6.27.09: Rock N' Brew/106.1 FM Portsmouth

Well, the band had a hell of a day yesterday. We hit the road for Springfield at about 10am after loading up Daisy (band van). Skies were clear for like the first time in about a month and things were looking good. Jay Fairly, the newest member of ZMB, had his first experience operating "Daisy" and had a bit of adjusting to do as the old girl drifted along the highway. We are sure glad to have the brakes fixed as it was even more of an adventure before those were redone.

We arrived in Springfield at about noon and unloaded, set up and sound checked. The sound guys were amazing and very easy to work with. They had top notch gear and I would say that we had our best sound yet. At 1:00pm, the doors opened and hundreds of thirsty people entered the Rock N' Brew fest. There were about 40 microbreweries on site and basically everyone went around sampling different beers. There was also lots of great food on hand.

We played two sets with a break in the middle until about 4pm. People were dancing and seemed to be having an excellent time! At one point, Jeff randomly started playing the bassline to "Billie Jean" in honor of the late Michael Jackson. Sadly, I didn't know the words and so we called upon a random girl in the audience to come up onto the stage to sing the song. I cannot recall her name, but she just happened to be an excellent singer and a theater major at a school in New York. She took the mic and rocked Billie Jean, which was unexpectedly awesome. We also raffled off a Fender guitar and raised lots of money for our charity, Sherry's House. We jammed on "Highest Level" to end our performance and literally 30 seconds after the last note was played, it started pouring. Pretty good timing on our part I must say.

Immediately following breaking down and packing up the van, we hit the road northbound for 106.1FM in Portsmouth, NH. We arrived in time to meet the DJ, Terry Blake, a Maine resident (ya Maine!). Jeff and I were then interviewed on the air and we also performed "15 Songs on the Radio", "Cougar" and "Loaded Gun" live! It was an excellent interview and we are so glad that Terry had us on his show. We hope to be back in the future!

After a very long and successful day, we hit up the McDonald's drive through to celebrate. Now I am realizing that the van is still packed up with all of our gear. I guess I should head to the band room and unload gear!

ZM

RIP King of Pop

Music lost a true icon yesterday in Michael Jackson. The band just might be doing a tribute song to him in the near future...dance moves could take some practicing though...hmmm. Time to bust out the white gloves.

Cat Surprise

Don't Look Down 2009

Hey all,

Our first album will be titled "Don't Look Down." Stay tuned for its release, which should come during the heart of this upcoming summer. I'd say a more specific date, but that would just be bad luck!

We have been working with graphic design artist, Justin Casanave, who just so happens to be our drummer. I had no idea the man had such amazing skills. It's quite the eye-catching cover that we're working on. It is something eyecatching along the lines of Nirvana's Nevermind album, that so famously has the baby swimming underwater after a dollar bill, although it's not quite that shocking (We were concerned about filming babies underwater).

Anyways, the album will have either 10 or 11 songs on it. Stay tuned for its official release date!

ZM

24 More Hours to go...

Yesterday at 9:00am the 24 hour relay begins. One person from each team must be running/walking around the track at all times for 24 hours straight. Each person goes 1 mile and then is replaced by another teammate. This was all in the name of fundraising and supporting the community of Chelmsford. A long list of companies sponsored the event, donating food and much needed liquids. Parents chaperoned and often took shifts, since 24 hours of chaperoning straight is quite a commitment!

The weather was perfect. A few morning clouds and then a clear blue sky. Several bands played throughout the day, including our band. Teams set up tents in the middle of the track and everyone was in good spirits. We were happy to have been able to contribute to such a great cause. We raffled off a guitar of Ben's and over a hundred people bought raffle tickets, which will help our charity Sherry's House tremendously! Thanks for the all support!

After a fuse blew and we were without power for over an hour, an electrician showed up and rewired some things to get our amps some much needed juice. Just in the nick of time, we were able to go on and we rocked an hour long set, with some songs we've just added to our set list this week. They seemed to go over really well and a good time was had by all. At 9:00am this morning the 24 hours was complete and all the tired teams could finally go home and rest. I think a lot of people are sleeping right now! Thanks to all who helped put this great event together!

ZM

Don't Mess with Granny

A Writing Frenzy

Amidst trying to finish up recording on our debut LP, I have been writing like a mad man. It felt like I had writer's block for quite some time, but now I have writer's dunk. Get it? Okay, so maybe my basketball metaphor is a little lame....RIP Celtics 2009. Hopefully some of these new songs that I am writing will compete for the next album, but they already have stiff competition. Part of me wishes the songs didn't have to go through the cycle of writing, rewriting, practicing, and gigging before ultimately recording them, but usually that's the best way to make sure they stand the test of time and are truly good songs. I always love a song the moment that I write it, even if it's crap. The true test is whether I still like playing it a month later and even several months later.

Some of the new songs that are currently in the works:

1) Assassin Factory
2) Beautiful Liar
3) A Day in the Life of a Nobody
4) Come Alive
5) Time's Not Waiting
6) Detox
7) Start a Fire
8) Apocalypse

Hopefully some of these ideas will come to fruition!

Zac Mac