The Zach Fischer Band

UNDER THE BIG TENT WITH ZACH FISCHER
By Chris Bender

"I think the first thing people think when the four of us walk onstage, is 'What the hell is this going to sound like?' " Zach Fischer admits that his band is tough to size up at first glance. In person, they are four people with four very distinct styles and musical tastes. "This band definitely doesn't have a 'look'. Except that we look like we might be four people from four different bands. And our name certainly doesn't tell you anything about what you're going to hear." In fact, the name came about as a result of the group being unable, (or more like unwilling) to pick a name that represented all four members and their sound. "I was playing regular shows as a solo act when we formed the band. We got a set together in about three weeks and decided that we were ready for an audience. But the band name was always one of those issues that someone would bring up and the rest of us would groan and say 'later!' We had this very Zen attitude, like we shouldn't think about it; the perfect band name will come to us when it's time. On the night before our first gig, the booker called me to ask me what my new band was called. I think I sat in silence on the other end of the line for a couple seconds before admitting that we hadn't quite figured that one out. So when we walked up to the club the next night, she had just added "Band" after my name on the sign out front. We looked at each other and said, 'That settles it. We've been officially named'. "

It turns out that being difficult to pin down has served the Zach Fischer Band well. On the strength of their debut, 2005's ON BORROWED TIME, they quickly built a loyal and diverse following in the New York's City's Greenwich Village and Lower East Side rock clubs. Zach sums it up saying, "We get the jazz and blues fans in for LaFrae and Alex, the emo and glam kids come to see Eric and I get the college rock vote. It's nice to play for audiences made up of people who normally wouldn't hang out together. We're just a 'big tent' band. "

As internet and college radio play quickly broadened the ZFB's fanbase, they began taking their show on the road. After a summer of shows across the Northeast sharing bills with everyone from jam bands to emo acts, the band went to work at Brooklyn's Hotbed Studios with producer Terence Dover (Avril Lavigne, Wakefield). The result is the lean, self-titled EP that is big on arena-ready hooks, insistent grooves and heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics. From the sound of it, it's about to get a lot more crowded under the Zach Fischer Band's big tent.