The full stroll with Zephuros
By Kelly Vormelker, Staff Writer
February 7, 2008 | 9:44 p.m.
What follows is the unabridged version of a conversational stroll with Zephuros’ Kevin Meyer. To read Speakeasy's article about Zephuros, click here.
SE: You started writing three years ago. What inspired this?
Meyer: When I first started writing music, it was the typical broken-hearted thing. Then I wrote a song about an animal and people seemed to like that. So I started and kept writing songs about animals and nature and stuff.
SE: Were you inspired by the nature in Athens?
Meyer: Athens has mostly inspired me musically because of the amount of talent that is in the city. It is unbelievable, I am thankful to be a part of it.
SE: Where do you find inspiration for new songs?
Meyer: I usually just write in my room. If I get any inspiration it is just from walking to class, or driving somewhere around town, I will see something and it will spark an idea.
SE: You call your music dark. Is this reflected in your personality at all?
Meyer: Not at all, it is strange. I like to think I am pretty outgoing, but musically it is pretty dark stuff. Lots of dying animals, but people emotionally connect differently on the different songs. I try to tap into that emotion.
SE: How do you balance the melodious rhythm in each song, the serene images of nature and animals with the darkness of the lyrics?
Meyer: Whatever way the lyrics are, I try to balance the sound with that feeling. The lyrics mimic the music.
SE: A lot of people analyze your songs, relating them to a universal meaning, even the meaning of life. Is this something try to achieve?
Meyer: I don’t strive for the meaning of life. I just try to go with the whole nature thing and if the meaning of life comes out of that, then it does.
SE: I have heard that you introduce your songs, “this is a song about a polar bear.” Do you do this on purpose so that people take their own interpretations?
Meyer: That particular song is about a mother that wakes up and she doesn’t know where her son is, so she is freaking out because she can’t find her son. Turns out that he is just out playing. The song is not just about polar bears.
I tend to typically try and put these animals in human situations. Somebody once called it anthropomorphic, animals taking on the characteristics of humans.
SE: What would you like fans to get from your music?
Meyer: I just hope they enjoy it and I hope that they connect to it in some way. Musically or lyrically, I make it so they enjoy it. People have said that they have fallen asleep my music before, which I take as a big complement because it is very chill and relaxing, it's pretty cool if someone falls asleep to it.
SE: What does Zephuros mean? How did you come up with this?
Meyer: Zephuros is the god of the west wind; it's Greek. A few years ago, a friend of mine and I were talking about how I wanted a moniker - a lot of bands that I like have one so I thought I could do it too. He mentioned zephyr, which is a cool gentle breeze. I looked it up and saw Zephuros. I was like, "Alright!," cause it goes with the whole nature thing. I am happy with it.
SE: Can you tell me about the recording process of this album, The Black Gull?
Meyer: It was recorded in the spring of 2007. Nathan Zangmeister approached me after an open mic and said he really liked my music and wanted to record it. So I was like alright, I wasn’t going to pass that up. He had access to the T-com studio, which is like $100 an hour. Since he was a student he got free access, so I thought that was pretty awesome. It was a really fun experience; I hadn’t really done this before. To be in such a nice studio with Nate was perfect. I only spent like 20 hours on it. I am really proud of what it is, and I made my money back, so that is a good thing.
SE: The album starts with “Awake With the Birds” and ends with “Asleep with the Stars.” What does this transition mean to you?
Meyer: I guess it’s just the typical day kind of thing, everybody does it. Animals do it, wake up and fall asleep.
SE: You are happy with the final product?
Meyer: Yeah, enough so that I am having Nate help me start my next CD, next week. We are going to draw from a chamber orchestra. I have a friend that is composing a score for it, so I am pretty excited. It’s going to be hopefully a lot better CD.
SE: How will the next CD compare to The Black Gull?
Meyer: It will not really be more instrumental, it will just have more instruments on it. Mike Evans is the composer. He is has an oboe, flute, bassoon, string quartet, piano and French horn. He has a couple of songs already done, and I heard them on the computer - they blew me away. So I’m really excited to hear what it will sound like with actual instruments and not just computer instruments.
SE: When will you release it?
Meyer: I hope to have it done tentatively April 5th. I’m hoping to pump this thing out as quick as I can but still make it really good.
SE: when can fans expect to catch new shows?
Meyer: Hopefully after I release this CD or over spring beak I am going to try and go on another mini tour. I did one over winter break.
I went west in the winter: Indiana, St. Louis, Des Moines, Iowa. I want to try and go east to New York, DC. A couple of my roommates from last year live in DC so it would be cool to go visit them, play a show.
Questions that veer slightly off the beaten path:
SE: Will your future music be about nature as well, or was this a fleeting inspiration?
Meyer: I think it will, unless I just stop using the name Zephuros and then I will change what it is about. But as long as I’m still Zephuros it will probably still be nature, animals and insects.
SE: How did you successfully teach yourself to play so many instruments?
Meyer: That was something, I got my first guitar on my sixteenth birthday. I wanted to prove my parents wrong they were like, “you better not quit this after two weeks,” so I was like, “I’ll show you.” So I just kept slowly working at it, and I’m happy with it now.
SE: What all do you play?
Meyer: I play mandolin, used to play trumpet in high school and I took a piano class over the summer, so kind of piano but not really.
SE: Are you still performing with Lost Flamingo Group?
Meyer: Yes, I am; not this quarter but I have been every other quarter. I was not cast this time; I’m a little bitter, but you know that is the nature of the business.
SE: How is performing in a play different than performing your music? Do you have a preference?
Meyer: Well. I mean, I treat the Zephuros thing almost as a character because I am in general really kind of shy when I get on stage with music. I don’t talk much on stage, I don’t have much of a stage presence. Which is weird because I am pretty outgoing and not shy but it kind of just developed that way.
With LFG it is easier because it is just scripted, you develop a character that is different. They are different but both fun.
SE: What are some of your long-term goals?
Meyer: Music has always been kind of a hobby, something to pass the time, something that I like doing instead of class work, the same with acting. But I am graduating, which is crazy, it’s like 5 months away. Long-term goal career wise is to do something within my major, which is graphic design, and then just play music on the side.
SE: So that means you are leaving Athens?
Meyer: Yes probably, there is not too much I can do here with graphic design, I will miss it though. If I stay in Ohio I will definitely be back a lot to play and just to hang out. It is a really cool town; I like it a lot.
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