Zhopa Mira
Youngstown, Ohio, United States
Music
Press
By John Benson
entertainment@vindy.com
After spending the past decade in the death-metal scene with local band Harlequins Voice, guitarist Michael Andrecic was ready for a change. When that outfit disbanded in 2007 after a tumultuous run that ended during a national tour with a band member quitting, the 2003 Ursuline High School graduate took a step back to re-evaluate his musical goals.
This eventually led to the formation of Zhopa Mira — Andrecic, J.T. Whitfield (bass), Nick Kovalscik (drums) and Boo Porcase (vocals) — which is decidedly not death metal.
“I’ve played in hard-core acts for years, but I always wanted to play with someone who could actually sing with some kind of soul,” said Andrecic, who is also dating Porcase.
“As soon as I heard [Boo], it kind of came together. Her style is very unique. She uses older influences like Ella Fitzgerald.”
Andrecic boasts that the band has a lounge-y, psychedelic-punk sound that fans finally will be able to hear in recorded form with the quartet’s debut effort, the EP “Truculent Ways.”
Among the new tracks the outfit will be playing live at its CD release show Saturday at the Lemon Grove are the high- energy “Jail Bait” and the post-punk “Beastly Savagely.”
The nine-song effort was recorded at Ampreon Recorder in Youngstown.
“The cool thing of working at Ampreon Recorder is it’s right down the street from me downtown,” Andrecic said.
“I already started working on another one down there. I guess it’s just to keep putting music out in the short attention span of today.”
Going for something different appears to be the idea behind Zhopa Mira.
Invariably, a punk/lounge sound must stand out in the Northeast Ohio music scene?
“Oh yeah, I feel like we’re surrounded by a lot of radio rock, and we’re definitely a little off compared to what’s going on around here,” Andrecic said. “I’d say we definitely don’t fit in too many places. For me, coming from the hard-core heavy-metal crowd, it’s been difficult finding shows or a scene where we actually fit in. This is more artsy, I guess, but it’s good. I think people appreciate it.”
Andrecic is confident Zhopa Mira, which played roughly 20 shows over the past year, is about to make a leap from local band to regional touring act.
“I’ve been doing it DIY my whole life,” Andrecic said. “Considering we have a touring van and the studio being so close, we can make this work without bankrupting us, which I think is a smart thing these days. Up until now, this has been a period of learning for the group. Our singer isn’t a veteran of the local scene. This is her first band, so it was like getting our skills together, and the last couple of weeks I’ve been booking some out-of-town dates. I really think we’re ready to go be a weekend-warrior kind of thing.” - The Vindicator
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Michael Andrecic believes he is unleashing his inner pop beast with his new band Zhopa Mira.
The former guitar player with such technical hardcore acts as Harlequin's Voice, The Pleb and Black Black said, ''Zhopa Mira started out as a 'Nirvana' moment where I wanted to write simple, well-focused songs. I wanted to get away from jumping all over the stage and being all musically technical. I am not afraid to play catchy music anymore. Even while I was playing in hardcore bands, I was always the pop-minded band member.''
Zhopa Mira - Christina "Boo" Porcase, vocals; Andrecic, guitar; J.T. Whitfield, bass; and Nick Kovalscik, drums -
The band's CD, ''Truculent Ways,'' is slated for release in February and was recorded at Youngstown Ampreon Recorder with producer Pete Drivere.
''Pete always encouraged me to play more pop music," Andrecic said. ''He is an amazing producer. He is like Youngstown's answer to Rick Rubin, as he has worked with so many bands. He lives down the block from me, which gives us the luxury to constantly record. I want to go at a very 'Beatles-pace,' constantly releasing new material."
Recording ''Truculent Ways'' was a ''music-growing experience'' for Andrecic that inspired him to progress musically and not to be afraid of change. Andrecic said that some of Zhopa Mira's songs originally were written for his former hardcore outfit, Black Black.
The band's most popular track, ''Beastly Savagely,'' is receiving airplay on WNCD-FM's ''Homegrown Show,'' which airs at 9 p.m. Sunday.
''The song 'Beastly Savagely' is the newest song that we wrote. It represents the direction we want to go in, which is a more Joy Division-eque post-punk route." Andrecic said.
For Andrecic, the rollercoaster ride of making music is not about the excesses of money, but the labor and love of inspiring the masses with a heavy visceral indie attitude.
''I stay pretty hip with what is going on, but I have a punk ethic coming out of the hardcore scene, where I always wanted to be more honest through my music.''
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