Z-Star
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Z-Star

Rolling Stone Magazine have proclaimed z-star as having the new sound of heavy soul and rock ‘n roll, and we can’t help but agree. They’re the band who seemed to skip the “emerging” status and jump straight to bigger things, one of those being a tour around Australia. We had a chat with Zee Gachette, lead singer of the band, on what they’ve discovered for their first time in Australia and playing for fans in their lounge rooms.
Hi Zee thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Absolutely awesome thank you! We’re on our first ever Australian tour and it’s been a roller coaster ride playing music, writing new tunes, enjoying the sunshine ‘n surf and meeting lots of friendly folks.
You’ve had a few gigs around the place, have you discovered anything interesting in the places you’ve visited (aside from the haunted house in Castlemaine)?
So far we’ve been to Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and now Brisbane. Every city/region has its own energy. Apart from the more touristic days out (Opera house etc) we’ve loved just cruising around exploring the towns and suburbs checking out the architecture, street art and music. In Sydney, the Chinese New Year celebrations were incredible with the Terracotta warrior lanterns and fireworks, the Coogee to Bondi run, Darling Harbour, the red golden sands of Palm Beach and rolling surf of Manly, the majestic Gum trees in Daylesford, the buzziness of downtown Melbourne with all the students shops and food smells, the angular form of the state building with the Aboriginal Flags on approach flapping full of pride in the Canberra breeze, the iconic seafront of Surfers Paradise. We’re loving Australia!
You’ve recently done a videoshoot in Cooper Park, Sydney, which looked incredible. How was that experience?
The experience was extraordinary and very spiritual. Cooper Park is so alive – the feeling was like being inside an omnipresent energy field. Whilst we were filming ‘The Devils Relief’ – a cathartic driven blues track – the light suddenly went from day to dusk. I looked up and there was a storm above us, the wind was blowing through the forest with a rage, I was strumming away on acoustic guitar howling my lungs out with Seb tranced out on slide guitar and aboriginal Sean in deep droning didgeridoo delta. All through the music seance thunder broke and lightning ravaged the sky, we got to the end of the tune and it was just otherworldly – it felt like the forest and nature and us were all bellowing in a primal sound explosion. I’ve never experienced anything like it – pure earth body soul shattering synchronicity and vibration. It was epic…and then the rains came!
Able to let us in on what the videoshoot was for?
It was filmed for the music series Surrounded By Trees by Bondi based film director Trevor Thomas (runmonkeyboyrun productions).
Your gigs are known for being high energy but you can also mix it up with some slower sets, do you have a preference between the slow and fast songs when performing live?
I don’t have a preference, it’s all about the energy in the room, the band, the audience, the space, the unpredictable flow that anything could happen here ,especially when it’s about connection. Life is a spectrum of light and dark – I like our concerts to reflect that.
Your crowd generally get pretty involved too, even helping to fund your new album, is it humbling when they’re willing to give back a little bit?
Absolutely! We were thrilled with the success of the campaign and very grateful to everyone. The fans totally made this new album possible. I’ve loved the experience of getting to know them better, making bespoke items for them – personalised ringtones, custom-design Z-Mala energy beads, paintings. Unleashing the creative juices outside the studio and stage.
You also did a few loungeroom shows for them, was it strange playing in someone’s house?
Not really, we just got to know one another even better! Plus, we always had a lot of people there – only fans with big lounges pledged for that – so it was more like an intimate club/party experience. Not one fan and their dog, which might have felt weird! We did shows in London, Paris, Rome and St Petersburg. We just hung out, had some drinks and played music ‘til the sun rose, and sometimes even had breakfast together the next morning before setting off.
Thanks again for having the chat with us, is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?
If you’re up for some dark tales ‘n wild mind blowing earth shattering BluesRockPsycheSoul shebang come check us out at our upcoming shows.
When&Where: Baha Tacos, Rye – March 19, Suttons House of Music, Ballarat – March 20, Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne – March 21 & The Barwon Club, Geelong – March 26