Zantzinger Chorus is a band from Nashville, Tennessee, and is best known for catchy storytelling in the context of indie folk rock music. They have been writing sweet tunes since 2007 when the band first formed in a freshman dorm room at Vanderbilt University. Since 2007, Zantzinger Chorus has released four full length records and two EPs: We Have All Things That Are Good We Have This This Is Good (2007); Zantzinger Chorus Saved My Life (2008); Handsome People, Never Make Us Frown (2009); So What’s Beyond That Door? Oh We Don’t Go Beyond That Door EP (2010); Fish With Bird Head EP (2012); and How the Heck Are Ya? (2019).
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Zantzinger Chorus about their latest release, technology, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are all Nashville transplants from all over the place. A few of us met in college, some of us are childhood friends, a couple of us are married to one another. Our lineup has changed several times, but our sound has remained consistent over the years.
We write vocally driven indie folk rock. We like to write stories about people falling on hard times, screwing up their lives, or even embarrassing moments from our personal lives. No shame when searching for material to write about. We just aim to be catchy.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
We first formed in the fall of 2007 in dorm room number 1626, Lupton Hall, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. At that time we wrote with whatever instruments we had sitting around. I would come up with some words and some chords, record those parts on an SM57 microphone I brought from home, and then walk around the halls finding musicians to help me add in layers. Maybe I was just looking for friends. I guess we just went down this path by accident.
As for what keeps us going, I guess it’s just for love of the game. We don’t make any money doing this. We just enjoy each other’s company and sharing music with people.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This is our first release in several years. The title (How the Heck Are Ya?) is what I say to people when I haven’t seen them in a long time so it seemed like a funny thing to name it. We worked on writing and recording this record for over a year, writing and recording in my basement. We weren’t trying to accomplish anything specific other than putting an album we were proud of from front to back. We think we accomplished that.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
There are so many awesome musicians out there making great music that we never would have been able to hear even 15 years ago. Getting someone’s attention is harder with so many options to choose from, but we don’t view making music as a competition. The more bees in the hive the better. Regarding technology, we are truly a completely DIY operation. We write, record, mix, master and promote all of our music. Technology has certainly made it easier to be the jack of all trades in the production realm, but sometimes being the jack of all trades is the challenge.
What was the last song you listened to?
In honor of this spooky snack time of year, I am currently listening to “The Frankenstep” by Matt Duncan. Definitely listen to this song and add it to your Halloween party playlist. Thank me later.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Personally, I prefer the MP3s for the convenience. The rest of the band loves their respective vinyl collections, but I’m too frenetic of a guy when I DJ so I just like streaming from my phone.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify, but probably only because I’m most familiar with it.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Come say hey to us on Instagram (@zzchor) where we do most of our internet interaction. Each of our albums is on pretty much all of the popular streaming services. Come give us a shot!
Anything else before we sign off?
Thanks for checking us out. We just released a music video directed by Jay Curtis Miller, an amazing film producer/director in Nashville.
