Zykos has a layered sound that isn’t
immediately identified with indie
rock or alternative pop according
to some of their peers and critics;
although the layers are stacked
similarly to some of the best known acts from
Austin, like Spoon and Trail of Dead. With naturally
craggy and smooth elements imbedded
in solid rock, this quintet doesn’t fit any particular
pattern or well-planned mosaic. The
result? Constantly shifting, earthy rock with
ethereal ambitions that succeed on many levels
— from its indie rock mantle, to the “wink &
nod” pop crust. At the core of this sound are
two founding members I had the pleasure of
meeting five months earlier during Emo’s free
week, vocalist and guitarist Mike Booher, and
keyboardist and vocalist Catherine Davis.
We met on a hot afternoon in June at Uppercrust
Bakery, which serves some of the best
deli sandwiches (with the Tex-Mex flair of
chips and salsa) in town. Before talking about
the art and business of their music, we had a
pleasant chat over lunch. Davis, who had
already ordered dessert, a delectable looking
chocolate chip cookie, recommended I try a
cookie or a pastry.
This led up to the story of how the two talented
musicians met, and Davis’ confession of
having a sweet tooth since childhood. Booher
teases Davis about it:
“We were neighbors and friends as kids, and
I went to her house to bribe her with candy to
play with us,” Booher says.
For the curious, or fans that may not already
know, here is a bit of music trivia connected
with their friendship: The name Zykos shouldn’t
be Greek to us any longer — it’s from an
original band member’s surname, another
childhood friend (who was also the drummer),
Jerod Cykoski.
It was risky, but I started the interview with
a question some bands loathe or fear the most:
“What are some of your influences?”
Booher had a lot to say about the subject.
“Influences? This is starting like a normal
interview.”
“I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million
times already,” I interjected.
“No, never…” He was joking, of course.
“Most of the stuff I personally listen to is a little
bit older for some reason. That’s where I’m
at. As far as pop song writers, I think Bob
Dylan is the greatest writer of all time. But I
love some of the great bands. We all are sort of
influenced by different things…The best
[comparison] I’ve heard about us was ‘New
Order played by Mudhoney.”
Davis politely interrupted, “But that’s more
like our old stuff. That’s more attributed to our
old guitar player and drummer. Jerod was very
dancebeats like New Order… Our new drummer,
Cully, is more rock.”
Booher continued to explain the evolution
of their style as well as influences. “Cully’s
percussion is danceablele in a Sly & The Family
Stone or Stevie Wonder sense, where as
Jerod was more ‘80s, New Wave… He was
really good at it.”
“It was good for where we were,” Davis
added.
According to Davis, a classically trained
pianist and teacher, “You get bits and pieces
from different things you learn or hear in your
life. Certain songs are influenced by certain
things you’ve heard before. It is whether you
realize it or not. I don’t think I could name
exactly one influence… For me, this sounds
funny, but from certain passages and certain
classical pieces that I’ve learned I’d think ‘this
is a great idea, I’m gonna take this sort of
rhythmic idea and make it my own, or we
come across a certain chord…”
Davis’ chords and riffs have been noted as
one of the reasons to listen to Zykos. In one
online review of their self-titled sophomore LP,
Sean Ford writes, “The keyboard/piano riffs
throughout are used to add a nice churning
undercurrent and make for a very full and compelling
sound.” (www.cokemachineglow.com).
Booher’s almost plaintive voice can be
attributed to his love of traditional music. “The
way Catherine likes a lot of classical pieces,
I’ve really taken a liking to old blues
tunes…Maybe because you can hear new
songs in them.”
On stage, Booher has a lot of energy, and
puts on a good show with off-the-wall humor,
surprising vocal crescendos, and spontaneous
jumps during guitar riffs. “It’s some sort of
energy… I don’t think I could just sing without
losing it. Digging down into it…It’s some sort
of passion about the music.”
“He’s a very intense person from the blues
records to his live performance,” according to
his classically cool band mate.
“I’m not the white boy blues dude…”,
Booher explained. “I’m not gonna start playing
the blues, because I’d be an imposter. Like
Iggy Pop said he was watching some old blues
musician and he said something like “I’m
gonna try to embody what he’s doing, the spirit
of what he’s doing”. I want to be that energetic,
passionate, compassionate…”
The songwriting and musicianship of 2004’s
Zykos itself is an energetic, passionate marriage
of classical music and bohemian rock. I
had to admit that although I’ve been a fan ever
since hearing “Mrs.” on Andy Langer’s Next
Big Thing on 101X and buying the album a
few days later, I hadn’t heard Comedy Horn
(which, by the way, was mixed and co-produced
by Jim Eno of Spoon).
A good friend of mine put me out of my
misery recently by playing the CD during a
pleasant Sunday drive. After listening to tracks
like “Understanding Fire”, I understand why it
was declared one of the most engaging fulllength
debuts of 2003 by a band considered to
be a “hot prospect just coming into its own”
(Michael Chamy, The Austin Chronicle), just a
few short years ago.
From a childhood friendship sealed with
candy in a Houston, TX suburb to outdoor
stage performances in Austin, Zykos has found
itself at a musical crossroads. After a two
record deal with Post-Parlo, which included
the critically acclaimed debut Comedy Horn,
the band is now shopping for a new record
deal, one which will let them continue their
musical journey, which has not been without
some twists, turns and detours.
After experiencing the ups and downs of
touring in late 2005 and early 2006, Zykos
now has a dedicated manager based in
Chicago, IL — Steve Hutton of Uppercut
Management, who has represented clients as
diverse as Kid Rock and Better Than Ezra. He
was there at Emo’s to greet them after their last
tour, and the band joked about being “his probono
work”.
Obviously a fan of the music, with Hutton’s
help it’s just a matter of time before the band is
signed with an uppercrust indie or perhaps a
corporate label that will let Zykos be Zykos.
Because for them it’s about having fun playing
their music, and they are doing this by recording
a new album with the help of guitarist Alex
Lyons in the studio. The sound will probably
fall somewhere between accessible commercial
pop and underground garage rock.
“I think it’s good for us”, proclaimed Davis.
“It’s kind of funny… It’s like we’re not into the
mainstream kick, but we’re not totally accepted
by the indie rockers. It’s a weird hold to be
in for us. We’re not hip enough to be in the
indie scene.”
We all laughed, with some awareness that
some people have short-term memories when
it comes to listening to music, and Booher
spoke candidly about this. “If you go to a
bunch of shows that hipsters attend and say
you’re touring and you have something built
around you at the monent, all the hipster’s are
there. But they’re fickle. 3 months later
you’re back on tour, and you can’t maintain
that buzz.”
He made his point clearer: “By hipsters I
mean maybe they’re just there to be seen, or
just there to chat with friends. They aren’t
there because you’ve won over their hearts.
But if you have real fans, whether it’s indie
rock or mainstream, then it’s about the music.
You’ll have some people who will stick
around and care about what you do. It’s not
like we’re oh so precious telling people to shut
up and listen…
Davis was laughing almost uncontrollably
at this point. “Oh, I hate that… But I think if
you’re good enough you can command people’s
attention for a while…”
“Yeah… And music is a fun thing, but it’s
insignificant in the universe. But it makes all
the crap we deal with more bearable.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Instead of trying to fit into a pattern, or go
with a trend, Zykos is putting some pressure on
the trendy rock mould — and breaking it.
It should be interesting to see what kind of
rocked they’ve reformed with the new album. I
asked Booher and Davis for a sneak preview.
While the demo is in the mail, Booher did give
me a hint:
“A lot of the songs are a lot shorter, snappier,
a lot of happy tunes…But then there will still
be a couple of moody, more minor key, brooding
tunes. The rhythm section is more into a
deep groove instead of fast, dancier stuff…It
kind of opens up and gives us room to sing out
more. There might be some blues shuffle kinda
things, like trains rolling down the tracks…”
That sounded good rock & roll, and this fan
can hardly wait to hear it from Zykos. Zykos
is: Mike Booher — guitar, keyboards, vocals;
Catherine Davis — piano, keyboards, vocals;
Alex Lyon — guitar; Mike Roeder — guitar,
bass; Cully Symington: drums, percussion.
This month Zykos is performing live for
the first time after a brief hiatus, so visit
myspace.com/zykos or zykosmusic.com for
more info.
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