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Navigating ‘The Black Sea’ with Divided by Zero
July 20, 2006
On their debut album, The Black Sea, Divided by Zero, the first band signed by clothing company Sik World Productions to its new record label, has emerged as a band with a sound impossible to categorize. A mix of rock, metal, reggae, electronics and more, it can only be called Divided by Zero. Greg Maki of Live-Metal.net recently caught up with bassist Rice and guitarist Jeremy Ronstadt in an email interview.
Live-Metal: How did you come up with the name Divided by Zero?
Jerm: At first, it was the only one we agreed on out of a list of hundreds, but after some time, we liked the idea.
Rice: The more we dwelled on it, the more we associated ourselves with the concept of the equation: nothing is divisible by zero.
Who are your most important musical influences?
Jerm: First off, I would have to say my family. Ever since I can remember, every family gathering always ended up on the porch or patio with all my aunts ,uncles, cousins, literally everyone was either playing guitar, bass or singing. Other than that, I guess old-school heavy metal and growing up in Hawaii.
Rice: For me, Faith No More, Chili Peppers, Fishbone, KISS, Anthrax, and Beastie Boys are always in my top 10. In my CD player right now is Mattafix out of England. I’ve always been in to anything that grooves, regardless of genre.
How would you describe Divided by Zero’s music?
Rice: It’s a musical casserole of emotions and energy.
Jerm: An aggressive blend of hard-edged rocking metal with beautiful soundscapes, catchy melodies and harmonies, and a splash of aloha.
Did the band form with the intention of crossing genres and incorporating so many
different styles?
Jerm: Nah, we all just brought all of our influences to the table and let the magic happen.
Rice: We didn’t “form,” per se, with an “intent.” We’re the type of band that has five unique individuals, all with something to contribute. In the end, any genre influence you hear in our music is probably one of the member’s parts shining through.
Tell me about the songwriting process. Is it hard to come up with the different song structures and mix the different styles together?
Jerm: Usually, one of us will come up with either a riff or an entire song concept that the rest of the band embraces until we fully realize the original idea … then we decide if it makes the cut.
Rice: … Which can be a somewhat brutal process, but one that results in something that satisfies us all. In the end, the song is something we didn’t just “settle” on, or say “close enough.” It’s something we all contributed to and are proud of.
Have you ever written a song that ended up being too complicated musically?
Rice: Sure, we’ve written some shit that sounds great, but once we try to put some vocals to it or other embellishments, we realize it’s just way too busy. So we as a band try to focus on the core “song” underneath the potential embellishments, and stay true to it.
Jerm: In other words, something may look good on paper, but …
How did you hook up with Mikey Doling and what did he bring to The Black Sea as the producer?
Jerm: Our buddies in Mower hooked us up with Mikey. He and Brad (the engineer) helped us to fully realize our project right from the get-go. His experience in the studio with Snot and Soulfly really helped with the production techniques.
Rice: He really brought a sense of focus to us. I don’t think we’ve ever been closer or performed better as band.
The Black Sea appears to be something of a concept album. What is the story and what message should listeners take away from it?
Rice: Let me give credit where credit is due: The lyrics and concept of this album are the brainchild of our singer, Zach [Goode]. To understand the full depth of the album, you would have to be in his head. But some of the prevalent themes are sacrifice, hardships, sorrow … and as the album progresses, hope, light, rebirth, love. As far as what people SHOULD take away from it … wow … I’d have to say, at least for myself, that you should look at the full circle of the album. It really is a reflection of life and the world around us.
Is it important for music to make listeners do more than move and bang their heads?
Rice: I think any _expression of emotion that has been triggered by DBZ is awesome. If you wanna bang your head, bang your head. If you wanna sit down and solve world hunger, then do it. As long as you’re getting something out of it … I hate looking out or even being in a crowd where everyone is just blasé. I want to see some stimulation!!
Jerm: I think that when someone is inspired by music, whether it’s the riffs or the words, there’s a more personal feeling of connection.
Who came up with the cover art for The Black Sea?
Rice: Sas Christian. Our singer, Zach, came across her art in a magazine. He shot her a candid email simply asking if we could use her stuff, not even expecting her to respond, and sure as shit, she emailed us back and allowed us to use it.
Jerm: We’ve had a lot of response about it.
What are your favorite songs from the album?
Jerm: I love the whole album, but I think my personal faves are “Chemical,” “The World Is Not Mine,” and “Helicopter.”
Rice: That’s a hard question. I’d say I get off the hardest playing “Don’t Wait,” “Ashes of Armies,” and “Everyone.”
How did you end up on Sik World Records?
Rice: Well, short story long, Zach and I work for Sik World Productions, which is a clothing company that has always supported the music scene. Everyone from Eminem to Slayer has sported Sik shit. As the company grew, it was a natural progression for Sik World to step into the arena by forming a label of its own. We are fortunate to be supported by people we already know and trust and have common goals.
Jerm: Yea man, I’ve known Jaysun (owner of Sik World Productions) for 15 years and he’s always been supportive of our band(s). It was a natural progression and a blessing to be on Sik World Records.
How did it feel to be the first band signed by the label?
Jerm: It’s great to be the guinea-pig for the label’s first run! (Sorry PETA!)
Rice: Ditto. We’re all very happy and grateful for the opportunities Sik World is providing for us.
What are the band’s touring plans?
Rice: Right now, and through the rest of the summer, we’re doing the weekend shots out of town with The Sik World Rock N Roll Circus. The band loads up two vans, a burlesque troop, a sword swallower, and (when they’re not in jail) midget wrestlers, and heads either out of state or up the coast for a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday rock fest. We meet up with a couple of the local bands from towns like Bakersfield and Vegas, and put on a whole fuckin’ rock and roll event!
Jerm: That pretty much sums it up until we get out to Europe and Japan.
For those who haven’t a chance to see Divided by Zero yet, how would describe your live shows?
Rice: Hot and sweaty. Like I said, it’s the whole Sik World “Circus.” There’s the Hell on Heels burlesque troop, Murrugun the sword swallower, who also does crazy shit like lying on a bead of nails. Spike and Mike’s Animation has a movie we play on a huge projection screen; we do tons of giveaways. And then of course, there’s us!
Jerm: Great music, tons of energy, and something for everyone to look at!!
What are some of the songs you have covered live? How were they chosen? Do you plan to record any covers?
Jerm: Wow that’s a good question! Over the years we’ve done covers ranging from “Sir Duke” (Stevie Wonder) to “South of Heaven” (Slayer), “Natural Mystic” (Bob Marley) to “Come On and Dance” (Motley Crue) and practically everything in between you can imagine. Everyone brings an idea of cover songs to practice and then we hash them out and see which ones work best with us. As far as recording covers, we did a version of “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” by the Cars as the band Ghoulspoon, but none yet as DBZ.
Rice: We do “Mr. Grieves” by the Pixies and “Gene Machine” by Bad Brains, just to name a couple…
You have played acoustic shows in the past. Would you ever do an acoustic album?
Rice: Funny you should say that. We were actually in the middle of producing our own acoustic album that I was engineering just before we hooked up with Sik Word Records and Mikey Doling. It has been on the backburner since, and chances are the next time we think about it, we’ll be doing it in some big L.A. set up. But we have an acoustic set of most of the electric songs we do, and given the opportunity, I’m sure we’d all love to lay down some acoustic tracks.
Jerm: ‘Nuff said.
What would be your dream tour?
Jerm: Dream tour huh? Lets say start out in Europe, move on to Japan, then Australia, Guam, and end in Hawaii!!!
Rice: Ehhh … Beavis? ... I suppose I’d want to tour the world with people I would want to be with. Family, friends, and other bands. I’d say a fantasy tour for me would be touring with the Chili Peppers, Fishbone, and 311. Those are bands that project a certain spirit and energy that has inspired me over the years; a sense of community and spreading positive vibrations through music and festivals.
What do you think of the current state of the music industry. What can be done to improve it?
Rice: I think asking what one can do to improve it implies that there is something wrong with it. It is what it is: a beast, another capitalistic machine that can survive by changing with the times. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be here and everyone would be out of a job. I say embrace it and just learn to work with it. I think it’s up to the musician. You can stay in your garage, stay true to your roots, and still be published. (Thank you, Internet.) What I would like to suggest, however, is that bands, clubs, whoever collects the money, should honor a ticket price from yester-year if you can produce the ticket stub. I feel conflicted by wanting to support and see bands I used to see years ago for eight bucks, but now charge $40. I can’t afford to support them anymore!
Jerm: I agree. It’s one thing to get compensated, but over $50 to see one or two bands? It’s getting ridiculous.
Is there anything else people should know about Divided by Zero?
Rice: Yeah. Check out www.dividedbyzero.tv, www.sikworld.com, www.Myspace.com/dividedbyzero, www.myspace.com/sikworldrecords. You can buy our CD The Black Sea at the SikWorld web site, Amazon.com, Target.com, and many more. Just google it. If you buy it through SikWorld.com, you get a $12 rebate (the price of the CD) toward any of the products SikWorld Productions offer. Come see us and support the live shows. I feel we have a lot to offer. That should about cover it.
Jerm: Buy our CD, come and see our live shows, tell all your friends about us, etc. With your support we’ll be able to make it to your town!!!! PEACE.
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