Archive for the ‘Zuckerbaby’ Category

A rare interview with ANDY EICHHORN!

Posted: September 16, 2020 by Soda in Andy Eichhorn, Canada, Indie, Interview, Satellites and Secrets, Zuckerbaby
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I. AM. SO. EXCITED to share this with all of you. The brilliant and underrated Andy Eichhorn recently resurfaced with a new EP and some social media outlets. So, naturally I took a deep breath and sent him a message, and…here we are! I am always honored when the folks who made and make the music I love will give me the time to pick their brains a bit. Andy has been nothing but super sweet since then and even sent me some goodies from his old band ZUCKERBABY! :::drool::: So, holey moley, let’s go!

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MSG – Greetings Andy! Thank you for taking the time to do this Q&A/Interview for M-S-G. I am so psyched to have this opportunity with you. For anyone about to take this adventure with us…Andy Eichhorn is a bit of a “cult” music figure once fronting Canadian Pop/Rock darlings Zuckerbaby in the mid 90’s to the early 00’s. If you don’t mind, I’d like to start somewhere around there. Can you tell us a bit about what it was like trying to get something like Zuckerbaby off the ground in Calgary Alberta, Canada in the mid 90’s?

AE – Thanks, Soda!  I’m thankful for the opportunity, you’ve interviewed a lot of great artists and I’m happy to make the cut. Well, I won’t say it was easy because nothing worth doing ever is… but it did happen very naturally.  Reed & I were really coming into our own songwriting as a team, finding our own way of doing things, listening to and getting excited about the same music we loved from the past and present. We hit a stride together creatively and could just FEEL it. Whether or not anything else was going to happen, WE were happening. And to anyone who writes or creates – that’s a one of a kind feeling! Getting the music industry to take notice of what we were doing was another story. We hammered away at any lead we could find. Cold called record companies, managers, booking agents –you name it!  It seemed that something pretty magical was brewing, and people were coming to shows to see us more and more. Music industry types started calling us back and wanting to see the band. It was all very exciting!

MSG – And even before Zuckerbaby, you fronted Calliope, which, at its core, was you and Reed (Shimozawa). That project was a touch darker and a bit on the Alt/Grunge side. What made you guys kinda make the change and streamline your focus/sound?

AE – I always say there wouldn’t have been a Zuckerbaby without Calliope.  It was our “getting to know you” project, a stepping stone to what would become Zuckerbaby. That was around 1994 and the musical landscape was changing yet again. When Reed and I met we shared a love for so much music from all over the musical map and it all kind of spilled out on that record. As we kept going, we turned each other on to the bands and artists that each of us loved. When Calliope came to an end, we were thinking about what was next. Both of us brought a song to the other guy to see if there was anything worth pursuing. Those songs were “Bellybutton Queen” and “Heavy”.  A new band was born!   

MSG – Now, for me, Zuckerbaby was love at first sight (and sound of course). I immediately caught a heavy Jellyfish influence, which was major for me and after getting the first ZB album it only further solidified that wonderful comparison. I personally think you guys came the closest to that sound with not an ounce of it being contrived. It seemed and sounded so natural, you guys just nailed that style so effortlessly. The self-titled Zuckerbaby album is an absolute classic. AND, to top it off Jack Joseph Puig, who worked on both Jellyfish albums, worked on your 1997 debut. Can you dish some history here? 

AE – No question, we loved Jellyfish so much! Hearing Roger Joseph Manning Jr. speak recently about some of the other music he and Andy Sturmer were influenced by made sense to me. He mentioned Elvis Costello, Crowded House, Cheap Trick…all the bands I was soaking up at the time or had been into when we were writing and recording the first album. I got to spend some time in San Francisco (where Jellyfish began) and went to places like Russian Hill (a song on the Jellyfish record Split Milk) and got to try to feel the vibe.  We convinced the guys who managed them to also manage us. Working with Jack Joseph Puig was a feather in our cap for sure. He worked on the Jellyfish records as well as The Black Crowes, Tonic, The Grays (super underrated band featuring Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, Buddy Judge and Dan McCarroll.)  If you can find it – get it!  Yeah, it was very cool to walk into a studio like Ocean Way in Los Angeles and mix your songs with a legend like Jack. One night he sent us away and said he would call us when he had something for us to listen to. We decided to go to The Viper Room (a club owned by Johnny Depp at that time).  We were in the lineup outside, waiting to get in and over my shoulder I hear a familiar voice saying something like “here’s some leftovers, I think It’s still warm”. It was Johnny Depp bringing food to one of the doormen at the club. Then we got to see Tommy Stinson’s (The Replacements) band called, Perfect. Great night in LA! I went back to the hotel and called my friend Lorrie Matheson back home to tell him about the show because he is a huge Replacements fan. Lorrie ended up producing my new EP all these years later. 

MSG – Coming down off that self-titled you guys followed up with Platinum Again which was a gorgeous, more mature sounding record which left behind the bubblegum for more polished rock gems. The album also seemed a bit caliginous. I remember interviewing Reed a few years back and he said that was a real tough one to make. Care to elaborate? You guys also lost your original rhythm section around that time? What can you tell us?

AE – We were in trouble. Career, relationships – life. But we still kept going.  It WAS dark, it was different from the first record but I think it showed another side to the band that I will always be proud of. There’s a song on that record called “Sleepwalking Sister” that should have been a single. The lyrics were inspired by Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles who had a solo album in 1997. She had a song called “Enormous Wings” that she said was inspired by the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  I listened to her record then read the collection of short stories that inspired her song and wrote the lyrics to “Sleepwalking Sister”. There are a lot of beautiful songs on that record. We collaborated with some other writers for the first time and that yielded some varying results as well. We were trying to do something other than what we had done on the first record and I think it turned out really well.   The two albums are very different but both great in their own way. And, yes, we parted ways with Brian our bass player before we recorded Platinum Again and Wayne left after the recording so he got to play on the second album. It can be a brutal business as far as relationships go. You’re forced to make decisions quickly and sometimes it’s right and sometimes it’s not.

MSG – How long did you guys work on promoting ‘Platinum’? And what was the next move or had things pretty much come to an end? Were there talks of a third record?

AE – We released Platinum Again in the Fall of 2000. It was another new era.  Things were changing in the music industry that would be game changing.  We toured Canada with Collective Soul and after that it looked like our relationship with Universal Music was coming to an end. Things kind of slowed down for the band and there weren’t many touring opportunities at that point. We did think about doing something further but not if it didn’t feel right. Nothing really definitive or dramatic happened but I was getting tired of everything. We fought really hard to make Platinum Again. The time in between the first record and writing and recording the second one was very tough. It took a toll. 

MSG – Now, it seems like you went a bit underground after Zuckerbaby, from what I may or may not know. What was life after the band like? Were there more bands? More gigs?…Or did you decide that was it at that time?

AE – I took a step back but it wasn’t too long before we started working on new stuff. Reed and I did a lot of writing and recording between 2004 and 2006. I briefly played in a friend’s band here in Calgary. Zuckerbaby played a couple of shows locally around then as well. 

MSG – It has been really, about 2 decades since you graced us with your gifts. You just released a new solo (debut) EP entitled Satellites and Secrets, which is beautiful. I want to get into that but don’t want to leave out the fact that you did poke your head out in 2015 to do a one off reunion gig with Zuckerbaby opening for The Age Of Electric who had been celebrating “X” amount of time and did a few shows, re-released some music and what not and you guys opened up the show in Calgary. What was that like? You also issued a new single called, “Do The Crime” soon after that. Is there more ZBaby where that came from?

AE – Thanks! The EP was something I have always wanted to do. It probably would never have happened without reconnecting with Lorrie Matheson.  He has a studio called Arch Audio and invited me over one day to hang out. Next thing you know we were planning and plotting how to make a record!  All of the guys in Age of Electric are loved by me. It was so cool to open a couple of shows for them when they did a reunion. We toured Canada in 1997 with them which was absolutely classic! I’ve been inspired by their songs and talent since before Reed and I met. And he was friends with them before that! So, there’s a great history there. We recorded an album’s worth of Zuckerbaby material between around 2004 and 2007.  That’s where “Do The Crime” came from.  So there is a collection of songs from that era that we haven’t really done anything with.

MSG – I wanted so badly to get to that gig. I absolutely LOVE AOE, mega influence! Anyways, so, here we are, 2020 a year of utter chaos and you drop your solo debut after all that time, a sophisticated collection of songs indeed, almost adult contemporary. How long did it take to write, record, etc? How long did you have this planned for?

AE – Timing has never been my strong suit. I could have just shelved it when all this happened but I finally got the EP finished and didn’t want to wait any longer. Glad I didn’t because it feels really great to connect with people who seem to like what I do! I hadn’t written anything complete in a very long time but always had little ideas. I got more focused a couple of years ago as far as songwriting goes. The recording process was a few days here, a day there as time and money would allow.

MSG – So aside from this, have you and are you still involved in music in other ways? You don’t have to get too personal, but what might an average day be like for you now if you don’t mind me asking?

AE – This is it musically right now. It was a big deal for me to get back at it and my hope is to keep something going. An average day for me involves work and family mostly. I have to carve out time for myself to do my thing and stay creative. My family is very supportive! I find that if I go too long without singing and playing or working on some new idea I start to get bummed out.

MSG – What are the plans for the EP? I know, given the state of the world, there isn’t too much planning going on anywhere. Will there be another recording? Will there be any shows? You know… the door is open at my place if you ever get here and want to do a house show!

AE – You never know! If the pandemic gets under control, I might take you up on that. I had hoped to play a show in Calgary with the band who played on the recording. I also wanted to do some shows in different cities with other musicians I have known over the years, that was the plan. Maybe one day! I did a couple of acoustic shows, just me and a guitar, before the lockdown and I was starting to really like doing that, too. Everything’s gone online now so I’ll keep posting songs, covers and stuff like that. Hopefully I can get playing somewhere soon!

MSG – I feel like we covered a lot here and filled in a few historic holes. I’m sure people will really enjoy a peek inside after all this time. What did we leave out?

AE – There’s always something left out but I think this is a good wrap up of past and present. Thank you so much for doing this!

MSG – And where can people get the new EP?

AE – Satellites and Secrets is available on all the streaming platforms and CDs are available through bandcamp. And both Zuckerbaby albums are on itunes as well!

MSG – Well, I think that about covers it. Thanks a lot Andy, this was rad, an absolute pleasure. Another one of my nerdy music-related dreams come true. Stay safe and groovy Andy and let’s give this to the people!

https://andyeichhorn.bandcamp.com/releases

ZUCKERBABY…did the crime

Posted: June 1, 2016 by Soda in Canada, Reed Shimozawa, Zuckerbaby
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Canadian Pop/Rock favorites, Zuckerbaby returned last week with a new ass shaking single called “Do The Crime”. By the sounds of it you wouldn’t think the band took 16 years between their stellar sophomore release Platinum Again and this new instant ZB classic which flaunts all the vigor and youth of their eponymous debut coupled with the panache and primo songwriting the band has been known for.

Zuckerbaby - Do The Crime (Single Cover)

Zuckerbaby – Do The Crime (Single Cover)

They recently came out of hiding a few months back to support the freshly reunited Age Of Electric, another 90’s Canadian Alt-Rock phenom at a show in their home land of Calgary. Hell, I guess they all liked it so much they did it again about a week ago. Dynamic duo Andy Eichhorn (Vocals/Sometimes Guitar) and Reed Shimozawa (Guitar/BG Vocals) have never sounded fresher. Seems the break did them all some good. New this time around is rhythm section Jamie Warren (Bass) and Ian Grant (Drums)…well, new to us anyway as Reed had informed me earlier this year in an interview that these guys had been with the band not too long after Platinum Again had been released and, if given a choice, this would be the two guys he’d ultimately choose had the band continued. Which brings us to the present…

“Do The Crime” is reminiscent of early Zuckerbaby in the fact that it’s got a bit of bubblegum to it and a pleasant dose of those Jellyfish style harmonies they are keen on. But, let’s not take anything away from the sophistication of the track either. Ever present are the sharp lyrics delivered by an unaged sounding Eichhorn. “You can do the crime, change your mind don’t waste my time if you could press rewind, leave it all behind, make up your mind.” And I did press rewind, multiple times, because I can’t get enough. Punchy guitars and bouncy bass and drums lay the infrastructure for the always sugary sweet singer to convince you to indeed do the crime, and whatever it may be please sign me up. If it’ll get the universe another full length Zuckerbaby record then yes, I’m ready for my mugshot!

Get the single now on iTunes. Take the risk if you aren’t familiar with the band. It’s only 99cents. Have a fit, let’s go!

ZUCKERBABY – DO THE CRIME (single)

Q&A W/Reed Shimozawa of Canadian Pop Rock Pioneers ZUCKERBABY

Posted: September 9, 2015 by Soda in Canada, Interview, Reed Shimozawa, Zuckerbaby
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A little less than two weeks ago, 2 of my absolutely favorite Canadian bands got back in the saddle for a reunion show…together, on the same stage. Those bands were, The Age Of Electric and Zuckerbaby. In my mind I thought, no question, I’ll be there, I’m hopping a plane…it’s that simple. Turns out, it wasn’t. I had previous obligations to my own band back home and it just wasn’t in my budget. I literally thought about the show all night as it was unfolding in another part of the world, Calgary, Alberta Canada. Man, that’s far away from NY. The next morning I was lucky enough to see some awesome video clips and photos throughout other people’s Facebook updates. Its times like this I do love social media. I was lucky enough to discover both bands back in the late 90’s when America had the Much Music channel; basically Canada’s answer to MTV, but in my eyes was much better at the time. I would watch Much for countless hours while I did homework. I discovered so many amazing bands/artists. AOE and Zuckerbaby being 2 of them. As I got a bit older I would take treks back and forth to Toronto and some surrounding cities to take in the culture and music and even play a few solo shows. It’s Heaven on Earth in my eyes. Anyway, let’s cut to the chase. Back to social media, and one of the pluses, is that…well; everyone is on one of them. Reed Shimozawa, Zuckerbaby guitarist being one of them. I think about a year ago, maybe, I introduced myself to Reed via Facebook and we connected. No major conversations, just me romanticizing Zuckerbaby to him every once and a while and trying to convince him to give me the “lost” third record, hahaha…Anyways, after said infamous show I wrote to Reed again to see if I could do a piece on him and the band for MUSIC-SURVIVAL-GUIDE. And to make my day, he graciously obliged. And what you are about to read below is our short, semi-personal time in cyber social media land. Reed, you rocked this and I can’t thank you enough. So here ya go friends, please enjoy the below correspondence between myself and Mr. Shimozawa. Awesome stuff.

Reed Live @ the Zuckerbaby Reunion 08-29-15 @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage

Reed Live @ the Zuckerbaby Reunion 08-29-15 @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage

MSG – Hey Reed! I’m absolutely honored to be doing this little interview with you so, thanks so much for this. Let’s start at the present and work our way back. Just last Saturday, August 29th, Zuckerbaby did a reunion show in your Hometown of Calgary Alberta, Canada. Opening for an also freshly reunited Canadian favorite, The Age Of Electric, a band you share a lot of history with. Tell us a bit about that experience, what was it like…how did it come to fruition?

RS – There has been talk, on and off, of an AOE reunion for a while now, but the guys have all been very busy with their respective projects- Todd with Slash, Ryan with Mounties and Limblifter, and until recently, Kurt with The New Pornographers. When this offer came in the timing was as good as it could be. Everyone was available and willing. It’s really as simple as that I think. I have a lot of history with AOE, our friendship dates back to the late 80’s and among other things, Zuckerbaby did an extensive Canadian tour opening for them back in ’97 or ’98. The package works well together, both musically and on a social level so when Todd suggested we open the show it was really a no-brainer. Zuckerbaby had played a couple of low profile shows locally around ’07 to coincide with some music that Andy and I were working on, but other than that we hadn’t done a show since 2000. I’m not gonna lie, it felt great to be playing those songs again, especially in such a great environment. That place was packed with people who actually gave a shit.

MSG – Zuckerbaby and The Age Of Electric both, were big news in the mid/late 90’s in your homeland of Canada. Can you tell us a bit about the early days of Zuckerbaby? Even before that you shared a band with frontman, Andy Eichhorn called Calliope. How did Zuckerbaby get its start?

RS – In the early 90’s, I was searching for something new to do musically as were a lot of people. I strolled into a bar in Calgary to see some friends playing in a cover band. They had this young guy from Saskatchewan singing and his voice really caught my ear. We talked, and long story short I stole him away from my friends’ band (Yes they’re still my friends, more on that later). I was really into funk and blues at the time but I’ve always had a love of pop music so we did our best to mash those together and that was Calliope. That particular fusion of musical styles didn’t have a giant following here in Cowtown and we soon found ourselves drifting more to the pop side of our songwriting… because no one was really begging for that either haha. As soon as we started playing as Zuckerbaby, however, we knew we were on to something. People just started showing up…

MSG – Your Eponymous debut album made you somewhat the faces of Canada’s Pop Rock circuit, having heavy rotation on Much Music with lead Single “Shampoo” and the whimsical and gorgeous “Andromeda”. What was it like to have that kind of success being a band out of Calgary which is known for its cowpokecentric roots if you will.

Zuckerbaby Self-Titled Album Cover

Zuckerbaby Self-Titled Album Cover

RS – Well, it was weird, but really Calgary is not as rednecked as you would think from a casual glance. Especially at that time, there was a thriving community of bands and it was pretty great in retrospect. Outcome aside, I don’t know if there would have been a better place to get our legs. We certainly didn’t feel any pressure to fit into any genre because we were just a part of a scene that embraced a whole bunch of different sounds and creative ventures.

MSG – Being obviously influenced by Pop Rock icons, Jellyfish, you guys were able to secure Jack Joseph Puig who had a big hand in their masterpiece, Spilt Milk to mix the first record. How did you score that? How was that experience?

RS – ZB originally signed to an indie label out of San Francisco. Unfortunately they lost their distribution before we could release anything with them but in the meantime we made some great connections through that relationship. At one of our first meetings they asked us if we had management. We didn’t. They knew that Andy and I were massive Jellyfish fans and suggested Chris Coyle and Victor Ratto who were previously Jellyfish’s managers. We met, liked us and a deal was struck. After signing with Mercury in Canada, our A&R guy asked me, “If you could have anyone mix your record, who would it be?” Without hesitation I said “Jack Joseph Puig”. In addition to his JF pedigree, JJP was involved with at least 2 other albums that still move me today, “Amorica” by the Black Crowes and “Pinkerton” by Weezer. We had a connection through our management obviously and my dream came to fruition. Ironically, I don’t love his Zuckerbaby mixes. I didn’t agree with some of his sonic decisions and was too intimidated and starstruck to say so. Live and learn. He’s still a genius though.

MSG – After the bubblegum pop vibe presented on said record, you guys came back with the very sophisticated and polished Platinum Again some 3 years later. This album too featured new bassist, Ed Tiegs. Can you give some insight on the direction of songwriting for that record?

Zuckerbaby Platinum Again Album Cover

Zuckerbaby Platinum Again Album Cover

RS – Well, when Zuckerbaby signed with Mercury in ’96, we were given carte blanche to do what we wanted. The material was there, we self-produced, were given relatively big budgets for recording and marketing. In short, I really do believe that the label and the people involved at that time believed in our band. Things turned sour pretty quick though. When the album didn’t live up to expectations sales-wise, we quickly learned that we weren’t the pretty girl at the party anymore. The music business is a numbers game just like any other business, and we had turned out to be a bad investment. Sometime around then, Universal bought Polygram, which of course included Mercury. That’s when the shit really hit the fan. Most of the people who we considered “our camp” were either let go or left voluntarily and we were left like dirty little orphans. There was also internal strife in the band, partially brought about by our frustrations with the “failure” of our first album as well as personal issues. Brian Doss, our original bass player was let go, and during the course of recording “Platinum Again” we parted ways with Wayne Stadler our drummer. In general, that record is much more serious and dark, and that’s indicative of where we were at the time. I don’t hate it, there are some things on there that I’m really proud of, but that time was not a bright spot in my existence.

MSG – Having a vast history with The Age Of Electric boys who even sang some back-up vocals on Platinum Again and you having worked on Todd Kerns’ first solo record Go Time!, have you always been in touch with them through the many years in which both bands had not been operational. How did this recent reconnection come about?

RS – We are friends, and thus no reconnection was necessary. Todd and I are very close we talk all the time and see each other whenever possible. We’ve done a few little gigs over the years as well, and even made an album together which may yet see the light of day. Actually, we were just talking about how I’m one of very few friends that all the AOE guys have in common haha. Ryan and Kurt are really good friends of mine too, it’s the kind of friendship that doesn’t require a lot of attention or maintenance, we can all just call each other up and pick up the conversation even if the last one was a while ago. Last year I did a couple of shows with Ryan’s band Mounties, just playing some acoustic guitar as needed, and when Kurt was with The New Pornographers I would always see them whenever I could because I’m a huge fan. I’m disappointed that he’s not with them anymore, he was more important to that band than they realize and his playing made those songs even better. Gear is always a favorite topic with all of us, it may be what we talk about the most haha.

MSG – Speaking of reconnections, elusive Zucker frontman, Andy Eichhorn has been pretty much a specter over the years. What was it like to be on stage with him again? Was it difficult to reconnect with him?

RS – Andy and I use to joke about getting matching trucker hats that say “old fart” and “old fart’s wife”. We just couldn’t agree on who would wear what hat. We have occasionally gone for long periods of time without seeing or talking to each other but there is always a connection between us, both on a musical level and as friends. We have a deep understanding of each other, and I’m sure that will never change.

MSG – Aside from Zuckerbaby and your contributions to other musical offerings. What do you do nowadays? You’re known for being a pretty mean guitarist. Is your focus still planted in music?

RS – Other than my family and holding down a job, music is still the main thing I do. I play a lot of guitar, recording, songwriting… I’m just not as focused on who hears it anymore. At the end of Zuckerbaby’s original run, I had a realization: the best part was creating the music. All that other shit was great too, the shows, videos, fans, etc. but it never got any better than the feeling of writing a song like “Andromeda”.

MSG – Is there any kind of future for Zuckerbaby? Some years back you had about 4 new songs featured on your MySpace player. Was there to be a third record? Will we ever be able to hear that record and get those songs? (I drool at the prospect!)

RS – There is a complete Zuckerbaby album sitting on my hard drive. It’s good too, I just listened to it yesterday for the first time in a couple years. It was recorded between ’05 and ’08 I think, just pieced together with no intent but to make some music. I have a modest studio in my house and I started building songs on my own. The logical person to sing was of course Andy and it just slowly morphed into a ZB project. Ed Tiegs played some bass and drums on it, and Ian Grant is on a couple of songs too. It’s all over the map genre-wise, some of the songs are very Brit influenced. I hear some Oasis, Kasabian, The Verve, The Charlatans now when I listen to it. Then there’s some more rootsy stuff, a ballad that’s almost country, some rock songs. Toward the end we recorded a few more band generated things and they are a little more like what you would expect from us. It’s probably a challenging listen for today’s ear, people are so specific with their tastes now. I don’t give a fuck, many of the best records were genre buckers. We are talking about making it available, I suppose that now’s as good a time as any with all this interest being generated by the AOE show.

Zuckerbaby Live @ the Zuckerbaby Reunion 08-29-15 @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage

Zuckerbaby Live @ the Zuckerbaby Reunion 08-29-15 @ Marquee Beer Market & Stage

MSG – And finally, for the many that could not make it to your reunion show, can you give us a rundown of what the setlist looked like? And please give us some info about the rhythm section you chose to back you and Andy on this historical show.

RS – Setlist is attached. We never got to play the Cheap Trick songs because we ran out of time. Too bad, Cheap Trick is one place where Ian, Andy and I all love to go! One day we will do a show where we play “Live at Budokan” in it’s entirety. Ian Grant was our drummer for the Platinum Again tour, he’s amazing and proved it again last Saturday. He was also the drummer for the TKO project that Todd Kerns and I did. Jamie Warren played bass, he is one of my best friends and was in the band that I stole Andy from all those years ago, so in a way this was a reunion on several fronts. We had a great time, and IF there are any more shows, this lineup would be our first choice. Great musicians, great people.  Thanks Soda!

ZB SETLIST AUG29 2015

THANK YOU REED!

(Reed photo: Christy Turner)