ZAPPIEN

Want to help a Canadian band make a new video about Jacksonville? It’s as simple as singing into your cell phone.
Zappien is an alternative/experimental rock band from Montreal and its new CD, “Zappien,” includes a tune called “My Love is in Jacksonville.”
Carlos Zappien, singer for the band, wouldn’t say specifically who the song is about — she doesn’t even know — but he would say that it’s about a woman who left him for “a good, upstanding Southern gentleman” and moved to Jacksonville.
He said it was intended as a sad song of lost love, and there is certainly some bitterness reflected in the lyrics — “A new house, renovations and a phony fairy tale will heal your heart, ‘cause it’s fun to flip the switch and swap love in a snap for a new garden project with fresh cash when you dreamed we’d grow old together” — but it evolved into something of a tribute to the city. Zappien said he’s only been to Jacksonville once or twice and never spent any real time here, but the song name-drops the Treaty Oak, the St. Johns River and “Fern and Deenah.”
“It’s hard not to be infatuated with Jacksonville,” he said.
The band plans to produce a video for the song. The original plan was to come to Jacksonville to film it. That plan was scrapped, though, because the band is touring Canada and New England. Instead, Zappien has set up a website, myloveinjacksonville.com, which has a “preproduction” video of the song (also at left). Fans are invited “film yourself (and your friends!) with your phone singing along to the song in different areas of beautiful Jacksonville, Florida and send it to us, we will include it in our final official video!”
Deadline is Thursday, Aug. 15.

Tom Szaroleta

- The Florida Times Union

"A chemical reaction for the senses...we are taken to higher levels of consciousness... a musical utopia of sound...Ramone-ish punk attitude...Bowie fans would be delighted...ska-influenced brass just blows you away...strong vocals...No Doubt was definitely an influence...exhilarating guitar solos...makes you want to take a deep breath and just hit the 'play' button all over again." - GigBand.com

"Well written and performed music from North of the border...exceptional... very multi-dimensional...undeniable Alternative Rock...blend of unearthly guitars, polyrhythmic beats, tasty groove-ridden bass lines and infectious vocal harmonies...amazing solo guitar work and off the hook vocal presence... Undeniably progressive and hard...Go a long way towards proving that good music is still alive and well up North"

Eli Gattis edited by Joshua Beach June 12, 2013 - Indie Artists Alliance

Every once in a while I’ll hear a band that truly defies convention in favor of something which I’ll call ‘art’. Zappien is one of those rare artists that have chosen art over commerce, and with unique results.

Zappien’s trappings might be in a misguided critic lumping them into the ‘indie’ label, a term that has replaced ‘alternative’ several years ago as a non-traditional type of rock music. But Zappien’s self titled album is not only non-traditional, it’s also hard to define as a whole. You can hear influences from Zappa to the latest indie boy sensations. It’s a collage of rock, punk, jazz, funk and Mr. Bungle weirdness. The musicianship is top notch, jumping from genre to genre without missing a step. In fact, part of the fun of this band is wondering where they’re going next.

However, underneath the fidgety layers there are actual melodies and songs that keep them from becoming another self indulgent group of arrogant and self important artists.

It’s hard to pinpoint any particular song as a ‘single’ as the whole of this album is more the sum of its parts, the songs flow into one another and I’ve read that this could be construed as part of a concept in which each song becomes part of a larger song, something few artists can pull off even on a good day. Maybe this is Zappien’s version of “The Wall” or Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”. Alot of thought and conceptualizing has gone into this record and with ringleader Carlos Zappien’s background in science and technology, there’s a chemistry within the songs and musicianship that feel like a mathrock experiment mixed with a heavy dose of the 70's theatrics. In the wrong hands, this could be disastrous! BUT, thankfully Zappien and friends carefully constructed this wonderfully chaotic and mesmerizing album with precision and strong dynamics, with fully realized vocal harmonies, horns, ripping guitars, bass and drums.

It reminds me of what I loved about college radio, the experimentation and ‘anything goes’ attitude, leaving no stone unturned.

http://www.zappien.com

By: Anon June 7/2013 - Skope Magazine

Every once in a while I’ll hear a band that truly defies convention in favor of something which I’ll call ‘art’. Zappien is one of those rare artists that have chosen art over commerce, and with unique results.

Zappien’s trappings might be in a misguided critic lumping them into the ‘indie’ label, a term that has replaced ‘alternative’ several years ago as a non-traditional type of rock music. But Zappien’s self titled album is not only non-traditional, it’s also hard to define as a whole. You can hear influences from Zappa to the latest indie boy sensations. It’s a collage of rock, punk, jazz, funk and Mr. Bungle weirdness. The musicianship is top notch, jumping from genre to genre without missing a step. In fact, part of the fun of this band is wondering where they’re going next.

However, underneath the fidgety layers there are actual melodies and songs that keep them from becoming another self indulgent group of arrogant and self important artists.

It’s hard to pinpoint any particular song as a ‘single’ as the whole of this album is more the sum of its parts, the songs flow into one another and I’ve read that this could be construed as part of a concept in which each song becomes part of a larger song, something few artists can pull off even on a good day. Maybe this is Zappien’s version of “The Wall” or Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”. Alot of thought and conceptualizing has gone into this record and with ringleader Carlos Zappien’s background in science and technology, there’s a chemistry within the songs and musicianship that feel like a mathrock experiment mixed with a heavy dose of the 70's theatrics. In the wrong hands, this could be disastrous! BUT, thankfully Zappien and friends carefully constructed this wonderfully chaotic and mesmerizing album with precision and strong dynamics, with fully realized vocal harmonies, horns, ripping guitars, bass and drums.

It reminds me of what I loved about college radio, the experimentation and ‘anything goes’ attitude, leaving no stone unturned.

http://www.zappien.com

By: Anon June 7/2013 - Skope Magazine

Zappien
The debut album was made in Montreal comes wrapped in trippy purple-rich cover art and houses a stack of prog-rock tunes with everything from dub cuts to bold horns and sultry jazz sprouting from each song. The self-titled release was mastered at Abbey Roads by Geoff Pesche and includes a roster of must hear songs that include"If You Can Find Me", "Lemon Drops" and the amusing southern rock/rap track "My Love

Is In Jacksonville". You'll get a whole lot of variety on this genre-stretching release and that, as Martha liked to say, "is a good thing".

Kathryn Kyte
- New Canadian Music