"We're four guys from Philly who have experienced more together in 10 years than most people experience in 100 lifetimes," says Bryan Weber, lead singer of ZELAZOWA. No kidding. With nearly 600 shows under their belt since 2006, they have performed in more states (48) and countries (16) than most of us would ever be lucky enough to fly over. But, the fact that they pulled all of this off completely on their own, without any record label support or corporate sponsorship is what really seats them at the head of the indie rock table.
From the momentum built by the Soundgarden-meets-Beatles love-child Rest Easy (2005) and the relentless touring that followed, ZELAZOWA has churned out three more EPs/full length albums, each seemingly topping the previous with more volume, more melody, and more ambitious production quality. In 2006, ZELAZOWA released Polymorph, a 4 song EP recorded with Grammy-winning producer, John Seymour. Following 2 solid years of touring, ZELAZOWA then holed up in Nashville for a month and unleashed Elephants on a Mousehunt in January of 2009. By 2011 Elephants was still getting attention and regular airplay, and even caught the eye—er, ears--—of Sports Illustrated. ZELAZOWA was featured in the 2011 Swimsuit Issue and "You Say Love" found it's way onto the official teaser video for the magazine release, as well as the 2011 Alyssa Miller Intimate Video on Sportsillustrated.com.
By the release of Elephants on a Mousehunt, the band had toured through most US markets numerous times, to say nothing of their European ventures. They were familiar with what areas worked best for them as a band and decided that 300 days a year on tour was not as effective as planning shorter jaunts through proven markets, focusing more time and money on PR in those locales. This has allowed the band to spend time working on other industry related endeavors while still playing and recording new material.
In October 2008, after almost 3 years of booking their own tours as well as those of other independent bands, the members of ZELAZOWA launched Indieonthemove.com, a 100% FREE music venue database and tour booking resource. In a nutshell, the site enables other artists to independently book their own tours just like ZELAZOWA did, and still does.
By the end of 2010 and into the spring of 2011, ZELAZOWA retreated even further from the touring world, stepping out of the Econoline, away from their computer screens, and instead holing up in the studio and rehearsal space. While Polymorph and Elephants were primarily written amidst frantic, seemingly endless tours, their new effort would be a much more focused endeavor. This time they stayed close to home, recording the album in the Philadelphia area with renowned producer and local musician, Steven LaFashia (Jealousy Curve). The result is Love is Lunacy (April 2011), ZELAZOWA's third full length album, and the deepest by far in terms of songwriting scope and execution. Less of a romp and more of a journey, Love is Lunacy stands as a high water mark for a band long known for being as quality obsessed as they are creative. While still patently a ZELAZOWA product, Lunacy is a display of what makes the best bands great; the ability to evolve without losing their musical identity.
