Tag Archives: rock

Transcending Politics: Interview With Magna Zero And Exclusive Premiere

Lifelong friendships, a longing to inspire a kind of oneness among all creatures and some good ‘ol basement jamming is some of what makes up Magna Zero. Three friends who, after some time apart, got back together to once again make music.

This time their jamming together has resulted in a debut album as Magna Zero. It means The Great Nothing, and it is also the title of the album. The band explained to me, that what they experience when they play together is ” a melting away of the ego into a state of oneness with all things in the universe”, hence the Latin derived name and album title.

Through groovy bass lines, some epic guitar solos and lyrics that convey the strange experience of living in today’s turbulent world, Magna Zero tries to unite the people of the world through themes of mortality, grief, purpose, selflessness, connection, and compassion.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the band briefly about their music and specifically about the single, Endure, which Shouts is thrilled to premiere for you all.

Exclusive Premiere: Endure by Magna Zero


Halldór: First of all, for those not familiar with Magna Zero, who are you and what’s the story behind its creation?

Chris: Magna Zero is simply 3 long-time friends getting together to jam. For me it’s a reprieve. No egos. Just getting to play my guitar freely and exploring new sounds. 

Jason: We decided to form this band shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown first started, and then the studio where we rehearse in Los Angeles basically became a ghost town. We were able to continue playing there, so we found ourselves in this incredibly unique situation where we had this amazing, creative space pretty much to ourselves for about a year. And that particular year happened to be one of the most monumental spaces of time in recent human history, a time of collective introspection through the quarantine we all found ourselves in, and also a time that served as a catalyst for social change. Both of these aspects fueled our band’s creative process, and we just exploded with new music every time we got together, which was quite often. Playing music together was really the only in-person interaction we had with other people besides our time with our families, so the studio was a gift not only for our artistic expression, but also for our psyches.  

Dave: We’re a true collaborative based on the bonds of brotherhood and the bonds of the known and unknown universe. The music is inspired by that core. From this the music shapes itself into what it has become—songs that speak to the soul of our Moral Universe.

Halldór: You are about to release your debut album. Can you tell us a bit about the creative process behind this album, and specifically the song Endure?

Chris: Most of the tracks came out of free jams. We were smart enough to record most of the jams on Dave’s cell phone. I think we got close to 100 of these live jams before we then took turns picking out a favorite track to turn into a song. I believe Endure started with a baseline from Jason. I just tried to play around with it and add some color. I wanted to be as spare as possible to let the bass and drums groove. There’s this tension with trying to hold on to the sparseness until it kind of explodes in the guitar solo.

Dave: The album spans from death giving birth to life. Giving up oneself to find the ‘self’. Death is the center of life. Black holes give life to all galaxies known. It’s an entire journey of ultimate, unashamed, bare- bones nothingness equivocating to everything living in the entire Universe. The ultimate album of self-preservation and self-love. 

Jason: What Dave’s describing reminds me of the age-old saying, “Die before you die, so that you can truly live”. Our album is titled, The Great Nothing. The phrase is literally our band name translated from Latin into English. It’s the closest expression in words for what we experience when we play music together, a melting away of the ego into a state of oneness with all things in the universe. The path to this for the band is to become nothing, and paradoxically, experience a sense of unity with everything. The song Endure is a message of love prevailing over strife. Even when we experience the darkest moments imaginable, it is love that ultimately lifts us back to our natural state of harmony with each other and with the earth. Since the pandemic, we’ve been seeing a shift in consciousness that is heart-based and that is bringing people together on a scale that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Now more than ever before, strangers from the other side of the world are supporting each other and standing together for compassion, kindness, and justice. Throughout the massive challenges we’re seeing and experiencing in modern times, it’s love that brings us together for positive change forward into a future of hope.

Halldór: Do you all have a background in writing political music? Do you consider your music political or rather more spiritual?

Chris: I’m not a fan of politics, as I feel it creates unnecessary division. I don’t want to be a ‘political’ band. As cheesy or cliché as it is, I feel like we need to focus more on peace and love. And I hope our music conveys that.

Jason: I’d describe playing music together as a spiritual experience shared between us and with our audience. For me, this transcends politics. It’s like a glimpse into something much bigger than any single one of us, while connecting us all. Music is a peak experience. Like painting, mountain climbing, meditating, or a thousand other things, it brings us closer to something deeper yet familiar, as the material world falls away and we feel at one with each other and the universe. When we are playing music together, the space between all things and the time that separates them collapses, and we are completely present to the ever flowing moment of the now. Echoing what Dave said earlier, it’s as if we are tapping into something void of form, a Great Nothing that connects us back to everything, much like a singularity links the nothingness of a black hole to the creation of something words simply cannot express.  

Dave: Our music is the continuous evolution of earth and all that inhabits it, to lose themselves in order to find themselves, to become the NOTHING that shapes this planet into something positive.

Halldór: What do you hope to achieve with your music?

Dave: I hope to inspire all things, for people to hear the sound we make to be inspired, to be moved, to be changed, to be humbled, as this is what the music does to me and my rough edges.

Jason: As word spreads about our songs and visuals, we feel a tremendous sense of fulfillment because we believe that the work we do adds to the momentum of positivity, peace, and love in the world today. 

Halldór: Do you feel resistance or lack of interest from people when they understand your lyrics or that you make critical music? Do you feel like a lot of artists specifically use their music for change or to send out positive, constructive messages?

Jason: Our music resonates with people who share in the values of kindness, compassion, and unity. There are so many great bands and artists out there doing similar work. While some of them are household names, many are independent, lesser-known folks who are incredibly talented. It’s inspiring to hear music that not only moves you, but also is a catalyst for positive change in the world. As a musical artist, why wouldn’t you want to do that?

Magna Zero (L-R) David, Jason, Chris

Halldór: Life in your country, the US, does seem turbulent, as in most places. What are some of the things that affect you or drive you to pen down some lyrics or come up with a tune?

Jason: When we look at what’s happening in the world today, all the cruelty and suffering we’re inflicting on each other and all of the damage we’re doing to our planet, it’s easy to get down and feel like the problems we face are insurmountable, like nothing we do in our individual lives really makes a difference. But it does. What we’re seeing in our local community is an overwhelming response to call out and end bigotry and hatred. There’s a rallying cry against the destruction of our planet, and a willingness on the part of the individual to take personal responsibility for the actions made in daily life. It’s a choice to live with optimism, hope, and positivity towards ourselves and others. Creating this music with Dave and Chris helps anchor me in staying true to that choice.

Chris: If anything, I hope The Great Nothing shows that life is good.

Halldór: Can you recommend other likeminded bands or musicians from your scene or any artists that inspire you?

Jason: My short list these days includes Bob Marley, Rage Against The Machine, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, and Black Sabbath…these artists move me with their groove and especially with their lyrics.

Chris: Influences are tricky. There’s just too many. Bands that just make me feel good when I listen to them and especially see them live. Guitarists that play with soul and express themselves through their playing.

Dave: I’m inspired by so many, where to start? The pages continue to be written on my inspiration…from my childhood: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Zeppelin, The Eagles. My teenage years: Metallica, Sabbath, Rush!!, Iron Maiden, The Police, Boston, Dr. Know, Subhumans, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Excel, D.R.I. My 20’s: Alice In Chains, NIN, Soundgarden, Fugazi, Radiohead, Ani DiFranco, Elliot Smith, Gang Starr, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, WuTang, Beck. Now: Jungle, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, My Morning Jacket, Father John Misty, Angel Obel.

Halldór: Outside of the music, do you partake in any projects or activism of any kind? Anything you’d like to share with the Shouts audience?

Jason: I’d like to share that as a public schoolteacher, I’m inspired by the thousands of kids I’ve worked with over the years, who despite differences in color, creed, gender identity, or politics, choose to accept each other for who they are and be friends. From my experience, I have a strong sense that our young brothers and sisters growing up today have a sense of moral responsibility to ensure there is a planet for their grandchildren to live in. Every day I see reminders from our youth of the goodness that is within the human spirit. Based on what I’m seeing in kids today, I believe we have strong reason to be hopeful that together, people from all over the world can continue to partner for a better future. 


A Protest Music Interview: The Sprawl

Kurt Vonnegut once said: “If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business. What people like about me is Indianapolis.” Something about the city of Indianapolis was woven into his being and impacted his art greatly. Now, a new generation of artists in the form of political, post-grunge band The Sprawl have now sprung up from the same city roots and they just released their debut album Cancelled Future.

I spoke to the band members and got their take on the city’s music scene, how artists there use their voices and talents for activism and how so much is broken in the society around them, and, in turn, how all that weaves into their music.

Halldór Kristínarson: On your Bandcamp page it says that The Sprawl is angsty rock n roll. What are you anxious or upset about regarding where you live and the people you share your country with? What is it that motivates you to pen down a lyric and make a song?

Nate Dirck (guitar/vocals): Hi, thanks for taking the time to reach out and interview us! Right now is a very interesting time to be making art because with the pandemic and all, we’re starting to see the normal hum-drum of current events translate to day-to-day desperation in a very real way. All of us are entering adulthood during the worst global crisis of our lifetime and there’s a persistent feeling that the world we were raised to function in won’t exist much longer. So I guess the short answer to your question would be, well, everything. We’re anxious and upset about current events but also about rent, the shitty jobs we work, and generally navigating life during what is an incredibly difficult time to live in. Most of my lyrics are inspired by my own experiences and observations but I try to use the mundane nature of day-to-day life as a way to understand widespread social problems.

HK: Following up on the previous question, how do you experience the music scene in Indianopolis in regards to artists using their voices for good or in protest?

ND: Indianapolis is definitely the kind of place where social problems tend to be very in-your-face and hard to ignore so there’s naturally a lot of protest activity among people in the art community. I’d venture to say the vast majority of our peers in the music scene use their art to speak on important issues to some extent. Indianapolis is in a very conservative area so those of us who exist outside of that culture tends to be quite vocal about how we feel.

Drew Hampton (Drums): I think it’s sort of an action-reaction consequence between conflicting groups. The high concentration of conservative political beliefs in our immediate area leaves us and a large number of others feelings constricted in our beliefs. I think many would be surprised to learn how activism-centric our scene is. So while Indy’s scene is relatively small, I agree with Nate that a sizable portion of it is like minded folks like us who just needed a place to vent their protests. 

HK: You recently released your debut album, Cancelled Future, which is an incredibly tight and catchy album that Shouts HQ’s have been blasting non-stop in the past days. Can you tell a bit of the creative and production process behind creating this band’s first piece of work?

ND: Hell yeah, so glad y’all are enjoying it! It’s interesting because we actually had no intention of putting out an album right away. Most of these songs accumulated from failed attempts to be productive during the first part of the pandemic. After we ended up with like eight songs we just said “fuck it” and decided to write a couple more to make a full album. This was a lot different from other projects I’ve been involved in where everything is usually thoroughly planned out before going into the studio. It was cool to be part of an album that sort of came together in real time like that because I (like most people in 2020) was struggling quite a bit to make ends meet while these songs were being written and it definitely had an impact on my lyrics. In fact, a good chunk of them was written on the notes app on my phone while my supervisor wasn’t looking at this really shitty overnight job I was working at the time.

June Smith( Lead Guitar): Thank y’all for blasting the album, we really appreciate it! As far as my portion of the creative process, I’m very lucky to be in a band with Nate. They write most of the material and give us free reign to put our own spin on the songs. I play in a few other bands, but I use The Sprawl as an outlet to push outside of my comfort zone. I’m a rhythm guitarist in my other projects and Nate gives me song ideas I would honestly never think of! It’s always a fun challenge to figure out the most suitable way to add to their songs and not distract from their core. It’s also been great to co-write some material like “I’m Not a Democrat I’m a Nihilist”. I show Nate a riff or two and they usually run with it, finishing the song with twists and turns I’d never expect. I’m also very influenced by our local music scene.  The solo for “Safe Word” was inspired by watching some of my peers perform noise sets.

DH: I too am lucky to be in a band with Nate who is such an excellent songwriter and like June said, gives us a lot of freedom to be creative. I’ve had the privilege of playing in bands with Nate consistently for what is approaching a decade now. This puts me in a super favorable position as a musician and songwriter because Nate is incredibly aware of my capabilities, strengths, and limitations. I think this allows Nate and I to push my limitations and help me reach for things I never would have thought possible because I have someone who knows me so well to push me. From a production standpoint, I reached out of my comfort zone on this record. I went beyond the drum set to write some glockenspiel parts that I’m really proud of, and I’m happy to say that I plan on writing many more. 

HK: One of your songs speaks of nihilism. Can you elaborate on how the process is behind creating songs with a certain social justice message but mixed with the idea of human existence being meaningless? 

ND: I think the song you’re referring to is “I’m Not a Democrat, I’m a Nihilist”. That title is a reference to a comedian named Eric Andre who said that in response to a conservative pundit who mistook him for a Democrat. The Democratic party is considered to be the primary representation of the left in American politics even though their actual ideology skews right. There’s been an increasing call for American leftists to establish an identity independent of the Democrats so the title is meant to be a somewhat tongue-in-cheek nod to that.

I’m glad you brought that up though because that contradiction is one of the things that drives the overall narrative of the album. The album starts out with an emphasis on social justice messaging but grows more existential and introspective with each song. The point I’m trying to make with that is that social justice rhetoric might as well just be nihilism if it’s just being used to identify problems in the absence of real organization and action. A lot of my lyrics on the album are really just me venting frustration at the lack of meaningful progress despite the endless amount of discourse we all engage in.

DH: I would like to add that the whole idea of being a Nihilist as opposed to a Democrat evolved into a deeper meaning for me. Often we on the far-left get called skeptics, critics, negative, and of course, nihilistic for feeling like our system is completely broken and that the most fastidious solution would be to simply start from scratch on practically everything. However, from my perspective, we are some of the only people who acknowledge that the way things are transpiring, a lot of people are being left behind, or much, much worse. From my perspective, we’re some of the only people who really care about all the people being hurt or even killed, and I find it ironic that we get called cynical for insisting something needs to be fixed, or more accurately, replaced, while those who often hurl these names and insults at us care less about the problem than we do. If feeling so strongly that things need to change somehow makes me a nihilist, then yeah, I’m not a democrat, I am a nihilist. Actually, it seems more accurate to say that our opposition are the nihilists, not us. Perhaps I’m reading too far into it, but all good jokes have an underlying truth, right? 

HK: What is your take on artists using their work for activism? Should these two things be intertwined or seperated in any way?

ND: I feel like it’s hard to make art in an open and honest way without talking about social issues because a lot of what gets labeled as “political” is really just peoples’ lived experiences. I always find it funny when people suggest those kinds of things should be off-limits as if that’s not what art is meant for.

DH: Nate and I have had some recent conversations on creating politically slanted art and my personal struggle with finding where I/we fit on that spectrum. We’re gearing down the overtly political messages in our songs and moving towards societal and existential problems that surround us instead. This might seem simply semantic, however, the difference is important. Our songs used to be political to the core. Many years ago, we wrote what was pretty much a Donald Trump diss track at the start of his political reign. I’m glad to have helped create that track because it helped me to where I am today, however, I don’t ever see myself creating art of that nature again. I’ve been incredibly lucky to grow up and live as a straight, white male in America, which pretty much means I’ve been on easy street. So what do I really have to say or add that the people who are actually affected by these people and problems can’t? It feels disrespectful to say, “I can more accurately describe your experience than you can.” I don’t mean to speak for the other members of the band in that regard, as they have not necessarily had the windows-down cruise I’ve had in life, but I personally feel like being a part of art describing things that legitimately impact your life is not only ethically correct, but I think the end result is better. 

To boil it down, art should be used for activism, and we’ll probably write a couple more politically overt punk bangers before our time is through, however it is absolutely paramount that we, and others in similar positions to us, lift artists up who have important things to say from beyond our perspective, and acknowledge that sometimes the most powerful voice you have in a privileged position is to allow someone else to say something. I know I could do a lot more in that regard, and I’m trying to work on that. To clarify, I am not talking down to anyone, I’m describing the recent change of heart I’ve had where I’ve personally come to regret some of the art I’ve created for ethical reasons. Art and activism is a really, really tricky subject, especially for people in positions like me, and to be honest with you Halldór, I don’t have a simple or easy answer. (Obviously 😉 )

JS: I’d just like to add that even if music isn’t  political, it’s still important for us as artists to create an environment geared towards activism. Especially in a conservative state like Indiana there are not many “safe spaces” for all the groups that experience oppression.  We are lucky to be around people that want to hold each other up , and create spaces where everyone can be comfortable. 

ND: I think it’s also worth noting that not everything has to be overtly political to be a valuable part of political discourse because damn near anything somebody could write a song about has social ramifications when you think about it.

HK: What do you hope to achieve with your music?

ND: I just hope these songs are something people can relate to.

HK: Are you following any like-minded bands that you’d like to give a shout out to (and introduce to Shouts readers)?

ND: As far as immediate peers in Indianapolis, Chelshots and Pat and the Pissers are two bands that I would recommend to anyone who digs our stuff. I also just recently got introduced to a band from northern Indiana called Tigershark Don’t Quit who make really good music in the same kind of vein. I also want to take the opportunity to shout out our label Sauna Suit Records ( https://saunasuitrecords.bandcamp.com/ ). I would absolutely recommend digging through the rest of their catalogue if you enjoyed Cancelled Future. Beyond the local level, I’ve been really into this punk band from the east coast called Drug Church lately and they definitely informed my lyrical approach on the album.

JS: Definitely check out Sauna Suit. I help them with whatever I can and am loosely a team member! Both of my other projects are located there The Sick Boy Method and D.R.L.N. if you enjoy what I do in The Sprawl I’d recommend checking them out!

DH: In our local scene, Anti-Feds and Dope Sweater are probably the best Indy has to offer in terms of punk and punk-adjacent music. Across the pond, a band named Squid just put out a record called Bright Green Field that we’re in love with. 

HK: What is on the horizon for you?

ND: We’re almost done writing an EP that we hope to release by the end of the year and we’ve definitely got another album in our future along with a few one-off singles here and there. We’re also planning out some tours for 2022 right now. If you’d like to see what we’re up to, be sure to check out our assorted social media accounts @TheSprawl317.

HK: Anything else you’d like to shout from the rooftops?

The Sprawl: Stay hydrated and don’t trust the government.

Call For Submissions: A New Fund And An LGBTQI+ Compilation Album

Putting pineapple on a pizza is to some people very polemic. So much so that the incumbent president of Iceland once had his say in the matter. This South American fruit mixed with the Italian cuisine is also the name of a new project that is building a fund for artists and people in need.

According to the project’s website it focuses on covering music and having half of its fund helping artists with their expenses such as rehearsal and recording spaces, distribution and more. The other half will then be directed to having available online therapy sessions for people in need.

The project works with a professional therapist and counselor and start with online sessions. The people behind the project told Shouts that in the future they want to expand the project and fund other projects related to mental health issues.

After seeing how male dominated the industry is the people behind PineappleOnPizza decided to create a new project that shares music and supports artists that often are at the margins.

Interested parties should email info@pineappleonpizza.net to be part of this compilation album.

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