Feature / One Question Interviews
ZEPHR

Words: Loren • February 8, 2024

ZEPHR
ZEPHR

Jim Fitzpatrick (ZEPHR)

SPB: What was the first band you were ever in? What style of music did you (try to) play? 

Fitzpatrick: My first ever band was called The Stone Giants. I was in 8th grade, and I started the band with my neighbors who lived a couple doors down. Our drummer was eight years old, and he was probably the best musician out of all of us. We definitely had a bit of a pop punk/sloppy metal streak to us. We covered "Dammit" by Blink 182, "When I Come Around" by Green Day, and we had a couple original tunes. Our best one was called "Lonely Nightmare," and it sounded kinda Black Sabbath-esque. I don't remember the name of the other one, but I wrote the lyrics, and I remember the chorus went something like "I saw you in the hall today, so far awayyyyyy."  We ran vocals through a karaoke machine, practiced in the basement for a couple of months, and never played any shows. There are no recordings, which I am kind of sad about. 

My other first band started in high school. We were called Subject to Evaporation. We had kind of an indie rock/pop punk/emo thing going on. And as time went on we got more inspired by angular post-punk/post-hardcore like Fugazi, Gang of Four, Mission of Burma. That kind of stuff. We were around for a few years, played some local venues/basements/community pools, and recorded a little bit of stuff that's available on Bandcamp. But college broke us up. When I think of my high school years, it's playing in that band that I think of the most. Good times. Real good times. My current band, ZEPHR, has a song I wrote about that band. It's called "STE".

Loren • February 8, 2024

ZEPHR
ZEPHR

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Dumb Ghost, Snappy Little Numbers (2025)

Sometimes you can just hear the passion in a voice. ZEPHR is one of those bands. They defy convention a little bit, in that I associate gravelly voices with harsher, heavier sounds, but ZEPHR use sore-throat vocals to great effect with midtempo, emotional and melodic 3-chord chugging punk rock and some DC sound. In few words, it's raw, both musically … Read more

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It’s fantastic to still see label holding up the torch when it comes to being dedicated to the fine art of the analogue format, partly because of its sonic superiority, partly as a reminiscence to a time where it was de rigour.Snappy Little Numbers is a label that keeps pumping out quality releases, lovingly illustrated with attention to detail and … Read more

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