Zero

There are quite a few artists bearing this name. One hails from Bombay, India. Other hails from Brazil. The Brazilian band, inclusively, is older by more than twenty years from the other one.

One Zero is a talented bassist in the band D'espairsRay. He was born in Saitama, Japan on the 31 of July. and joined his band in 1999. He stands 5 feet 6 inches. His favorite colors are black and purple, he hates sea food and his skill is delusion.

July 1998, Mood Indigo at IIT Bombay would be a red-letter day for a bunch of musicians who, apparently, didn’t hold themselves in too high an esteem. So they decided to form a band called Zero and performed at Mumbai’s premier rock campus festival. And true to paradox, went on to become one of the most popular live acts in Mumbai. They still do not see music as a profession. Rajeev, the vocalist, works in a healthcare firm. Warren, the guitarist, is a sound engineer. Siddharth, their drummer, is a producer with a radio station, and the bassist Girish is a law student.

It has not been a very smooth ride for the guys, though. They went through a break up because they had no time to give the band. Fortunately, time ceased to be a concern a short while later and they reformed afterward. At Independence Rock XXIII on 30th August 2008, Zero performed as the closing act and made the announcement that that would be their last performance as a band, purportedly because Rajeev must leave the country for important work of his own. Their departure was met with heartfelt goodbyes.

Zero were arguably the biggest supporters of original music. In a scene replete with front rows shouting for covers of everything from Metallica to Slayer, one can only imagine the problems a band trying to play their own songs would have to face. But says Warren, “The front rows don’t get it at first, but they’re cheering at the end of the song. Even as far as the covers go, we do our own take on them. We never cover a song like it is on record.”

And in their effort to promote their music, they made a rough demo that sold out its initial run. They might be going in for an album scale release later in the year, as soon as they can get 30 originals in the bag! Their take on the Indian music market is rather pragmatic. They say that as long as people will buy music, other people will make music. Its more a question of demand and supply than anything else. They would like to see some more honest music…some live instruments rather than produced and manufactured stuff.

Another Zero is a french artist who makes very dark music, somewhere between blues and metal. He didn’t do any album yet, only five demo tracks, three aviable (Numb, State of Mind, and Anyway) at his web site and two only released to fans (Nothing and Until). There is not much info on him, even his site is nearby empty.

A Berlin-based french/german rock band is also called zero. They make 90’s influenced indie/alternative rock with french lyrics. In 2007, they released a 4-track EP, “Les suicidés” on the music sharing site Jamendo.

Yet another Zero is a jam band formed in 1980, founded by Steve Kimock and Greg Anton. Their music is a mixture of jazz, rock and blues - free flowing. Soon they were joined by other Bay Area musicians from the psychedelic caravan, sharing the same spirit: John Cipollina, John Kahn, Banana, Martin Fierro, Bobby Vega, John Farey and Steve Wolf. They have released eight albums. It’s not the vocals that define Zero’s music - it’s never ending instrumentals - a mental journey if you will. Never chaos though - a well organised trip of musicans who know how to blend their own ways of playing into one way. All being equal and sharing a high quality approach when it comes to recording and playing live - a common goal. With a nearly 150 years of professional playing experience among them and credits with bands like the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Etta James, Paul Butterfield, Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, these guys have been there and know what its all about.