August 24, 2010

Music News by Tom Farrell

Exclusive Never Released Rock Interview With Zebra

When I interviewed Zebra in 1984, the power rock trio was at the top of their game. Riding high on the strength of their two hits, “Who’s Behind the Door” and “Tell Me What You Want,” the rock act was on tour opening for Sammy Hagar.

I caught up with them after their show. Sitting on the tour bus with drummer Guy Gelso, bassist Felix Hanneman and guitarist/vocalist Randy Jackson, I talked to the band about their music and plans for the future.
This is the first and only time this interview has been seen in 25 years.

Randy, how long has Zebra been around?

Randy: We’ve been around for ten years. We started out in New Orleans, which is where Felix and I are originally from. Guy’s from Sacramento. We got together and played New Orleans for about two years, and in 1977, moved to New York and moved back and forth between the two cities up until 1982, when we signed a record deal with Atlantic.

Are you guys the same style of music you were when you started? I remember reading something about you guys wanting to be an acoustic band?

Randy: No, I think what you read was that Felix and I were going to do an acoustic duo, but that never did materialize. We never had any intentions of doing an acoustic band.

How would you guys classify your music?

Randy: How about…rock band?
Felix: I’d say melodic rock.

Who are your musical influences, Felix?

Felix: Well, my influences go back to a lot of different people. When I was a kid, I would listen to 50s stuff, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, all of that. When the Beatles came out, I was really into them. I liked the Stones, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, then I got into the folk rock thing a whole lot, with Donovan and Cat Stevens. Then we started doing a lot of Led Zeppelin and getting into a lot of the guitar-oriented music. We used to do Aerosmith, heavy metal-type music, I used to really enjoy it.

Randy, how about you?

Randy: I guess because there were so many other people doing it, we never wanted to do it anyway. Besides, we wanted to have our own musical identity, and I think a lot of bands today are getting lost today because it’s hard to find an identity when you’re all playing the same game. We’re trying to do things differently, and I think we feel a little bit more comfortable with what we’re doing. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable playing that game to begin with.”

For the musicians out there, I noticed you’re using the new Roland guitar synthesizer. Any comments on its performance?

Randy: Well, Roland had another guitar synthesizer a couple of years ago, and I really didn’t like it. It was monophonic, so , no chords. I didn’t even try it out, but the new one is really light years ahead and it’s a whole different ball game. I think people are going to start using it a lot. You do have to develop a different technique with it, you can’t play harmonies on it for one thing, you can’t strike the notes as hard as you would on a regular guitar, but you can get so many more sounds out of it, it’s really worth it to sit down and learn how to use it.

How long have you been playing guitar?

Randy: I first picked up the guitar when I was ten years old, and played on it up until the time I was 15. When I was 15, I started playing it seriously. So, it’s been about 15 years.

Felix, how long have you been on bass and keyboards?

Felix: I started out on acoustic guitar when I was 12, then I played bass in high school and moved on to piano. I just play bass and keyboards in concert, but I was thinking of incorporating guitar into the act. I have a double neck Rickenbacker like Geddy Lee, and we were thinking of doing some duets in the show.

Like Geddy Lee, you perform the bass and keyboards for the band. What type of keyboards are you using onstage?

Felix: I’m using DX-7s by Yamaha, I’ve got a Poly-800 by Korg, and I have an Emulator and a Poly-61, and I have them all MIDI’d together. I use the Poly-800 for my bass sound, and the DX-7s for my string sounds and the Poly-61 for my cello and arpeggiator sounds.

A lot of bands are tapping into Satanic lyrics and themes - what’s kept Zebra away from that?

Randy: We try to write about more positive things, and keep things on a more up level. There’s enough Satanic problems in the world right now, and I don’t think we need to add to it. I think there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be said that isn’t being said and that’s equally important and we’re definitely not trying to sell ourselves on devil worshipping or anything like that.”

A lot of people have said that your high-pitched falsetto is your trademark.

Randy: When we first started out, we had a lot of songs that required a lot of high vocals, so I developed my falsetto in with my natural voice, I tried to make my lower falsetto stronger, instead of my upper natural range higher.

Doesn’t that hurt?

Randy: Actually, no. It makes it a lot easier than the opposite, because straining my natural voice will make it go a lot quicker than pushing my falsetto voice lower.

Any advice for up-and-coming musicians?

Randy: Yeah, if you get a band together, stick together. Sometimes it doesn’t look too great, but I think the worst thing that happens to a lot of bands is they tend to break up when they get a good break or when they establish some sort of identity and following, and they lose all of it. They don’t realize that without being a band they can’t make it. You have to be a whole unit.

What’s kept Zebra together for ten years?

Randy: Super glue ! (laughing)
Felix: That’s it! I’m leaving! (Felix gets ups and starts to leave, and then returns)
Randy: We’ve always got along together, and we’ve gone through the really rough times.
Felix: What’s kept us together for so long? Longevity! (laughter)
Randy: Ah, that was a really intelligent answer, Felix!
Felix: My advice is that stay together, keep practicing and overcome the problems that you have to go through in the beginning. When you’re doing the clubs and all that stuff, it’s really hard, I mean, we did it for eight years. It’s mostly just getting through all of those rough nights and overcoming all the problems. One other thing I’d like to tell you is to pool your finances, do not split the money up at the end of the night!

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