Authority Zero – The Back Nine

By starrymag | June 22, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound? 

 

Mike: I wouldn’t. [laughs] Jason and I often talk about how his writing during the earliest days of AZ laid the groundwork for us to create music that we feel is essentially genre free. We just write music that pumps us up and makes us feel good.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

Mike: Dalley and I are Steely Dan fans. Sometimes I go on a Rufus Wainwright kick, too. Jason and I bonded years ago over our mutual love for The Band. For a group that is known for playing so fast and aggressively, we have a real soft spot.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Fire Off Another.” What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

Jason: “Fire Off” comes down to when in either society, or simply even a random stranger (or close acquaintance for that matter) in your personal life is trying to sell you some BS when you know in your heart it’s BS. When that occurs, many people tend to believe in it depending on the conviction of said speaker and in many events, it ends up causing much more damage than good given the direction of what’s at hand. When you’ve finally had enough of it, you in turn call them out on it causing a necessary friction. Unfortunately, at that point, many times the damage has been done. Everyone can take it as they feel fits best in their life and hoping the fans can connect to that in each’s own way.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

Jason: Our good friend, Jason Passaro, directed the video for us who is an old fan of the band! It portrays a great deal of the album artwork and is meant to be very visually stimulating as a lyric video. There are young humans seeing the world in a different light as the new generation comes into play with current events of what’s been a great deal of separation, anger and fear given the past couple years. Almost a reaction as to how in may be perceived through innocent eyes and what has caused so much of that to make it seem normal.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

Mike: Yes, in almost every case we put together the music first and lyrics come later.

 

Q) Your new EP The Back Nine is out now and Cameron Webb lent a hand in the production, but how much does Authority Zero participate in the production of your music?

 

Mike: We are highly involved. Cameron was so awesome to work with! All the way through the process, we are 100% hands on and nobody had challenged us quite like Cameron before. There were a few struggles during this record and playing tug-o-war with Cameron was so rewarding because he believed in the project just as much as we did. I hope we find ourselves working together again soon.

 

Q) What are some themes you explore on this new EP?

 

Jason: Thematically current events, what’s going on all around us with hardships, seclusion, separation as a society with hopes of mending that, getting older, breaking out of your shell and feeling liberated and oddly…golf. [laughs]

 

Q) Which tracks challenged you the most to create for it?

 

Mike: “Seas and Serpents.” Jason and I had written it as an island/reggae song initially… We toyed with it every day for a couple of weeks before we came to the conclusion “Wait. Maybe this is a rock song.” Sometimes we surprise ourselves!

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to The Back Nine as a whole?

 

Jason: All in all, hopefully, a sense of hope and forward motion given some tough and crazy times and ultimate just a good feeling and that they enjoy the music as much as we enjoyed making it.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

Eric: One of the biggest perks of joining Authority Zero means that I’ll get to play the Marquee theater more often now. That was one of the bigger venues Authority Zero threw my old band (Pour Habit) on and it just became a venue everyone could not wait to get back too. Cannot wait to get back on that stage for some serious face meltage.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

Eric: Oh man, so many!  I would love to collaborate with Rami Krayem from Cigar one day. We’ve done FaceTime jam sessions many times and he rules. Honestly, I just like hanging out with that dude so might as well have guitars in our laps while we virtual-hang. The Expendables guys, too. I’d love to totally ruin one of their songs.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

Eric: Comeback Kid has been on extra heavy rotation this week for me. Just honest music, aggressive, and fast. Also, Every Time I Die out of Buffalo. With most of my family being from there, they hold an extra special place in my little hardcore heart. Most of my music is listened to at the gym so I like it raging. 

 

Chris: Belvedere’s Hindsight is The Sixth Sense. It’s absolutely a brilliant piece of work, and their best album I feel. 

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

Jason: It really in this day and age just helps you stay connected with your friends and fans and keep everyone in the know and in touch. It’s just kind of the new way to do it like we did as kids with flyers.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

Jason: We love and appreciate you more than you know.