Hitting the road in October for a short tour run with Eliot Summer, Zipper Club’s an LA-based band everyone should have on their radar. With their debut album finished and shows set for the rest of the year, Zipper Club took some time out of their busy schedule to chat about their formation, their music, and the live gigs they have been playing.
For those that don’t know, how and when did Zipper Club get together and form?
Mason: Zipper Club started as a bedroom project, but it really took shape when the band came together in 2016 [and] started to play the record together live.
Lissy: For me, it started to come together when we got into the studio with James (Iha) and finally, when Damar joined and we started playing as a full band. It solidified the experience.
You released your new track “Small Town” earlier this month. What was the writing and recording process for the track like?
Lissy: That one was written by Mason and I and the song came together with a frankenstein experience with both of our physical and writing input. The song started to pop when we flushed out the concept of the song lyrically.
Mason: It was written in Venice, California. We recorded it with James Iha.
You are playing some shows with Tears For Fears right now. How have the shows been so far and what can concert goers expect from a Zipper Club live set?
Damar: So far, the shows have been really fun. The first show was really exciting and I believe we are finding ourselves playing live as a unit.
Mason: The music lends itself to a visual show so we try to deliver something visually stimulating.
Lissy: The shows have been fantastic and I think from where our influences stem, it appeals to their audience as well which is a surprise for us as it’s an older demo. Our expectation for a live show is to have the audience match our enthusiasm for what we do and have that excitement be infectious.
With members from both Los Angeles and New York, have either of the major cities influenced Zipper Club in terms of writing, sound, style, etc. and if so, how?
Lissy: Inevitably, being from New York is going to influence the work I make. Since the record was written and recorded in Los Angeles, it’s a combination of both mine and Mason’s perspective and whatever we’ve carried on our journeys before this project. I think geographics have influence, but I also think our cultural and political diversities add a unique perspective to our music.
Mason: Music is reflective of one’s surrounding so obviously where we are from has a lot to do with our sound and lyrics, but we are all traveling musicians and have spent a lot of time outside major cities as well. It’s the ability to see both that gives you an interesting perspective when writing songs.
With your debut single “Going The Distance” having been released earlier this summer, are there any plans to release an EP or full length in the future and is there anything you can tell us about it?
Mason: Full length coming early 2017 via Epic Records…..stay tuned
Lissy: The full length is recorded, finished and ready for release in 2017.
Zipper Club’s very active on social media. Whether positively or negatively, how do you feel the internet and social media have impacted Zipper Club?
Damar: It’s been a really fun way to see who is actually following our music and interacting with us. We get really cool messages from all sorts of people from all over the world. Social media is cool because it gets our music to places that we can’t go.
Lissy: Social media is exciting for me because it gives us a chance to interact with fans and not only share what we are doing, but hear about what they are working on and creating.
Interview by Rachael Dowd
