RSS
Home
Chris Zabriskie: A little-known worldwide phenomenon
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Photo courtesy of chriszabriskie.com
Many people in music can claim an unconventional background or an eclectic style that sets them apart from other musicians in terms of style or success. Chris Zabriskie’s style certainly makes the quota.
“Yeah, I tend to not want to make the same album twice,” Chris Laughs as we talk on the phone on a could-definitely-be-cooler-for-Fall October afternoon. “ I get bored very easily. It’s about challenging myself. O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting for Me? was about, ‘Can I really do a full album on my own?’ I did that in about 2 weeks and just kind of put it out there without a lot of fanfare. And people found it; it became popular.
“I did the second vocal record, This Silent, Bloody Night, and I incorporated more piano, because that really is my instrument of choice. I wanted to make an album that was really personal and stop hiding behind characters and things. So I thought, ‘I'm going to make every song on this record about something I’ve never told anyone before. Something really personal and horrible from my past,” he laughs. “That was my challenge there, and I did that. My roots are in instrumental music and I’ve been making instrumental music all year, basically.”
Zabriskie’s newest album, Preludes, is a moody, relaxed turn at the piano. And that’s it. Not even a sparse beat to be found, Preludes is a refreshing example of an artist that cares about his craft pushing himself once again. After being in noise-rock band Struggleburger and part of Low-Fi is Sci-Fi with Marc (with a C) , going from a vocal power-pop record to a piano instrumental in the span of three years (and six albums) would be a direction that most consider career suicide.
However, it’s the sort of thing that Zabriskie is not only enough talented enough to pull off, he can do on his own in this day and age of the internet. Zabriskie made waves back in March when he made the decision to make his entire catalog available online for free. His statement about the decision read, in part, “There is simply is no right way to release music any longer. You can put it in any sort of shiny packaging you want, offer as many bonus tracks as you want, and put free copies in as many newspapers as you want. Nothing will change the fact that the people that want to hear the music will do it how they want to, not how they're told to. Some people will buy the CD. Some people will buy only vinyl. Some people find iTunes best for them. And some people download everything they can get their hands on and eventually buy what they like. Who's right? Everybody. The Internet has put the power in the hands of the consumer and the artist, and taken it away from the corporations. This is awesome. This is the way it's supposed to be. “
Zabriskie expands on that mindset. “It used to be, in the 90s, let’s say, that you started a band, and you played a whole bunch of local shows, trying to get your friends to come, maybe get the money to record an album, print up some CDs and hope you sell those and maybe do a little tour here and there...all that to hope a label might notice you and sign you. Then, you get the money to do what you really wanted to do. That’s so outdated here now at the end of this decade. No one needs to do that anymore. And it frustrates me when I see other local bands, especially here in Orlando, still doing that and following that route. They’re still focused on playing a whole bunch of shows and being popular in Orlando. I can’t get arrested in Orlando,” Zabriskie laughs, “but here I am shipping CDs to Poland and countries I’ve had to look up on a map! Getting people to donate money at their leisure from Estonia and Australia – someone sent me $100 for Preludes the other day. Just donated it and didn’t want anything in return for it! This is coming from all over the world.”
As much as Zabriskie’s musical style and business sense break the mold that many are still used to, his future plans continue that groundbreaking track. “I actually have a film project that I’m working on right now. There’s a feature documentary I’m working on, as well as a short film that I composed music for and editing. That’s being sent to a film festival. There’s a lot of production going on; music has sort of taken a backseat. Although, I do have a whole album finished, ready to go out the door – but I haven’t released it yet because it’s the soundtrack to this film we’re working on. So, once the film comes out, the music will, too.”
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
Single, married or something in between? Find what you need for Valentine's Day.
