Zed

Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, when Zed’s Renegade Fighter comes on the radio, you’d better keep your guard up – because this song packs a punch! From the first chords of its overdriven guitars, to its clever harmonies, to the final echo of its hook-heavy chorus, the debut track from Zed is equal parts menace and vulnerability, charm and arrogance. In short, it’s 100% pure Rock n Roll, no imitations accepted.

Originally formed while they were still students at Christchurch’s Cashmere High, Zed is the dream child of Nathan King, Ben Campbell and Adrian Palmer, all of whom found they shared a passion for guitar pop – fuelled by their parents old Beatles records, a bit of Crowded House, and radio stars Supergrass and Radiohead.

Sometime back in ’96 though, daydreams and air-guitar weren’t enough, and like thousands of young bands before them, the three began getting together in each others bedrooms for band practice.

Five years on and a few things have changed. For a start Zed are no longer a three-piece, now joined by second guitarist Andrew Lynch. Soon after their inception, Nathan says he felt there was someone missing from the band. “It was two years prior to Andy joining,” he says, “and there was a nagging in the back of my mind that something wasn’t quite right – maybe a personality was absent, or there was a layer missing in the sound, I wasn’t sure what it was, but I know we’ve found it in Andy.”

And certainly the circumstances of Andrew’s hiring were pure Rock n Roll. “I was in Brazil when I got the call,” he says. “I was there chasing a Brazilian girlfriend who’d gone home, but I left all that and the biggest festival on the planet to come back and rehearse for a tour.” Although Andrew’s addition was primarily for live work, once recording sessions for debut album Silencer began, Nathan says an all-new Zed began to take shape. “It’s what Andy’s brought to us,” he says, “the connection between the four of us was powerful and immediate. Andy has different influences and he adds a real colour in his playing. The album was going in one direction initially, but it got twisted and re-shaped to where it is now.”

Assisting with the twisting and re-shaping on Silencer was producer David Nicholas. Rhythm and vocal tracks were recorded at Revolver Studios in Auckland, with final overdubs and mixing at Mangrove Studios north of Sydney, Australia. Andrew says Nicholas’s prior experience with artists like Sting, Ash, INXS and Bryan Adams, added a vital component to the emerging Zed sound.

“He’s a crash hot engineer as well,” he says, “so we were able to maximise the use of the studio – treat it as another instrument if you like – and use David to really bring out what made each song special.” And Zed are all about songs – catchy, hooky, you-can’t-stop-yourself-from-humming-along type numbers, that keep popping back into your head days after you first heard them. Pop songs no less.

Recording sessions were over in seven weeks and were for the most part hassle free says Nathan, although after all band members and production staff came down with the flu, he says he doubts the effectiveness of flu shots – on musicians at least. “Yeah, we all had our shots,” he laughs, “but it was something I bought in and when you’re in a confined space, well… you know how it is. So we all got really sick and vocally it was a nightmare for me to sing when I was blocked up. So I’d have to put my head over some steam, get clear, record for 20 minutes, and then do it all over again.”

Silencer became the hit album of 2000 in New Zealand – debuting at #1 on the New Zealand album charts, quickly achieving triple platinum status, and spawning six bona-fide radio hits. Renegade Fighter was the #1 song at radio in New Zealand during 2000. The band have completed several sell-out national tours, and capped the year off by winning big at New Zealand’s equivalent of the Grammy’s – taking out Music Awards for ‘Album Of The Year’, ‘Top Group’, and ‘Top Male Vocalist’.

With six top 20 singles to their credit, Zed have just begun their musical journey says Nathan. “We like to challenge ourselves,” he says, “to do things differently and keep it interesting and that’s cool. I’d hate to get somewhere and think that this is the end of the trip, because, you know – where do you go from there?”