Interview with Zakk Taylor of A Jokers Rage

Interview with Zakk Taylor of A Jokers Rage

21st May 2019 0 By DJ Pixie

So we see you have released your latest album ‘The Rain Dance’ on pre order. How did you find the recording & writing for this?
The writing process was pretty standard for us. We took our time and let it happen naturally but also explored past the boundaries of our comfort zone. Each song was very much ‘the mood of the day’ as apposed to any strategy.
The recording process was quick and methodical as all the creativeness and experimental work was done in our own studio before hand. 

 

How did you come up with the name for the album and what was the concept behind this?
Almost every show we play the most common compliment or feedback we get is that people who don’t normally dance or haven’t danced in a long time were dancing to our show. “We just can’t help ourselves!” is a common statement from fans of all ages and genders. 

So we just compared our music and show to a ceremonial dance and one night I had a dream of a music video where native american Indians in their war paint were dancing around a fire to our music. Whilst I don’t think it would work as a music video in realty it just got us exploring the concept and a ceremonial rain dance is performed by tribes to change the weather to suit their needs. 

We just connected the dots to how people come to our shows and all dance together for a bloody good time!

A Jokers Rage are going from strength to strength being snapped up by all festivals at the moment, we see your playing the likes of ‘Call Of The Wild’ at the end of the month, followed by ‘Rock for Alports’ in April, then onto the almighty ‘SOS Fest’ in July! One we are looking forward to seeing you at again! What can we expect from your set?
Dancing!
 
What is it about SOS that keeps bringing you back as a band?

It’s a significant event for us as we had to fight pretty hard to bet on the line up the first time round and once we did there was just an amazing chemistry between the audience and ourselves from the get go. We were highly praised for our efforts and then summoned back the following year as a bigger attraction. We’ve blown various festivals away and filled in for other bands and even headliners last minute doing such a good job that they promise us a spotlight the following year and so many just fail to live up to their promises and gratitude. SOS festival have always followed through in that respect and it makes the hard work feel more worth while for us. 

From your new album, which song are you most looking forward to performing on stage?
It’s such a diverse album with ups, downs swings and roundabouts it’s difficult to say!
There’s something for each mood and each occasion so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. 

 

What do you most enjoy about being a touring musician?
Creating something out of nothing that other people cherish. 

How often do you  get together to practice before events? Do you rehearse as a group or pair off?
We have our own rehearsal studio but we don’t have set days or routines when it comes to rehearsing. We’re pretty tight and know each other so well musically that sometimes we don’t rehearse at all and write up a set list 30 minutes before a show. 
Our studio is used more for storing our equipment than it is for rehearsing!

 

As the vocalist in the group what vocal exercises do you do or techniques you use that could help others?
I only really do vocal warm ups if I have a string of shows all in a row. I’ve been singing for 10 years now so I know how to control my performance like a marathon runner would know how and when to pace himself during a race. 
If I do feel a bit croaky I find steam helps relax my vocal chords and if I need to I’ll just pull up any old vocal warm up playlist on spotify and run up and down the scales a few times. 

 If you were given a column in a music magazine called ‘Cooking With Rockstars’ what would your signature dish be?

A #Gameface Omelette 

 
Anything you’d like to say to your fans?

keep dancing and be happy!

For all things A Jokers Rage, click HERE and to pre-order the new album, click HERE

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