Interview: Greg Spero, Keyboardist on Tour with Halsey
Jazz audiences know Greg Spero as an award-winning pianist, composer and bandleader. Playing professionally since age 14, Spero has studied with the likes of Herbie Hancock, and toured the US and UK with his own jazz trio. But his enviable career kicked up a notch in early 2015, when Greg landed his gig as the […]
New Gear Report: GonBops Rumbero Cajon & Zildjian Trigger Sticks
GonBops Rumbero cajon We have a pretty good selection of cajons here at zZounds — cajons of different sizes, shapes, and purposes. The GonBops Rumbero cajon caught my eye because it had a very unique look. It’s made of nogal wood, but take a peek at the top and sides — there’s a gorgeous inlay […]
The Musical Almanac: Japan’s City-Pop
The Musical Almanac is an ongoing series highlighting musical styles or genres from around the world. Today, we focus on this unique style from Japan: City-Pop. Sometimes the barrier of language can be so high as to render history muted. Most people now have the luxury of being able to decipher what exactly J-Pop is […]
Perfect Pairings: Fender American Standard P-Bass and Catalinbread SFT
This month, we’re plugging in the Fender American Standard P-Bass and the Catalinbread SFT Vintage Growl bass pedal for fat, SVT-style bass tone. The Fender American Standard Precision Bass honestly might be the first instrument that comes to mind when any of us are asked to think of a bass. Since its introduction in 1951, […]
Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
I couldn’t wait to write about Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther this month because the absolute perfect time to listen to this album is right now. The days have shrunk and gone dark, life is being drained from the trees as we know it and a chill is creeping in, a harbinger of a […]
Orange Micro Dark Demo
We stacked an Orange Micro Dark on top of a Rockerverb MKIII head on top of a PPC412 cab. It looked cute. Then, Justin plugged in a 2015 PRS McCarty into it and started riffing. It blew us away. 20 watts shouldn’t sound this loud. People outside the room couldn’t believe the sound was coming from […]
Birds in Row – You, Me & The Violence
I was lucky enough to catch these guys the last time they were in the US, with The Chariot on their farewell tour, and they quickly have become one of my favorite bands. They are intense, passionate, honest, and have yet to disappoint with any of their releases. You, Me & The Violence is no exception. Birds […]
New Gear Report: Silvertone 633E & TC Electronic Bodyrez
Silvertone 633E Reissue If looking at this guitar doesn’t incite a strong urge to pick it up and start strumming “The Boxer” or “Behind Blue Eyes,” you may need to rethink your musical tastes. As part of Silvertone’s new line of acoustic reissues, the 633E is in fact a classic mid-’60s Silvertone Sovereign reborn. It retains […]
An Interview With Carl Gershon
Carl Gershon is a New York-based singer-songwriter, and if you ask him, music reached a few peaks in the mid-’80s. “I think it was a time when production technique — when the analog studio, and analog production kind of hit its peak before digital took over; and it was also the time where, as a musician, you […]
