The December Sound
The
December Sound
By
Karen Sng
Contributing Writer
Music is continually changing and evolving making it harder and harder to group bands into specific genres. This is no exception for Boston band The December Sound. Though categorized as a psychedelic band on myspace, their music encompasses much more. According to lead singer and founder Zack Sarzana, "psychedelic is a word of convenience" and believes their sound is better described as "an explosive/hollow reverberation. The kind you hear in the middle of the winter when someone fires a gun in the middle of nowhere." The band has been around for several years and has experienced several line-up changes. The current members are Zack Sarzana (guitar/vocals), Drew Richards (drums), Jimmy Rossi (keyboard/guitar), and Cat Crowley (bass). Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarzana about himself and the band's current plans.
Sarzana knew early on that he wanted a career in music. His parents exposed him to legendary groups such as The Beetles, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones. At the age of ten, he began playing the drums but had always been interested in playing various instruments and mixing. Eventually one thing led to another and he decided to form his own band, The December Sound. Sarzana and Richards had been friends previously and are the only two original members. Feeling that their sound was a bit lacking, the band placed an ad on craigslist. After a brief jam session, they knew they had a perfect match with Rossi. Crowley is the most recent addition, and was suggested by her friend Rossi after the previous bassist decided to pursue other interests.
While the band is based in Boston, Sarzana himself lives in New York. It is not a huge inconvenience as they have their own studio in which to record in and are currently working on the debut full length album which should come out in summer of 2006. Even though The December Sound has only released a handful of EP's, their fan base is continuously growing. This is largely due to music internet sites such as myspace which has helped make their name known worldwide. They are currently on several collections including Dead Bee Sampler (France) and All in the Mind (UK). Locally, they are working with Sonic Boom, a friend of The December Sound, who plays in Spacemen 3, and coincidentally, Spacemen 3 is one of the band's influences. Other influences include Syd Barrett, Velvet Underground, Les Razilles Denudes, and Charles Bukowski.
The
December Sound's songs mostly talk about "…a way to deal with the
double edge sword of pain and pleasure," but some have to do with "…other
people learning lessons as well us teaching them or discovering," such
as their song "Kill Me." Sarzana stated that "Nothing is better
than being a student," and that people need to take the time to listen
more because "Everything is so visual it's almost vulgar." As far
as The December Sound goes, however, there is definitely nothing vulgar about
them. With their unique style and sound, one can only wait with anticipation
for their new CD. Meanwhile, they can be seen live in New York City on March
22 at the Lit Lounge and tentatively in Boston at Bill's Bar on March 31.
