Hey Kids, it’s been a while since the band has played live. You may be aware they are recording their new effort, which is occupying a lot of their time. Well I promise as ZB moderator and site manager that you needn’t wait much longer for the new record. All the tracks are done, tracking is complete! So now they’re in the middle of the laborious on the ears mixing end. This is what i have been told and I’m holding it to the group! And you needn’t wait long to see them live bc this Saturday, 3/10 at DeCicco’s in Raritan, NJ, they will be playing live for you. Also appearing is Jenny and the Felines and Down with the Wizard.

Engineer Tony Kroposky

Taking some time off from his mad schedule of recording and playing, Zigman Bird’s recording engineer Tony Kroposky sat down for a one on one interview.

Do you have any previous experience in the recording field?

TK: I first started dabbling with recording around 1990 on a Fostex 4-track tape recorder. I had a great time with that, and eventually went on to study Audio Recording at William Paterson College. This was before digital, so we did everything with real outboard gear on 2in tape. After I got my degree I spent a lot of time on the other side of the board playing music and recording albums with various bands such as The Number Theory, Buddha Tribe, Little Dipper, and A Halo Called Fred. During this time, digital recording came to the forefront in a big way. I was lucky enough to record with a variety of good engineers, especially Plinky Giglio and he was very proficient in Pro-Tools and I learned a lot just by watching him do his thing. He was also very good about answering my questions. I owe a lot to Pink in that regard. The years that I spent recording with him were like being in a Digital Recording curriculum all over again!

While all that was going on I was collecting gear such as microphones and various 6 & 8-track recorders in order to cut my own demo’s at home, with the ultimate goal of having my own studio. After trying out some more recorders and some computer-based setups, and after my experienced recording in Pro-Tool, I finally chose a Mac Pro/Logic Pro setup with a 16-Channel Mackie board. I’ve been working with that setup for about the last 4 years, and so far I’m very happy!

Tell us about the transition from home-recording to running a professional studio. How has your operation grown and changed since then?

TK: Well, since the early days of the ZB Covers EP, one thing that I quickly learned about running a studio is that you need a lot of equipment. Not only do you need enough mics/cables/stands/etc. to record basic tracks for a full band, you need to have 2 back-ups of everything. I’d hate to be put in the situation where something fails, or some special circumstance comes up during a session and it’s my fault that we can’t continue. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to account for and prepare for as many contingencies as possible.

There are also things like computer back-ups that need to be done on a regular basis. In the last 16 months that we’ve been at Duck Island I’ve amassed about 300GB of projects which leads to my nightmare scenario…that I somehow lose a clients work. So I make sure that I’ve got multiple synchronized backups in different locations, as well as using an online backup.

Nothing, however, prepares you for dealing with clients with whom you don’t already have some kind of relationship. It was a little intimidating at first to deal with someone who was essentially a stranger to me, but over time that gets much easier. I just try to be as professional as possible, and so far there haven’t been any issues.

Luckily I have a great business partner, Kevin Swider, and he is able to take care of things like paying our bills, coordinating the rehearsal part of our business, and going out and finding new clients. Running a studio is like any business – it’s a lot of work!

Tell us about the location of Duck Island? I hear its got something to do with oil.

TK: Duck Island Music Company is located on Duck Island in Trenton NJ in the Duck Island Terminal. Our landlords who we share the building with run an oil distribution company out of this location. The terminal is active 24×7 – trucks come in to fill up with home heating oil, gas, and diesel fuel to distribute all over the area. It seemed kind of strange at first, but it’s really an ideal location. There is nothing residential literally for miles in any direction so there are no restrictions on noise. We can make as much noise as we want, any time we want, for as long as we want. Because of the oil business there is also an automated security gate and surveillance cameras. That’s nice not only for our equipment, but also people can be confident that they can be here late and not have to worry about their personal security either.

You’re also a bass player. Can you tell us about that and what bands you were and are in currently in?

TK: As I mentioned before after college I started playing a lot of music. I’ve played with area bands like The Number Theory, Akasa, Buddha Tribe, A Halo Called Fred, Little Dipper, Rain Station, Spyke, and more recently Bonk, and Down With The Wizard. I’m in the process of recording an album with Down With The Wizard, and I’ve recorded 14 songs for Little Dipper. Dipper has sent the tracks we’ve cut out to Charlie Park at Suburban Soul studios in Torrence CA for mixing. We worked with Charlie on our last record when he was in Highland Park, NJ. We really like the work that he did for us and we wanted there to be a continuity between our last record and this one so we’ve been sending songs out to Charlie one at a time. So far hes doing great things and my only regret is that I can’t sit with him and see how he’s doing it ñ who knows I might be able to learn from him if I was a fly on the wall!

What makes a good recording to you? Any things you place a focus on?

TK: Well, if you don’t have great sounding drums, you’re not going to have a great sounding recording. I make sure I spend the time necessary to get the drums properly tuned, muffled and mic’d. If someone comes in with drums that are just not cutting it, we have a selection of shells, snares and cymbals that people could use . Duck Island’s drum room has a nice live sound, which makes my job just a little bit easier. Of course, the bottom line is that everything has to sound great and there really isn’t any room for mediocre sounds on one of my records. Also, and I tell this to every new band I work with, I firmly believe the single thing that most greatly impacts the quality of a finished recording is how well prepared a band is when then come into the studio. If the songs are well written, well rehearsed, played on instruments that are properly set-up, and played through amps that maintained properly you’re going to have a much better finished product. Although there is a whole lot that can be done to fix bad sounding instruments or poor performances, that takes studio time and there is no guarantee that it’ll be as good as it could have been with the right preparation and execution. If a band does their homework, they’ll be much happier not only because the end result will sound better, but also because they saved time and money by being prepared.î

What’s it like working with bands in this capacity? It must be an interesting perspective.

TK: People are kind of strange, but I’m finding that my customers are a kind of a self-selected group. I don’t generally see the people who canít keep a band together, or who can’t stay IN a band for any length of time. They never make it this far. The people I do get to work with tend to be a pretty serious, focused group of people with some kind of vision of what they want their end product to be. It is interesting in that I’m seeing these very familiar band dynamics play out right in front of me, yet I’m not a part of that. I’m just the impartial 3rd party observer trying to be as unobtrusive as possible most of the time, while still trying to keep everyone focused so that we’re still productive. Of course we’re all adults here so people can bring beer or other drinks in with them, but I really try to discourage excessive partying while we’re trying to work. So far we haven’t had any problems but I like to set the tone early that we’re here to work.

Q: What are some acts have you recorded?

TK: I work with all kinds of acts from the area ñ lots of rock and metal as well as hip-hop. Samples of some of the stuff weíve done are available on our website at www.duckislandmusic.com.

What’s it like working with Zigman Bird, honestly?

TK: Zigman Bird is a very easy band to work with. We have a clear goal and Keith makes a great producer as well as being a great songwriter. We’re working the way we’re supposed to work and we’re taking the time to make sure that everything is done right. The other members of the band are able to come in and do what they need to do with minimal fuss, and we’re making fantastic progress on the recordings. I think by the time we get done, we’re going to have some of the best sounding stuff to come out of Duck Island yet. ì

Where do you go from here? What’s next for Duck Island?

TK: Well, we’d like to continue to grow. We’ve already sectioned off the space into two rooms so we can run 2 rehearsals at the same time, just to keep up with the demand. We’re booking recordings at least a week to 10 days in advance now, and demand only seems to be growing. Long-term, we’re hoping to possibly expand within the Duck Island terminal or to eventually find a bigger space were we can run several rehearsals at once as well as do recording and have a live music venue all under one roof. In the short term the only thing I’m really focused on is making the best sounding recordings that I can. I love to engineer and love so see bands realize their vision and walk away with something that they can be proud of and show off to people. Ultimately the recordings that come out of here are my professional reputation, my resume, and I want to make sure that whatever comes out of here is the best that it can be.

A while back Zigman completed their Covers ep. It was a bunch of tracks the band likes to do at live shows and whenever. We posted a snippet about it and put one of the songs up here at the site. Well we’re putting another cut off the ep, this time from Aerosmith from back in the heyday, back in the saddle. Check out their version of Toys in the Attic below:

Toys in the Attic

We had a chance to sit down with Zigman Bird’s lead singer/songwriter Keith Beck recently for a one on one interview. The interview took place at a studio in Trenton, NJ, where the new record is being recorded.

Is there any hope for rock n’ roll?

KB: Well, there will always be people who will pick up an instrument and blow their load for the sake of Rock and Roll. Commercially I don’t see much happening as a R&R movement. There are great new bands all over the world. New bands doing it because it feels good and it’s fun. Unfortunately it seems like TV, MTV, American Idol etc. want to see/hear robots who are flawless. That’s just complete bullshit and it’s being fed to the masses as bullshit and now people are beginning to believe the bullshit. Rock and Roll will ALWAYS be here slithering under the concrete poking it’s head up every now and then to bite people on the ass.

What sort of things have you been listening to?

KB: I’m a complete throwback so I tend to mostly listen to things from the 60′s to the late 70′s. I do catch great new “underground” stuff from college radio every so often. I can also listen to noise from time to time if I’m in the mood- you know, “noise” that is MEANT to be listened too. I hate Opera music though. Did my time with a Rock/Opera band and I feel it tries to be too perfect. Vocally anyway.  When I hear an opera come on the radio it always seems like the singer is trying TOO HARD to hit the correct note. No soul or life. Just the correct note. Yes, even Pavarotti!

What’s cool about your music? How do you describe yourselves musically?

KB: I’ll let other people decide what’s cool about my music. Zigman Bird as a whole is about playing loud melodic in your face music. But again, someone may see it differently.

What do you like to do when not doing music?

KB: I can be a complete recluse and do nothing. Sometimes that suits me well. I also enjoy going out to eat. I’m surprised I’m not 300lbs by now. I’m only 165lbs. Not too bad for a guy who is 112 years old!

What’s the last show you went and saw? Do you like to check out local bands?

KB: The last few bands I saw were Motorhead, Iggy Pop… I can’t remember who else. Again, I’m much of a recluse so I don’t go to too many shows. Mostly because I hate crowds – unless I’m the one stage then I’m ok with it all. At the last Motorhead show (I saw them 3 times) I wasn’t having the best time. I was 4 (standing) rows from the stage and then all of a sudden 300 assholes started pushing and moshing and being complete jerk offs so I said “Fuck this” and went to the back. I wanted to hit those fucking idiots with a bat!

What about the ol’ what are your influences question?

KB: Far too many to list. I like stuff from Dean Martin to Lou Reed to ‘one hit wonders”.. The Beatles, Regina Spektor, The Strokes, MGMT are on my list too.

How do you feel the new recording is going? I hear its called Duck Island(?)?

KB: Is that what you heard?? Yeah. We’re calling it Duck Island.
That’s where the studio is. It’s a truck(?) oil rigg(?) compound and our friend Tiny has a studio tucked away inside the terminal. Seemed appropriate that he named the studio “Duck Island” so why not do the same w/ the new CD?

Hey ZB fans! As the seemingly never ending process of recording is ongoing we thought we’d show some recent pics of the Bird boys down at the studio. Truth is, the recording is progressing at a steady clip. It’s just cut up among many sessions on various weekends and whenever they get a chance to do a week day night…not easy! Having heard the clips personally of the new Zigman Bird album I can say it is sounding fantastic!

More images…

Sat, April 16, in Trenton N.J. Zigman Bird’s Keith Beck and David Devine played a set at Cafe Ole’. It was a new place for the band and might have been the first time for live music at the Cafe. The owner was great and the cafe is a cozy little place, perfect for lighter sets from the plugged in bands. The gig was part of the 609 Vibe organization, whose mission is to clean up Trenton and have it reach its true potential as a growing viable city. One of the ways 609 Vibe does is this is through music and the arts. I can tell you there’s some nice new things happening in Trenton and it does have a lot of potential. Find out more on their Vibin Trentopia Facebook page. Gerry Perlinski opened the bill of music and Trio of Madness followed. Trio played a reliably great set of their otherworldly tunes. Liz, the bassist, even brought out the violin for the last number, a wonderful mesmerizing drone.

Last, two of the Bird boys came out, 1/2 of Zigman Bird. Keith donned the acoustic, David, the electric.

Keith said it was probably the first live appearance by the two. It’s always fun to hear bands change it up from their usual sound and by sheer virtue of being down two members it was bound to be a different sound. They made the most of it bc it was a gritty raw energetic set. Keith was boogie-ing and wailing, David was scraping and slashing and hollorin’! What is this, a horror show!!? No, just 1/2 of Zigman Bird on six cups of coffee making some noise.

1. Hide it So Well
2. Suzanne’s Alright
3. Civilian
4. Queen of Distraction
5. Elephant of Life
6. Veronica’s Dead
7. Eyelids
8. 3,000 Miles
9. New Stuff

Zigman Bird had a chance to check out the legendary Motorhead this past week at the Starland in Sayreville. Needless to say it was an amazing show!

Lemmy came out all decked out in black of course, the cowboy hat, the custom to his his precise specs cavalry boots. That’s true btw, I saw it on “Lemmy”, the new docu-flick. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, definitely do so. This show came right on the heels of that movie which was great. Good job record company. I believe it’s the first show on this latest tour in support of their new album, “The World is Your’s”. One of their t-shirts had the words “Everything Louder Than Everything Else” scrawled on the back. And true to their reputation it was that loud. Fantastic!

The material is culled from all different sources, toys in the attic. Some tunes are originally penned and revisited by Keith Beck with the band and some are completely new. At this point the boys are laying down the glitter, the stuff on top. You don’t have to wait much longer people! Stay tuned because the band wants to get out and support the record live. We’ll be sure to get you the dates and details.

The regular boys are ready! New tunes have been crafted. The stage will be set at the new Fish on Fire Studios in Trenton, NJ on Nov. 5. There’ll be about seven tunes on this new one. They’re quite a different mix of stuff the band culled together for this new record.

Working again with Engineer Tony Kroposky, ZB is comfortable with what Fish on Fire has going for itself. Nice new digs, we hear, at their new location in Trenton. And if you’ve had a chance to grab a copy of the ZB covers ep you know it will sound great! Of course, we’ll keep you posted on the status of the recording here at ZB Magazine.

Hey kids, we’re pretty pumped here at ZB Magazine!! Zigman Bird have recorded a few cover tunes to toss out at their gigs!! ZB play their personal classic rock favorites. Aerosmith, STP, Bowie…Come see them live and get this CD. Recorded at Fish on Fire Studios by Tony Kroposky it contains 5 songs that Zigman do currently in their live sets. Here is a taste off the ep.

Hang On to Yourself