ZZIV: All Things Zim Zum: Interviews: The Process of Creation (part 2)

The Process of Creation
Part 2 of an exclusive Zim Zum interview by Rosie Green
November 22, 2005

Wow! Where do I start! So much has happened since the last time I interviewed Zim Zum. The Pop Culture Suicides members have been introduced to the fans/world via MySpace.com, you can find new music on their profile AND brace yourself! You can also find a couple of gig dates there!
Here you go! Enjoy!

ROSIE GREEN:Being a person that handles everything yourself, what advice do have for young guitar players about getting into the business?
ZIM ZUM: Do your own thing. Dont worry about whatever the latest music trend is. You simply have to play guitar for the love of it and what you personally get out of it. The business is all around you and regardless of what level you are at, it's always there trying to work it's way into what you do. Dont approach guitar playing as your ticket to fame. Have people around you that you can trust.
RG: How do you recommend a guitar player get their foot in the door with studio work?
ZZ: Get familiar with recording. It's a part of being a guitar plater and it will always, always give you more of an opportunity to explore. If doing studio work for others is something that you like then get your work out there so people know what your about and what your capable of doing for session work.
RG: Do you feel that you have been successful by your own definition? Explain.
ZZ: Yes. Success is what you make it and there are different meanings of success for different people but my being able to play guitar whenever or wherever I want is success for me. Yes, a lot of people have heard me play guitar and that's pretty cool in itself but for those who walk away with something more from what I do transcends "success" as applied to fame. I dont buy into being validated by what other people think about what I do, I simply love to play and write and record and I am able to do all those things every day.
RG: How do you document your ideas when writing?
ZZ: It depends. Things come in a lot of different ways and some times I'm not around a guitar so I just write the ideas out as detailed as I can and then work them again in the studio. Sometimes ideas come as entire songs and I just try to keep up with what is going on in my head. A lot of things I write come from drum beats, bass and guitar though a large amount comer from lyrical ideas I have that I orchestrate around.
RG:Can you offer any tips on becoming a better songwriter?
ZZ: Play what you feel. Write how you feel. Understand the way chords work together and learn as much as you can to have a better understanding of the relationship of melodies. Always be a student.
RG: What do you think of the music scene now?
ZZ: I have not paid enough attention to really have an educated opinion. There are a lot of good bands out there but you have to dig a little deeper to find them. I think a lot of the things I hated about the music scene a few years ago are as dead as I knew they would be and that's a good thing. There are a few more that need to run their course, and they will, but the inevitable backlash that comes from having so much "product" and commercialized music out there is never a bad thing, because talented artists will rise to the top again, it's the wait that sucks because the industry is completely motivated by sales and "product"and there is really no support for artists to grow and become something really big. They dont take the time to explore the full potential because it's all about the bottom line. I'm a musician first and an entertainer second. When you hear people talking about being "Entertainers" first, beware.
RG: Are there any new young band that you respect/are into?
ZZ: I like the wave of metal that is coming up but then again there are 100s of bands that sound the same. I like The Mars Volta because of the music, art and the general approach. I like QOTSA...live they are amazing....I'm sure there are more that I cant think of.....
RG: Why the name "The Pop Culture Suicides"?
ZZ: I was told at least 100 times, upon leaving the band I was previously in, that if I didn't immediately bank on my status that it would be "Commercial Suicide" The term stuck in my head because everything I felt was right was everything that everyone else told me was wrong. I left society and pop culture by choice, to cleanse it all away, in an effort to truly understand who I am. We are all subject to a lifetime of being told what to do and how to think and how to dress and who to vote for and what to eat. The programming is incessant. If you dont want to live your life with the pack of clones at some point you have to say; stop. Though society would lead you to believe otherwise, all we have is the right to choose and sometimes, more often than not, the choices that really matter are the hardest ones to make.
RG: How do you plan to promote The Pop Culture Suicides?
ZZ: I will let the music do the talking.
RG: Describe your practice regimen.
ZZ: I like to play a lot when I'm home. It leads me in different directions and that is always something I am open to. Lately it's been a lot of rehearsing the songs to get all the orchestrations down, as there are a lot and I even play the songs quite a bit at home. I really prefer when "practicing" ( I dont really practice, I just play) to explore things that are new and difficult, stringing passages together that seem almost endless, or finding new noises.
RG: What festivals would you like to do?
ZZ: All of them. Though I dont think we fit in with a lot of them, the more adventurous ones have me interested.
RG: Which bands/artists would you like to tour with?
ZZ: That has a lot to do with where we might even slightly be able to work, stylistically. I dont know that as a band with the music we play that we really fit in anywhere, so the choices are somewhat limited to those band that are out on the edge like we are. Not to mention we travel with a huge production so that tends to leave us in a headlining spot in more intimate venues, for now....
RG: Why should musicians go out and pick up the album?
ZZ: I think everyone should pick up the album if your truly looking for something different. It's not one of those discs that you listen to once and hear all there is to hear. You will listen to a TPCS disc and never hear the same thing twice as there are a lot of layers to be heard. We come from a different angle and we simply do what it is we do and that is play what we feel, no apologies, no regrets.
RG: Any message for your fans?
ZZ: I know you all are the most open minded and supportive fans out there and I love you for that. You made a choice and stuck to it.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Zim Zum for taking the time out to answer my questions.::top::