Zepher is a four piece blues based rock band situated in the UK. Formed in 2013, Zepher consists of Welsh brothers Louis (lead vocals) and Tobias Ellis (drums), bassist Tim Purser and lead guitarist Shannon Edwards.“The original material from this band is excellent, all riff-based Rock ‘n’ Roll, complete with soaring melodies and hip-swinging grooves”. New Beats Media
I had a chance meeting with Louis, the bands vocalist in Bristol where he was working behind a bar. You never know who your barman really is, until you meet them sober over coffee. Right? The following is an informal interview with Louis about his band Zepher.
By Yiota Demetriou
(Email: yiota.a.demetriou@gmail.com & yiota.demetriou@bristol.ac.uk)
So tell us a bit about your background?
I studied music at college and uni, dropped out…wasn’t for me. I’ve always been in bands…this one is my brother (Toby) and I. We are the static members in Zepher and we have two new guys that have been with us for about a year and a half.
You said you always played in bands?
Yeah, it took me a while to be confident enough in my abilities to be a singer in a band so I think the first time we put a band together, I was probably about 19 something like that, but I had been in a few bands previous to that but they never really got up and running. My brother and I have always jammed together; from the first moment we started learning to play our instruments.
So tell us a bit about the band?The band…where to start?! So Toby and myself are from Swansea in Wales, the bass player (Tim) is originally from Leamington Spa, the guitarist (Shannon) lives in Weston-Super-Mare so he travels up to Bristol for practise and gigs. We are all in our 20’s and all have very similar but extremely diverse musical influences. It took us a while to find the right people for this band, we auditioned a load of guitarists and quite a few bass players; Tim and Shannon stood out as musicians but most importantly, as personalities. Having had a few different line ups for Zepher I can honestly say that we are all pulling in the right direction now and we all have the right attitude to succeed with this band. This is what we all want to do, we don’t have a plan B or anything like that, music IS our life. We’re all about creating music together and playing live. We all write together and separately for the band and we really love the material we are producing; we are the biggest fans of this band…so far (laughs)
Zepher?
It’s just an interesting name. I remember thinking there aren’t many young bands with the letter ‘Z’ in their name. I found it while flipping through a dictionary; it means gentle breeze, which is quite a contrast to our sound so I thought that was funny.
Do you play any instruments?
I play the harmonica, piano and guitar. We can all take our hands to a lot of different instruments; we all play a bit of piano, guitar, bass and drums. So we are all musicians in that sense, but we all have our specific roles within the band where we excel.
What’s the band’s aesthetic, your music?
What kind of audience are you trying to reach? Whoever we can get! (laughs) No, I suppose we’re after quite a broad spectrum of fans. Obviously it would be incredible to have that generational gap at the shows. The sort of audience that maybe Aerosmith or the Stones possess…but then again they have been around for a long time! (laughs)
And what have you written up to now?
All sort of stuff really. We just get in a room and come up with ideas, and then we decide to either pursue an idea or leave it for another time. We try to make a rough recording of any decent idea so it can be returned to at a later date. But we all listen to a broad spectrum of music, we’re open to everything really, any subject matter, any genre…or things will start to stagnate if you keep writing about the same thingies over and over. We simply write and play music that we like, if we don’t like something we won’t put it out.
When you write is it more of a collaborative process?
It can happen in many different ways. Sometime I’ll come in with completed idea and we will work on that. It might not change at all from the idea I had, but sometimes we completely pull it apart. Lyrically I do all the writing, and the music comes from everyone. However, the other guys in the band who aren’t predominately lyricists have started to feel more confident in bringing lyrics to band. So you’ve got four people there bringing their lives to the table really. But there’s no right or wrong way. They’re just ideas, that’s all it is.
Does it take time?
Yep, it takes a lot of time. You can’t rush it, and I don’t think you can force it. I don’t know how composers write for other people. I find that really weird, to have someone else signing your words. Maybe one day I’ll think differently, but when I’m writing something, I always think about how I’m going to perform it and how an audience will react to it. Creativity has no timeframe; it comes to you from nowhere. Sometimes inspiration can strike at 3 a.m., and you wake up with a line in your head and you have to write it down, because you know there is something about it. It doesn’t matter where or when you get inspired.
Do you have a completed album?
Not yet, we have a couple of EP’s out. And we recently gave a few tracks away as free downloads just to get our music out there. We don’t really mind how people listen to it, whether they buy it on iTunes, listen to it on Spotify or watch the videos on YouTube. As long as they are aware of us and come to our shows, see it live and next time bring their friends along. That’s how it grows organically. We don’t worry too much about making money at the moment; it’s about getting people aware of the band and the music.
How difficult is it to find an agent, is that something you would like?
Yes, absolutely. That is the next step really, for us to be able to get billed at bigger festivals and secure high profile gigs with established acts. It’s quite difficult, but we just haven’t found the right one yet.
Where would you say is the best place you’ve played up to nowBest audience response? We did a show at the Scala, which is a 1,000+ capacity venue in Kings Cross, London. The majority of audience were new to us but it was an amazing gig and great to be on a spacious stage, with an incredibly responsive audience. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
So does the rock n roll lifestyle still come with the territory?
No, not for everyone. We love a cup of tea just as much as a beer (laughs)
So I would like to go back to the beginning, what was your first musical experience that you remember and made you want to get into this fieldProbably going to gigs when I was younger, back home. I just liked everything about that world and wanted to be apart of it. Musically, I suppose the Stones have been one of my favourite bands for a while. I remember listening to ‘Brown Sugar’ and that being a turning point for me. Mick Jagger is such a great frontman, so much energy in his performance even to this day! My brother and I have always been in bands. From a young age we both decided that music was what we wanted to do.
Tell us a bit about your brother?
They don’t want to know about him (laughs) Well he is the drummer, so he hits things. We have always jammed together from an early age. And yes, we do have the occasional argument, but it is always about what would be best for this band, or a song, or a gig.
And what about the other members of the band?
Well Shannon the guitar player, he had lived all over the place. He’s lived in South Africa, New York, he’s been all over the place and he’s only twenty-one. So he has quite a lot of life experience to bring to the table. And then there’s Tim, the bassist. He moved to Bristol for University and he’s in his last year now. We all get on really pretty well, and are all pulling in the same direction with Zepher.
Have you got any more gigs coming up?
There are always shows in the pipeline. We just did a three-day tour; we played London, Sheffield and Gloucester which was really good! Definitely worthwhile..even though there was a lot of driving and I am the only driver. Some shows can be better than others for various reasons, but we see every show as worthwhile because you never know who’s watching. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for gig updates.
What’s your biggest ambition with this project, your plan?
Simply to make a living from making and playing music. We would relish the chance to play in big venues; we believe we are ready for that. Sometime we feel our performance is restricted on the smaller stages. Being an artist, sometimes it’s difficult to show other what you have created, because it’s like exposing a vulnerable part of yourself. Is that something you have come across? I use to feel like that. I found it difficult to play guitar in front of someone, let alone sing! Lyrically, It can be hard if people know the subject matter. You do feel a bit vulnerable, the armour is off and they know it has affected you. But it’s quite a cathartic process and that’s what a writer should be doing. That is the very reason an artist connects with an audience because they can identify with them.
Anything else?
Come to a show, and say hello!
And buy a CD?
Well we give those out for free. How good is that! Free music!..and if you really like us, you can buy a t-shirt on the way out, prices are reasonable (laughs) Thank you Louis for such an interesting conversation. We will be on the look out for your upcoming shows! Maybe we will see you in Cyprus too…
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Check out Zepher on their webpage: http://www.zepher.co/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIR9qfBsLmtyGm1vp25QEg
Like them of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zepher/154911378641?fref=ts
Follow on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/followzepher
Buy their EP ‘Fourplay’: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/fourplay-ep/id849806394
