind of represents simplicity on first glance. It is just a picture of the beach on a nice summer day. But, look closer, notice the palm tree is actually plastic and not a real palm tree at all. The picture depicts love in a way - simple on the surface and much more complicated underneath.
Me: The band is based in Philly, right? Do you guys all live there?
Kyle: Correct, but we do not all live there. Bryan and I live in Brooklyn, Terry lives in West Chester, and Ian lives in Philly, so 1 out of 4. I guess that is better than 0 out of 4, hahaha. We all grew up outside of Philly, so we still consider that our base. Also, it is way easier to tell people that you are from Philly than to say "I'm from Downingtown". Where is that?
Bryan: Exactly. Especially when you're touring people have no clue where Downingtown is.
Me: Is that where this new album was recorded? How would you compare "Love is Lunacy" to "Elephants on a Mousehunt"?
Kyle: The new album was recorded right outside of Philly in Conshohocken mostly, but 95% of the vocals were done at a home studio in Upper Darby and the strings at a studio in Oreland. I would say that "Love is Lunacy" is a more mature album than elephants just because we as people are maturing and as a result our songwriting is too. Barring a couple of the really heavy drop D tunes on "Elephants", both albums are relatively comparable though. "Elephants" leads the way to "Love is Lunacy", so it is easy to find some similarities.
Bryan: I agree. I think "Love is Lunacy" really shows how the four of us are getting a little older and experiencing more of what being an adult is. Not to mention that there have been some difficult times over the last couple of years and those experiences definitely seeped into the musical approach that we took.
Me: I have to ask about Indie on the Move. At first when I read it I thought it was Indie on the Movie, as you guys have a documentary out on the band. But, it's Indie on the Move. What is that exactly?
Kyle: Indie on the Move is a 100% FREE, open-source, interactive live music venue database and tour booking resource geared towards independent musicians and booking agents. It is a tool that we created to allow other DIY, independent bands to do what we did from 2006-2009, which was toured our asses off. It is also us doing our part to keep the independent music community connected and thriving. We are a little more than 2.5 years in at this point and we have seen great success currently showing over 20,000 account holders and about 3,500 music venues.
Me: So, you're gonna help other bands? Is there any that you helped with yet?
Kyle: We have helped hundreds if not thousands of bands book successful US tours just by providing them with the information that we publish on Indieonthemove.com.
Me: Any who would be good for the Phile?
Kyle: That is hard to say as we deal with so many bands & venues every day as a result of the website. There is not just one act that jumps out. Check out indieonthemove.com and go to the Gig Swap section of the site to find some acts. You can search by city, state, & genre (or all at once).
Me: And you guys were in 'Sports Illustrated' 2011 Swimsuit issue? What?! Explain, guys.
Kyle: Yeah, pretty cool right? We had a connection in the video department of the company and submitted our material to him. He found a couple of choice spots where he thought our stuff fit and he submitted it to his bosses. They approved the video and decided to mention us in the magazine too. We were pretty excited.
Bryan: The only bummer was that they didn't include our band body paint shot in the mag. Maybe next year (fingers crossed)!
Me: Are you guys still traveling and touring around the world?
Kyle: Not so much around the world anymore as regionally in the northeast. With Indie on the Move and other non-band responsibilities, we find it hard to just hit the road for months/years at a time. Now, would we do it if the right opportunity came along? Of course.
Q: Thanks so much for being here on the Phile again, Kyle, and welcome Bryan. Please come back when the next album comes out. Go ahead and plug your website and anything else. I wish you guys continued success and please come back again.
Kyle: Thanks so much for having us. The new album is out now and is available on iTunes and on CDbaby.com. Musicians - definitely check out Indieonthemove.com. It's FREE, so worse case you hate it and never use it again. I doubt that will be the case though.
Bryan: And don't forget to check out the band at www.zelazowa.com. Thanks a lot, Jason!
Man, what a great band. They are definitely one of my favorite bands. Thanks to Bryan and Kyle for a great interview, and to you readers for reading on a Thursday. Hope everybody will be safe this weekend. Anyway, the Phile will be back on Sunday with artist Danielle Soloud and then on Monday with the singer for one of mine and my son's favorite bands ever. It's Jaret Reddick, lead singer for Bowling for Soup. Freakin' cool, right? So, spread the word, don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.
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