(Hamburg, Germany) – The Zolas are a Canadian indie/electro band based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Currently signed to Light Organ Records, their latest EP will be released 2 October 2015 followed by an album early next year. The band is currently touring Canada and United States until November and I managed to catch up with them at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, where they had just finished their set at the Kukuun Club which had been renamed Canada House for the day.
ZG – Zachary Gray (Vocals/Guitar)
TD – Tom Dobrzanski (Piano/Vocals)
CH – Codey Hiles (Drums/Vocals)
DJ Abel (Bass/Turntables)
Welcome to Germany, welcome to the Reeperbahn Festival. How has your trip to Hamburg been so far?
ZG: We got here around an hour ago from Berlin so it’s still quite young!
You played Berlin yesterday, how was the experience for The Zolas?
ZG: We’re moving there…..no, no we’re not!! We had a really good time though. We seen a tiny bit of the city and crammed in some of the sites. The Reichstag, Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate. It’s seems like a great place, very tense but great.
The Reeperbahn Festival attracts much of the music industry heavyweights, labels, promoters, managers etc. Did that have any pull on you coming here? Are you hoping to do any business?
ZG: For sure….and you get a trip out of it!
TD: We’re here because we want to play more music, you know. We do this because we wanna come back again, so we have a bit of a goal to maybe meet some people and open some door that might make that easier.
ZG: You kind of have to tackle things one territory at a time it seems. Canada is going great, the US and Europe is just beginning.
What’s the music scene like back home in Vancouver?
ZG: It’s really harmonious, all the bands know each other…
TD: It’s a small scene, everyone please in each others bands and stuff.
ZG: There was a while when it got really incestious, people were living with each other then breaking up and finding new partners 
and stuff. It was a great little period, but I think everyone has grown up a bit.
Speaking of growing up, how was growing up in Canada? What sort of music did you listen to?
TD: Growing up in Canada was pretty similar to the States in terms of music.
DJ: I was into UK bands. We grew up in town around 45 minutes outside of Vancouver and it felt like we were the only ones who were into like Brit rock and the Strokes when they hit the scene. There was an amazing scene in early 2004 when big bands were coming from Canada, I remember it giving me a lot of hope. It was really cool.
Do you have musical backgrounds? Were your families musical?
ZG: Yeah, my dad was a playwright, he wrote musicals. That obviously influenced me.
You’ve been together since 2009. Have things gone as you imagined?
ZG: No, they never go the way you imagined.
TD: It’s weird, if you’re on the inside you don’t really know how well you are doing. But I think things are going pretty good.
ZG: Things are going just fine for us. There’s some bands who, like something happens and there’s a click of the fingers and they escalate really quickly. That hasn’t happened for us yet, we just play every show and every show gets bigger. Suddenly you’re standing out in front of hundreds of people.
The Zolas are extremely busy right through October with shows in the US and Canada. Would you say you have broken the US yet?
TD: No, we played there once a couple of years ago at SXSW which was a similar experience to this Festival.
ZG: The States is kind of funny. All of our music lives on the internet so we have like satellite fan bases all over the US who have never seen us play. Every now and then you’ll play shows near to the border and someone has come up and are like “we drove 12 hours to be here”. Which is a great feeling. In fact there’s a guy here who flew over from Edinburgh to see us today, awesome.
How involved are you when selecting venues to play?
TD: Oh, I have nothing to do with that [laughing]! If we had to choose a venue anywhere in the world I would probably pick Maddison Square Garden.
DJ: I’d go for Wembley Stadium in England
Touring inevitably results in time on your hands. How do you fill it?
TD: Trying to get out and do stuff. Like yesterday in Berlin, we could have just slept but instead we got out to see a bit of the city. We should get to see a bit of Hamburg today. Just making the most of the places we visit. From what I’ve seen so far, Hamburg seems a bit different from the last time we visited. It seems a bit more cleaned up, I kind of miss the grittiness.
ZG: Dude, it’s still daytime, it’s only like 2 in the afternoon!
DJ: I noticed there was something up when I saw the porno McDonalds! Like a one stop shop.
Music is obviously important to you. Your own aside, is there anyone you have an ear on at the moment?
DJ: Tame Impala from Australia. Their new record is really big.
ZG: We listen to the new Todd Terje album, who’s a guy from Norway.
CH: I’ve kinda got back into Ziggy Stardust, old Bowie and stuff like that. Artists like Gerry Rafferty from the 70’s.
The new EP, ‘Wino Oracle’….where did the name come from?
ZG: It was a line for the song ‘I fell in love with New York’. Wino Oracle is that guy you see on the Subway who seems completely
out of it and is like, raving mad. But when you listen to him for a second he actually makes good points. In a way he’s got it all figured out. Like the Shakespearian fool figure who no one respects but he’s actually got it all figured out. That’s the ‘Wino Oracle’.
ZG: ‘Wino Oracle was recorded back in Vancouver at Tom’s. He has a studio called Monarch Studios (http://monarchstudios.com). It’s the finest studio in Vancouver and it is now where we record all of our material! Fine Times, who played before us today, they use the studio to record.
Do you have anyone outside the band involved in the recording process?
ZG: Not anymore. This is the first album we have produced and recorded ourselves. I think 4 peoples opinions is enough.
I like the recent online release ‘Molotov Girls’ a lot, it also has a great video. Are your videos produced in house also?
ZG: What did you think of it?
Fantastic, I got it straight away! I don’t know how may times I have now watched it and i will probably watch it again.
ZG: So you like hip looking woman?
Well….yeah, but the song was ok as well!!
ZG: The video was produced by Kevin Funk, he’s a great producer and documentarian. Kevin has done a bunch of videos for us and a whole bunch of other bands. He’s a hot item, but he’s our hot item!
‘Wino Oracle’ is released officially on October 2, what was the idea behind pre-releasing tracks online?
ZG: We like to get our songs out there straight away. The songs on this EP are all great and we wanted to get them some airplay before we release the album. I’m making it sound like it was a grand plan but really we just thought it would be a good idea.
Collectively, what would you say the Zolas greatest day has been?
TD: It was nice when we finished recording the new album. It was a great feeling.
DJ: Yeah, we went out for a beer together.
ZG: That was a really good moment. It was the first time recording just ourselves. We had all the time we needed. Often in the studio there are some songs that aren’t quite there and you just have to let them be shitty. We had the time to get everything just how we wanted it, by the end there was nothing we wanted to change. So we went and got pretty drunk, quietly drunk actually.
TD: I had a good time yesterday, it was really great.
CH: Yeah, our show in Berlin was the best ever…there were loads of people there.
DJ: There was a band playing when we got there, the audience were quite thin on the ground. It was late and we were in a small town and I was like, “ok it’s gonna be one of those shows”. By the time we got on it was packed.
CH: It was an old church and it had that kind of feel to it, it really great.
Can you sum up 2015?
ZG: Not yet man, it’s only 2/3 done! We still have the EP to release and whole bunch of touring to do. I think the band will look a whole lot different by the end of 2015.
CH: Yeah, I’m gonna cut my hair and shave off half my moustache!
ZG: 2016 will see the new album come out, probably late January. We’ll be touring as much as possible and hopefully get to introduce our music to a load of new people.
Guys, thank you for chatting with me, it’s been a real pleasure. Good luck with the new album and enjoy your stay in Hamburg. But before we finish I have a few more questions for Codey.
Q&A
When were you Happiest
CH: As a kid
What is your greatest fear?
CH: Being alone
What is your earliest memory?
CH: Walking around in a Diaper.
Do you have an innie or an outie?
CH: Innie. Quite a nice one to actually.
What is your favourite word?
CH: Yes.
Have you ever licked a battery?
CH: Like a 9 volt? I have, yes.
What do you owe your parents?
CH: About 300 bucks and a load of hugs.
Download or vinyl?
CH: Vinyl.
Favourite Tarantino Movie?
CH: Reservoir Dogs.
What is your current screensaver?
CH: A picture of my wife in her bra.
Connect with The Zolas online: (Website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
