Post by tackhead311 on Oct 26, 2009 11:46:32 GMT -5
Count Zero is an American band from Boston, Massachusetts that formed in 1996.
Count Zero's albums are Affluenza, Robots Anonymous, and Little Minds. The song "Sail Your Ship By" was featured on the RedOctane and Harmonix music video game Guitar Hero. The song "Radium Eyes" was also featured on Guitar Hero II. Their song "Shake" was offered as a bonus track for Rock Band on a special bonus disc in the February 2008 issue of Official Xbox Magazine[1], as well as a download from Sony's PlayStation Store and Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace.
Count Zero was formed from members of another Boston band, Think Tree, which consisted of three of the original members of Count Zero: Peter Moore, Will Ragano, and Jeff Beigert.
I got a chance to talk to Peter and man he is awesome!!!
1 Count Zero how did you guys come about? What is behind the name?
Three of the people who started it were from a band called Think Tree, which disbanded in 1994. We wanted to continue the vibe, but under a different moniker. I stole Count Zero from the title of a William Gibson novel. I thought it worked on a lot of levels (the name of a person, as in Count Dracula; to count, as a verb, to the number zero, etc.) When I actually read the book (it seemed the only fair thing to do after stealing the title for my band), I discovered that he thought of all these same meanings as well.
I also think, in a broader sense, there's something similar in a lot of our music and lyrics to his "cyberpunk" and "android"-type characters and situations But then again, we could've named ourselves after, say, a Kurt Vonnegut novel, and that would apply.
2 I love your bands sound how would you descruibe it?
It's at its core rock and pop. But there's all these demeted curve balls that get thrown, usually via strange sounds, odd arrangements, lyrical density, that make it less predictable and more colorful. I think it makes the songs more "durable," I've been told they get better with more listens.
3 What are some of your favorite bands to tour with?
Count Zero has only ever toured with the Dresden Dolls in 2004. So I guess they're #1. Hah!
4 What the largest crowd you guys played before? Was it nerve racking?
Probably somewhere on that tour with them, I'm guessing Salt Lake City. Performing's only nerve-wracking when something is going wrong technically; even on that tour, when the Dresden Dolls audience was not really into a non-"steampunk" band like us (that moniker hadn't even been invented yet, btw) you sort of forget about that while you're onstage and just go and hope for the best.
5 Peter what is your view of the music buisness today?
It's always been hard, but now the main challenge is letting people know you're serious and good, and not just a schlub who learned GarageBand and made a CD cuz they had the summer off. There are too many bands and acts now cluttering up the waves with mediocre re-tread music, and there's no filters set up to distinguish them from our band. That's frustrating.
6Any adice for young people getting into the music industry today?
Don't.
Or do, but expect nothing.
Or expect results only when you manage your band like a small business, and realize that the music you strive to make awesome onaly counts for about 5-10% of what can make you successful.
You have to have a gimmick, really. It;'s always been helpful, but now it's a necessity. You have to be summarized in about three short words. And don't vary from that stylistically, at least until you're established.
Count Zero has not really done a lot of these things! I can't write the same song twice, much less than thirty times, so that makes it nearly impossible to market us.
7 How did Count Zero get in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games? Can you gold star your songs? What is your feeling about the muisc games?
Izzy, our bass player, has worked at Harmonix (makers of GH 1 & 2, and then RB 1 & 2) since '04. I worked there part time in 05 and now work there full time as well. In those early GH games, Harmonix thought it'd be cool to have the people who worked there have their own band's music in the game. Our songs were decent enough in terms of downloads that they asked us to be in RB1.
I never play our songs in the game. Though I did author it (engineer it to make it playable in the game). I author vocals for much of the DLC (downloadable content) currently. I usually score 95-99% on expert my first time before I send it to the in-house testers. I love our music games because they bring people together instead of isolating them like most videogames I see. I don't play videogames otherwise (no time). Izzy, however, plays many videogames. I'm quite sure.
8 What is your favorite food on the road?
Anything that's whole food and nutritionally balanced. No fast food unless there's absolutely no other option. You'll die if you eat too much of that crap.
9Boston churns out great band after great band, what is your opinion on the Boston music scene ? Is there something in the water?
Um....there's always good bands here. Has something to do with the excess of college-age kids and a comparatively liberal atmosphere. I don't think we'll see a Seattle type-renaissance though. Or even anbything as healthy as Boston was in the late 80's when I started with Think Tree (my previous band).
10 What is in the future for Count Zero?
T
wo "u"s.
But that's in any "future."
heh heh.
We're making a fourth record. It's just taking forever. Wish it didn't, but life and work just suck the hours away. Early 2010? I hope it's done by then.
11 What is behind the song Shake?
It's about a man who gets picked up by a woman at a bar. But he's kinda been messed up by his experiences with women, and all the information he's received in his life that makes him believe that women are always "faking" sexual interest in men to get something else out of them. And he's aware of these hang-ups he has, and how that viewpoint probably isn't true for every woman in every circumstance. So he yearns to "shake" himself free from these mental obstacles which are keeping him from enjoying a good time. And by the end of the song he does just this, essentially by "shaking" freely with the woman who wants him. Which could mean dancing with her, or something naughtier; it's meant to be ambiguous.
12 If there was a Count Zeropalooza who would be on that bill? [/color]
Mouse on Mars, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, Battles, Beck, Dirty Projectors. This is unfair, I suppose...I'm just listing the bands I like. I'm sure you'd get a different list from the other members. e.g., izzy would have NIN on there, will might want Tom Waits or Tool, I don't really know for sure.
13 Peter what are your musical influnces?
This is tough. I'm influenced by everything I listen to. Even if I don't like an artist aesthetically (e.g., Celine Dion) I can usually find something worthy in the craft of their music. Often it is simply an effective arrangement or a well-done production/engineering job...I just ignore the parts I don't like...And, really, even those parts I don't like influence me in a backwards way, in that they make me want to AVOID making their "mistakes."
That said, when I think of my influences, I think of stuff i liked when I way young. I started writing songs at 5, so shit goes way back. Beatles, Monkees, 70's Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, Zeppelin, Bowie, Captain Beefheart, XTC, Wire, hall and Oates, Talking Heads. After that, I turned 20, and I can't keep anything straight!
14 What are you enjoying musically today?
Well, many of the more current bands i already mentioned in your above Lollapalooza question. But there's also non-rock things, e.g., Olivier Messaien's modern opera, St.Francoise d'Assise, constantly blows my mind. Or a Bartok String Quartet, esp the 4th, 5th and 6th. Also Keith Jarrett's version of When I Fall in Love can make me weep.
15What are you desert isalnd must have records (no more then 5)?
If I was stranded on a desert island, I'd want comfort music, I think. Probably why that's all stuff from my childhood...most of those records were made before 1990!
Wire 154
Synergy Cords
Radiohead OK Computer
Stevie Wonder InnerVisions
Bill Bruford ONe of a Kind
David Sancious transformation
Human League Dare
Thomas Dolby The Golden Age of Wireless
Captain Beefheart Trout Mask Replica
Shit. I was supposed to stop at five? That's impossible. If I was on a desert island and I could bring CDs, don't you think I could arrange to have more than five!!!!?
Count Zero's albums are Affluenza, Robots Anonymous, and Little Minds. The song "Sail Your Ship By" was featured on the RedOctane and Harmonix music video game Guitar Hero. The song "Radium Eyes" was also featured on Guitar Hero II. Their song "Shake" was offered as a bonus track for Rock Band on a special bonus disc in the February 2008 issue of Official Xbox Magazine[1], as well as a download from Sony's PlayStation Store and Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace.
Count Zero was formed from members of another Boston band, Think Tree, which consisted of three of the original members of Count Zero: Peter Moore, Will Ragano, and Jeff Beigert.
I got a chance to talk to Peter and man he is awesome!!!
1 Count Zero how did you guys come about? What is behind the name?
Three of the people who started it were from a band called Think Tree, which disbanded in 1994. We wanted to continue the vibe, but under a different moniker. I stole Count Zero from the title of a William Gibson novel. I thought it worked on a lot of levels (the name of a person, as in Count Dracula; to count, as a verb, to the number zero, etc.) When I actually read the book (it seemed the only fair thing to do after stealing the title for my band), I discovered that he thought of all these same meanings as well.
I also think, in a broader sense, there's something similar in a lot of our music and lyrics to his "cyberpunk" and "android"-type characters and situations But then again, we could've named ourselves after, say, a Kurt Vonnegut novel, and that would apply.
2 I love your bands sound how would you descruibe it?
It's at its core rock and pop. But there's all these demeted curve balls that get thrown, usually via strange sounds, odd arrangements, lyrical density, that make it less predictable and more colorful. I think it makes the songs more "durable," I've been told they get better with more listens.
3 What are some of your favorite bands to tour with?
Count Zero has only ever toured with the Dresden Dolls in 2004. So I guess they're #1. Hah!
4 What the largest crowd you guys played before? Was it nerve racking?
Probably somewhere on that tour with them, I'm guessing Salt Lake City. Performing's only nerve-wracking when something is going wrong technically; even on that tour, when the Dresden Dolls audience was not really into a non-"steampunk" band like us (that moniker hadn't even been invented yet, btw) you sort of forget about that while you're onstage and just go and hope for the best.
5 Peter what is your view of the music buisness today?
It's always been hard, but now the main challenge is letting people know you're serious and good, and not just a schlub who learned GarageBand and made a CD cuz they had the summer off. There are too many bands and acts now cluttering up the waves with mediocre re-tread music, and there's no filters set up to distinguish them from our band. That's frustrating.
6Any adice for young people getting into the music industry today?
Don't.
Or do, but expect nothing.
Or expect results only when you manage your band like a small business, and realize that the music you strive to make awesome onaly counts for about 5-10% of what can make you successful.
You have to have a gimmick, really. It;'s always been helpful, but now it's a necessity. You have to be summarized in about three short words. And don't vary from that stylistically, at least until you're established.
Count Zero has not really done a lot of these things! I can't write the same song twice, much less than thirty times, so that makes it nearly impossible to market us.
7 How did Count Zero get in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games? Can you gold star your songs? What is your feeling about the muisc games?
Izzy, our bass player, has worked at Harmonix (makers of GH 1 & 2, and then RB 1 & 2) since '04. I worked there part time in 05 and now work there full time as well. In those early GH games, Harmonix thought it'd be cool to have the people who worked there have their own band's music in the game. Our songs were decent enough in terms of downloads that they asked us to be in RB1.
I never play our songs in the game. Though I did author it (engineer it to make it playable in the game). I author vocals for much of the DLC (downloadable content) currently. I usually score 95-99% on expert my first time before I send it to the in-house testers. I love our music games because they bring people together instead of isolating them like most videogames I see. I don't play videogames otherwise (no time). Izzy, however, plays many videogames. I'm quite sure.
8 What is your favorite food on the road?
Anything that's whole food and nutritionally balanced. No fast food unless there's absolutely no other option. You'll die if you eat too much of that crap.
9Boston churns out great band after great band, what is your opinion on the Boston music scene ? Is there something in the water?
Um....there's always good bands here. Has something to do with the excess of college-age kids and a comparatively liberal atmosphere. I don't think we'll see a Seattle type-renaissance though. Or even anbything as healthy as Boston was in the late 80's when I started with Think Tree (my previous band).
10 What is in the future for Count Zero?
T
wo "u"s.
But that's in any "future."
heh heh.
We're making a fourth record. It's just taking forever. Wish it didn't, but life and work just suck the hours away. Early 2010? I hope it's done by then.
11 What is behind the song Shake?
It's about a man who gets picked up by a woman at a bar. But he's kinda been messed up by his experiences with women, and all the information he's received in his life that makes him believe that women are always "faking" sexual interest in men to get something else out of them. And he's aware of these hang-ups he has, and how that viewpoint probably isn't true for every woman in every circumstance. So he yearns to "shake" himself free from these mental obstacles which are keeping him from enjoying a good time. And by the end of the song he does just this, essentially by "shaking" freely with the woman who wants him. Which could mean dancing with her, or something naughtier; it's meant to be ambiguous.
12 If there was a Count Zeropalooza who would be on that bill? [/color]
Mouse on Mars, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, Battles, Beck, Dirty Projectors. This is unfair, I suppose...I'm just listing the bands I like. I'm sure you'd get a different list from the other members. e.g., izzy would have NIN on there, will might want Tom Waits or Tool, I don't really know for sure.
13 Peter what are your musical influnces?
This is tough. I'm influenced by everything I listen to. Even if I don't like an artist aesthetically (e.g., Celine Dion) I can usually find something worthy in the craft of their music. Often it is simply an effective arrangement or a well-done production/engineering job...I just ignore the parts I don't like...And, really, even those parts I don't like influence me in a backwards way, in that they make me want to AVOID making their "mistakes."
That said, when I think of my influences, I think of stuff i liked when I way young. I started writing songs at 5, so shit goes way back. Beatles, Monkees, 70's Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, Zeppelin, Bowie, Captain Beefheart, XTC, Wire, hall and Oates, Talking Heads. After that, I turned 20, and I can't keep anything straight!
14 What are you enjoying musically today?
Well, many of the more current bands i already mentioned in your above Lollapalooza question. But there's also non-rock things, e.g., Olivier Messaien's modern opera, St.Francoise d'Assise, constantly blows my mind. Or a Bartok String Quartet, esp the 4th, 5th and 6th. Also Keith Jarrett's version of When I Fall in Love can make me weep.
15What are you desert isalnd must have records (no more then 5)?
If I was stranded on a desert island, I'd want comfort music, I think. Probably why that's all stuff from my childhood...most of those records were made before 1990!
Wire 154
Synergy Cords
Radiohead OK Computer
Stevie Wonder InnerVisions
Bill Bruford ONe of a Kind
David Sancious transformation
Human League Dare
Thomas Dolby The Golden Age of Wireless
Captain Beefheart Trout Mask Replica
Shit. I was supposed to stop at five? That's impossible. If I was on a desert island and I could bring CDs, don't you think I could arrange to have more than five!!!!?
