interview with ZAUM
Have any of you played in other bands? Just prior to ZAUM I fronted a stoner/doom band called SHEVIL (named after a Melvins song) featuring 3 basses and a drummer. I consider the Shevil LP "Kilts Of War" to be kind of a prequel to ZAUM. The stuff can be heard at http://shevil.bandcamp.com. I also play bass for MARS CREATION. Mars is an eccentric solo Black Metal artist who has released over 100 albums since 1996, all very underground. I occasionally play with him under the moniker Vvaghorn. Normally on his albums he plays everything himself, but we have one song available to the public which I played bass on, and Mark Gaudet (of Eric's Trip) plays drums. I recorded/mixed the track and shot a video for it and I encourage people to check it out here - "Arriv Of The Demon" - https://youtu.be/NnLqAU1UANQ
How is it that you started playing music? I started playing music at age 11 (1991) when I joined the junior high school concert band on drums. Our instructor/conductor (Laura Huffaker) is a veteran jazz musician and she really crafted so much with regard to my musical ability. The following year I joined the junior high school jazz band and we were actually so good we toured all throughout our region. It was cool at a young age having that experience playing all of the time in front of 300-ish people, also dug getting to miss classes to get to gig for an entire day.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Kyle of ZAUM (37) - vocals, bass, synth, FX.
Chris of ZAUM (44) - drums, percussion.
Have you had other previous members? Negative.
Did you make music even when you were young? My first non-school based band was called The Glades which was formed in 1994. Chris' first band was called Frostbite I believe which formed in or around 1988.
Where are you from? Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
What year did the band form? 2013
What's your style of genre? Old World Mantra Doom
What inspires you? Life. There isn't enough time to even do a fraction of what I would love to in this amazing world we live in.
How often and where do you rehearse? We rehearse here in Moncton, NB in my house. We really only rehearse about a month prior to an upcoming tour, or when we are just about to head into the studio to record.
How have you developed since you started with the music? I think we've added a lot of textural depth, especially with respect to organic instrumentation being introduced beyond just bass and drums.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? I'm a music fanatic, always searching for new bands and buying new records I have a feeling may be something I would like, I have a massive record collection.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We are with DOOMSTAR BOOKINGS based out of The Netherlands, though we would be open to an American Booking Agency if one came along.
What made you decide to make this music? Was just a natural progression for me musically. I have a giant interest in old/traditional world based music from anywhere possible; ambient/soundscapes/drone; and doom/sludge metal, but I'm also a sucker for a catchy hook. I suppose if you toss all that into one pot, this is what you get.
What are your songs about? Insight into the potential truths of this universe.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I write all of the music and lyrics.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Music. In fact I only write lyrics and vocals after the album is entirely recorded and mixed with everything up to that point. Lyrics come to me on the spot, I probably don’t spend more than 20 minutes writing lyrics for any one song.
Do you compose in a certain environment? Alone in the wee hours of the morning with my bass in hand and tape rolling.
Have you done any covers live? Negative.
What language do you sing in? English.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Least, probably 5 people in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Most was appx 500 in Timisoara, Romania.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? I'd say 32 is probably a decent average.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Vary.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? The city we've probably played the most is Berlin, Germany.
What was your first gig like? An all ages show in an art gallery in Fredericton, NB, Canada to probably 75 people.
What was your latest gig? Last gig was December 9, 2017 in Halifax, NS, Canada.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Yes we had to cancel 2 shows on our Fall European Tour in 2016 due to being hospitalized with pneumonia. Also had to cancel 2 shows on our Fall European Tour in 2015 due to our van breaking down. All 4 shows we've sadly had to cancel were in Germany.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? In 2019 we plan to play Switzerland, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Japan, China, Mongolia, United States and Canada. All of that is subject to change and there could be a very others that could be swapped in there.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Before we ever had even a second of recorded music in 2013, we printed 50 shirts and sold out within a couple of weeks. Currently we have 2 full length LP's / CD's available for purchase. Also our first album Oracles was just re-released on cassette on Aisxini Records in Greece.
Where can people buy your merchandise? http://zaum.bandcamp.com
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I download tons of music so I’m definitely into it. Owning it physically though is just so superior.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? It's crumbled.
Do you have any role models or idols? King Buzzo, the guy is a never-ending wealth of wisdom, creativity and humor.
What are your web sites?
Bandcamp - http://zaum.bandcamp.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/zaumn
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/zaumdoom
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/zaumdoom
Website - http://www.zaum.ca
How can people reach you? Via our Facebook or Instagram.
What are your plans for the future? Recording our next album very soon, intending a spring 2019 release. Then mass touring.
How is it that you started playing music? I started playing music at age 11 (1991) when I joined the junior high school concert band on drums. Our instructor/conductor (Laura Huffaker) is a veteran jazz musician and she really crafted so much with regard to my musical ability. The following year I joined the junior high school jazz band and we were actually so good we toured all throughout our region. It was cool at a young age having that experience playing all of the time in front of 300-ish people, also dug getting to miss classes to get to gig for an entire day.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Kyle of ZAUM (37) - vocals, bass, synth, FX.
Chris of ZAUM (44) - drums, percussion.
Have you had other previous members? Negative.
Did you make music even when you were young? My first non-school based band was called The Glades which was formed in 1994. Chris' first band was called Frostbite I believe which formed in or around 1988.
Where are you from? Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
What year did the band form? 2013
What's your style of genre? Old World Mantra Doom
What inspires you? Life. There isn't enough time to even do a fraction of what I would love to in this amazing world we live in.
How often and where do you rehearse? We rehearse here in Moncton, NB in my house. We really only rehearse about a month prior to an upcoming tour, or when we are just about to head into the studio to record.
How have you developed since you started with the music? I think we've added a lot of textural depth, especially with respect to organic instrumentation being introduced beyond just bass and drums.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? I'm a music fanatic, always searching for new bands and buying new records I have a feeling may be something I would like, I have a massive record collection.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We are with DOOMSTAR BOOKINGS based out of The Netherlands, though we would be open to an American Booking Agency if one came along.
What made you decide to make this music? Was just a natural progression for me musically. I have a giant interest in old/traditional world based music from anywhere possible; ambient/soundscapes/drone; and doom/sludge metal, but I'm also a sucker for a catchy hook. I suppose if you toss all that into one pot, this is what you get.
What are your songs about? Insight into the potential truths of this universe.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I write all of the music and lyrics.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Music. In fact I only write lyrics and vocals after the album is entirely recorded and mixed with everything up to that point. Lyrics come to me on the spot, I probably don’t spend more than 20 minutes writing lyrics for any one song.
Do you compose in a certain environment? Alone in the wee hours of the morning with my bass in hand and tape rolling.
Have you done any covers live? Negative.
What language do you sing in? English.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Least, probably 5 people in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Most was appx 500 in Timisoara, Romania.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? I'd say 32 is probably a decent average.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Vary.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? The city we've probably played the most is Berlin, Germany.
What was your first gig like? An all ages show in an art gallery in Fredericton, NB, Canada to probably 75 people.
What was your latest gig? Last gig was December 9, 2017 in Halifax, NS, Canada.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Yes we had to cancel 2 shows on our Fall European Tour in 2016 due to being hospitalized with pneumonia. Also had to cancel 2 shows on our Fall European Tour in 2015 due to our van breaking down. All 4 shows we've sadly had to cancel were in Germany.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? In 2019 we plan to play Switzerland, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Japan, China, Mongolia, United States and Canada. All of that is subject to change and there could be a very others that could be swapped in there.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Before we ever had even a second of recorded music in 2013, we printed 50 shirts and sold out within a couple of weeks. Currently we have 2 full length LP's / CD's available for purchase. Also our first album Oracles was just re-released on cassette on Aisxini Records in Greece.
Where can people buy your merchandise? http://zaum.bandcamp.com
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I download tons of music so I’m definitely into it. Owning it physically though is just so superior.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? It's crumbled.
Do you have any role models or idols? King Buzzo, the guy is a never-ending wealth of wisdom, creativity and humor.
What are your web sites?
Bandcamp - http://zaum.bandcamp.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/zaumn
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/zaumdoom
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/zaumdoom
Website - http://www.zaum.ca
How can people reach you? Via our Facebook or Instagram.
What are your plans for the future? Recording our next album very soon, intending a spring 2019 release. Then mass touring.