Zero Pilot Interview - November 2009
by
Jodie Humphries
Photo's by Simon Lawrence
I met up with Zero Pilot for a couple of drinks one Friday night in The Rummer in Bristol. During the interview we had to compete with a chiming clock and the noise of ice being crushed for cocktails, so that all made for some fun listening back and trying to work out what was being said.
To introduce Zero Pilot, they are Dan Brown on drums, Rob Corcoran on vocals, Danny Haynes on guitar and Steve Marsh on bass. This is a band whose second ever gig was a support slot at Bristol Academy, not bad for a second gig. I finally got the privilege of seeing them in their current formation (I’d seen Birch – Dan and Danny’s previous band) at The Croft a few months ago, I can’t believe it took me so long to see them live. Danny started the interview by explaining how they all knew each other. “Me and Dan first started a band together in 2002, many changes later, we came by Steve on Gumtree, and Rob sent us a message on Myspace.” To which Rob said, “I knew I was on to a good thing when I heard them.”
Asking how would they describe themselves to someone who doesn’t know them, Rob jumped straight in with, “Loud, aggressive metal – but with soul.” A debate then ensued as the rest of the band disagreed with the term ‘metal’. Danny explained, “I don’t think we’ve got anything in common with typical metal styles, we’re very 90s influenced. We were the kids who grew up listening to grunge and every genre after that. Individually we all have a huge amount of influences, which only briefly make it into Zero Pilot. I think the common thread is a love for heavy rocking, melodic rock, but we also love things like grunge and American indie.” Rob added that, “I think if you were to put your finger on it, Zero Pilot is the sum of all our different influences, because we all have to make sacrifices for a song we’re doing and therefore it comes from all different directions and meets in the middle. I think one of the important things in a band is having the freedom to incorporate whatever the hell we want within any song we do. We don’t want to tie ourselves down to any genre, why define yourself if every so often you want to just chill out and do a quiet song.” Danny said, “I think it’s important to have a unified direction in the band, but we all throw all influences into the pot.”
Asking if they would listen to Zero Pilot if they weren’t in the band, Danny said, “I think to a certain extent, if you answered no to that question, you’re not making the music you want to be making. You’ve got to enjoy it or what’s the bloody point?” Dan said, “Hell yeah! If I didn’t, then I’m in the wrong band! I listen to our recordings all the time and love it. What we do is a combination of the bands/genres of music that I’ve been listening to and loving since I was a kid. I like to think that if I saw Zero Pilot on stage, I’d think ‘damn, I wish I was their drummer’. Lucky for me, I am!” Talking about the subject of some bands, Rob said, “I think so many kids these days want to break into the industry so hard that they’ll listen to whatever is popular at the moment, and then want to join a group of people who are doing that, just to actually get there, rather than following their hearts.”
While I was doing the interview, I asked the guys what advice they would give younger bands just starting out. The main points were about turning up on time and not messing people around. Danny’s advice though, was “In terms of getting your band together musically, my advice would be to keep going, eventually everyone finds their groove and finds their own sound. It can be hard when you start out, but ultimately, stick with it and it will come.”
When asked if everyday life gets in the way of the band, Steve said, “We’ve all been in bands for so long that I think our everyday life fits around the band, and has done for so long now, that unless we were doing this, our everyday lives wouldn’t be as they are.” Leading on from that I asked the band what makes them want to be a musician. Danny said, “From my point of view, the thing that makes me want to be a musician is I have to have a creative output. If it wasn’t music, it would be writing stories, or drawing, or something, because having a creative outlet is the difference between having a full and enjoyable life, and having a life as a fucking sheep or a drone. Music is my preferred medium; it’s what motivates me more than anything else.” For Dan, “Playing music, on stage especially is a very vivid, visceral experience for me – and I’m sure the rest of the boys would agree. It really is the most amazing drug and is massively addictive. We all ‘hit-it’ hard when we play, which is absolutely not forced at all. Our music makes us react that way, and when you play in front of a crowd that’s really into it...it’s just amplified ten-fold. There have been times when I’m sure I can feel tendons and cartilage exploding in my arms and hands because I’m hitting so hard.” He went on to say, “I live in hope that one day we get to headline somewhere like the O2 Academy in Bristol (a hometown gig) where there are 1500 people going absolutely fucking mental with us. I just can’t imagine how good that feels – and I want to experience it.”
Talking about gigs, I asked if there are any bands they would recommend. Steve said, “Definitely Cars On Fire, Left Side Brain and Merrick.” Talking of Merrick, Rob said, “Merrick are one of my favourite bands! I think they have such a mesmerising performance; it’s been a pleasure supporting them. I’ve known Marcus for a couple of years, but I’d never made it down to one of his gigs, which is really weird as he’s an old mate of my girlfriends from years back. They were before emo – you can really call it emotional metal – lots of depth and feelings in the vocals, with emotive chord changes in the music.” Discussing the scene, Steve said, “I think there’s a real embryonic underground rock scene in Bristol at the moment, made up of bands like Left Side Brain, Merrick, Cars On Fire, and us.” While Danny said, “I’m looking forward to the Zero Pilot and Cars On Fire collaboration – Pilots On Fire.” Or “Zero Cars” as Rob suggested. Rob also mentioned another band too. “There’s another band in Bristol who are fucking amazing – Babel. They play Americana folk rock type of stuff – it’s really singer songwriter stuff with a twist. The singer has a great rapport with the crowd – really superb timing between songs – he’s got it down to a tee. He probably rehearses it, but it looks so natural and flawless. Outside of Bristol, Rob recommends Spirytus, a band they played with in Bristol a few months ago.
Staying with bands, I asked my usual question about an ideal line-up for a gig. After a lot of debate, they chose to name one band each due to differing tastes. Steve started first with “Queens of the Stone Age,” followed by Dan with “Faith No More,” Danny with “At The Drive-In,” and finally Rob with “Mastodon.” Although Danny did add he’d like “Zero Pilot bringing up the rear,” and Dan said, “I’d like Deftones serving us drinks.” While Rob added on the end, “That’s a damn good line-up. Jesus man.”
After talking about local bands, I asked them if they manage to get out and see many bands on the local scene for themselves. Rob said, “I fail miserably with that, I have to be honest, I’m really bad. The local scene would benefit from more people doing exactly that. Steve explained that, “The problem is we’re not the key demographic who has the time, the money, and the lack of responsibilities to be at gigs all the time. But having said that, we’re putting ourselves out there and playing so many gigs, that we’re seeing a lot of bands every time we play. So we’re kind of fulfilling it in that way, and also meeting lots of people, and making new friends.”
Talking about the band playing live, they mentioned what a fantastic time they had playing with Sevendust at Bristol Academy, but they also said what a great time people will have at their gigs if they come down. Danny said, “Without wishing to blow ones trumpet, you’ll have a fucking great time because we put on a show. We try and create a fun, rocking atmosphere. With Rob as a front man, you can’t not get into it. Rob added, “I think the simple fact is that we do have fun on stage. I love playing the songs we do, and I love playing with the guys I’m playing with. Getting up there is a combination of all our hard work – the moment when we prove ourselves. We like it, so let’s hope others do to.” If you want to know why you should see the band, Danny said, “There are so many reasons to come and see Zero Pilot. There’s Steve’s cheekbones, The Rob Corcoran Mad Hair Show, Dan’s face when he’s hitting the drums hard during the third song, and a fat man on guitar – what more do you want?”
And finally, asking what the ideal future for the band would be, Rob said, “Bigger and better. I would like to be held in esteem with Zero Pilot, along the lines of Pearl Jam – well respected people.” And for Dan, the ideal future would be, “Being able to make a living / pay the rent from making and playing music. No days jobs then rehearsing after work, or having to fanny around getting gigs – but doing it as our job, with a manager with contacts, and PR people who believe in us. Having people support us by doing the boring, but important stuff like booking gigs, so we can concentrate on writing songs and playing gigs. Also being able to tour around the UK – all the cool venues I’ve seen bands I love play, read about, seen in videos etc. Playing overseas would also be so good. Anywhere! Combining travel, playing music, with my friends just sounds ideal to me.” It sounds like Dan has it all mapped out, so all there is left for me to say is go and check this band out.
