Neil Quin of Zeus interview part 1 (home towns, biography, influences)

Neil Quin of Zeus - NXNE Cameron House outdoor stage 06.21.14

LB: Congratulations again on the NXNE show and the show the other night.  And it must be nice after such arduous touring to be back before a hometown crowd?

NQ: Absolutely we loved playing in Toronto the last couple of times. It was a great feeling and a great sort of lettin' everybody know we're back in business people are happy to see it so it's and it's just a happy time.

LB:  I think we're happy for you.  Can we just start as a preliminary talk about your own biography, about your hometown and where you were born and raised

NQ: Sure, I was born in Toronto at Toronto East General Hospital and then the family moved to Orillia in 1988.  And yeah ya know, small town, the rest of the boys they came from Barrie and Oro so we were all sort of from the same region but we met each other later in life.

LB: When abouts did you meet each other?

NQ:  I met those guys probably 2006.  I met Carlin one time and I played with him very shortly after I joined The Golden Dogs he used to be in the band as well we did some shows together had some fun, I met Mike later on, and Carlin's brother (Liam) and everyone else that was involved and sure enough we spent more and more time together which was cool.

LB: You're anticipating my next question which is you're going out on a Family Affair tour in support of this record with The Golden Dogs, and your dear friend Taylor Knox and band mate in Major Grange.  I guess what I really wanted to know is what years were you in The Golden Dogs during the same period as Carlin?

NQ: We just sort of crossed over each other I just stepped in as he left.

LB:  What years would that have been?

NQ: That would've been 2005 whenever year I joined the band.

LB: It just seems to me, and its just worth noting besides the play on words- is that one thing that's really Classic about this record is you've returned to the 'classic' line-up of players that were on the original recordings; Taylor Knox, Dave Azzolini, Jessica Grassia and I guess you added Peter Elkas to the mix.  Was that a conscious decision or was that just sort of hanging out in the Ill Eagle clubhouse?

NQ: It was really just the way it goes it was all about who was around at that time.  Carlin and Mike when they were making the first Zeus record they really didn't know what they were doing they were  just recording songs with each other so it was really just celebration- whoever was around happened to be a part of the recording process.  We just hung around.  This time it was just like Dave Azzolini was there a lot of the time because they live upstairs from the studio, so he was with us hangin' out, makin' tea and he and Jess they were off on Fridays and they'd come down and hang out.  They were featured on some singing and clapping and stuff but I think it was just the kind of energy that it was our record to make and we were totally game time on it.

LB:  You're talking about the first one right now? 

NQ: No I'm talking about the third one now I'm talking about that"s what the difference is- the people are still around but its not as often and it was kind of like it was our project it was how it felt- it happened naturally.

LB:  And what about having this ensemble of players together with you on this Classic Zeus outing is that just an outgrowth of the sort of family relationship that you all have?

NQ:  I wouldn't call it that its just kind of each band kind of hunkers down and gets down to their bottom line and it just happened to be what suited the music was just the four of us working together. A lot of me, Carlin and Mike in the studio together making decisions and producing together.  It was very much us getting to know ourselves and each other better and not having friends around all the time, we're all obviously buddies, but we can just get down to work and work and focus and be more tedious about things.  And I think that we spent a lot more time on this record, and for good reason you know, it needed to sound a certain way. 

LB: I hear what you're saying.  I guess one thing that interests me is that a really strong song from your last outing Strong Mind started as Major Grange song as I understand?

NQ: Yeah

LB:  Are there other songs like on this record or others that started elsewhere and have become parts of the Zeus canon or Classic Zeus?

NQ: Let me see here.  Yeah another song of mine called Where Is My Love? the first song on the record I used to play in a band called Bad Yoga...

LB: (laughs)

NQ: ...With Jay McCarrol (Brave Shores), my friend Matt Miller and our buddy Dave Dalrymple who's in a band called Wax Atlantic, he's the other half of Major Grange to tie it into Taylor Knox. And we've also got the Taylor Knox Band now going- and we also have Wax Atlantic joining us on a few dates.

LB:  So you're touching on what I wanted to ask you which is the current bands or projects you're currently involved in are?

NQ: All of those.


LB: (laughs)... the ones we just mentioned.

NQ:  Yeah, exactly.  Taylor and I did a lot of playing on the Wax Atlantic record.  You know, there's a lot of moments on that where it felt like Major Grange reunited.  You know, in the studio with the three of us, the original line up.  Where I would do drums, Taylor on bass and Dave on guitar and we had some really fun nights together.  It was like band therapy, you know.

LB:  Was Major Grange more of band therapy thing or was that a side project?

NQ: It was just because the band had broken up that's why I called it band therapy. We hadn't played together in a few years because we had replaced...like, I used to play the drums in the band.  We got our friend Rob Gordon involved to play the drums and that was the final days of Major Grange and that was great and everything.

LB: In what years was the band active in?

NQ:  2008, 2009 I guess.  The course of that year we played some shows and made a crack at some recordings and stuff.  It didn't pan out and we didn't release anything in that lineup.  After that, a couple of years had gone by and Dave was writing.  So, yeah, that's what I was trying to say.  We were buddies the whole time it was just kind of hadn't got together and played like that.

LB: I want to get into the record itself because it really deserves some attention but I want to talk for a second about influences. I realize that you and Zeus are a lot more than the sum of your influences. The ones that get tossed around a lot are The Beatles, The Band, Big Star, I know you guys love the Superfriendz and Matt Murphy.  I think you admire Dr. Dog. Are there other contemporary bands that you feel are like contemporaries of yours?

NQ: We have a wide range of influences it's kind of funny. Those bands that kind of resemble our sound seem to be the most obvious. Carlin, for instance, is a huge Michael Jackson fan.We're all big Michael Jackson fans, we all listen to a lot of soul music...

LB: Name some of the soul music you listen to.

NQ: Ah man, like, the whole Motown arrangement. We all really love Stevie. You know, the Funk Brothers and every record they touched. Just you know there was something magic in that Motown sound. We love Robert Palmer- Simply Irresistible. I really like The Eagles, the other guys don't so much but they're coming around. I see a lot of comparisons between The Eagles and Zeus and the hooks and how some of the songs are written.

LB: Some of the eras of The Eagles more than others, maybe.

NQ: Yeah. Absolutely. You know, we dig Alan Parsons, some squiggy AM Gold. Stuff like that.  We've been digging some Chicago as of late. Geez, let's think of more contemporary stuff.  I love the Junior Boys.  I think they've had a big influence.

LB: Yeah, we talked about this the other night and I was kind of surprised, in a nice way, because the Junior Boys, as you mentioned, are Hamilton proud, that they're, you know, electronic musicians for the world and important Canadian musicians. It was a little surprising to hear you say that Heavy On Me, one of your songs with the most cross-over appeal, that you were really influenced by the Junior Boys on that one. 

NQ: Big Time.

END OF PART ONE

Zeus Biography (Drake, Quin, Nicholson, O'Brien)

When Zeus proper first emerged (out of the ashes of a band called Paso Mino amongst other things) the notion of multiple songwriters was central to their origin story.  Guitarist Mike O'Brien (everyone plays every instrument except Rob Drake who largely sticks to the drums and the occasional Pac Man keyboard solo on the mini Moog) and bassist Carlin Nicholson are always credited as co-founders.  

Most everyone had shared history, hailing largely from Barrie's Bay north of Toronto.  O'Brien and Drake were members of Paso Mino (Carlin did front of house sound) although O'Brien and Nicholson had been writing together since they were 13 or 14.  Paso Mino backed Collett on seminal albums Idols Of Exile and Here's To Being Here.  After the recording of Here through various circumstance (including bassist Michael P. Clive pursuing a career as a chef and guitarist Afie Jurvanen -now performing solo as Bahamas- went on tour with Feist) the band dissolved as a band in their own right and as a backing band for Jason Collett.

You might call this account of the birth of Zeus as the Zeus Family Tree.  Close to the genesis of the band was another bassist Jeremy Little (Burt Neilson Band) who had handled bass duties for Collett after in particular Clive's exit touring in support of Here's To Being Here.  Gregory Macdonald (the fifth member of Sloan) was also brought in to play keys at the same time until his multiple Sloan commitments conflicted.  Then Carlin was brought in to play keys.  

About the time that Collett mounted the Bonfire Ball Revue tour with Bahamas and Zeus in a revue style show, Little (known affectionately as Jer Bro) became the 5th member of Zeus for a period acting as sound technician, playing auxiliary synths from the boards and road manager.  Little now plays in the Peter Elkas Band (curiously Peter Elkas also appears on their most recent album Classic Zeus although the vocal recordings date from the original Say Us sessions).  

During this whole period Mike and Carlin were recording tunes in their Riverdale garage/studio (now properly dubbed Ill Eagle Studios).  The nature of these sessions was goodhearted and rekindled the childhood friend's appreciation of each other.   Their personal history went back to high school when they also started the 6ixty 8ights, a band Carlin would keep going for 10 years with Mike leaving in 2002 for Paso Mino.  With Mike frustrated with Paso Mino being spread all over the place and Carlin feeling lost in 10 years of 6ixty8ights, the zeus sessions begun.  Carlin and Neil Quin had both been members of the ferocious live group The Golden Dogs under the tutelage of Dave Azzolini and his wife Jess Grassia. 

Rob Drake

For the original sessions Mike and Carlin were joined by Dave and Jess as well as Taylor Knox from their band (Taylor and Quin also had a band together Major Grange).  With the Dogs being their own thing Rob Drake and Neil Quin cemented the Zeus line up.  The following tour Zeus was asked to open for Jason Collett and Neil was asked to join the Jason Collett Band as well.   These sessions resulted in their definitive debut EP Sounds Like Zeus (2009) but no doubt they were likely already working on songs for Say Us (2009).   

In a recent interview with American Songwriter they showed a kinship with other bands with multiple songwriters (their companero Matt Murphy's Super Friendz, Beach Boys, Kinks, Sloan, Queen, Dr. Dog). Busting Visions (2011) features material written by O'Brien, Nicholson and notably Quin whose contributions such as Strong Mind (originally a Major Grange song reworked for Zeus) set the benchmark for their newest material.  Collett has gone so far as to say that Quin, who seemed so tenderly young when he joined the band, has "the best rock ‘n’ roll voice I’ve heard in 20 years".

Neil Quin

Of Busting Visions O'Brien has said "the story of this record is it's our first as a band" acknowledging that Say Us ultimately drew from a revolving door of collaborators.  Visions is also their first effort produced, recorded and mixed alongside longtime collaborator Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Jamie Lidell, Bahamas).  It is also their first album to record in two settings; Ill Eagle Studios and Leslie Feist's ranch studio. Each Zeus songwriter readily admits to a healthy amount of competition in the band, "you bring your best every time" says Nicholson. 

Since the release of Busting Visions Zeus have toured extensively across North America and Europe accumulating accolades and enviable tour slots (including an opener for Belle & Sebastian at Massey Hall in Toronto).   During this period they have also produced albums for their compatriots including The Golden Dogs and Danielle Duval.  In various interviews they've indicated that they'd like to turn their vintage Ill Eagle studio into a new millenium hit factory - a type of Motown North-  making them something like the Canadian version of the Funk Bros. or  Booker T & The MG's which sounds about right.