Venezuelan post-rock band Zeta puts on percussive show at El Rocko
Experimental post-rock outfit Zeta are joining their Savannah friends and tour mates, The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, for a highly anticipated Oct. 19 stop at El Rocko Lounge.
Zeta, which consists of multi-instrumentalists and founders Juan Chi and Dani Debuto, as well as drummer Chino Sandoval and bassist Tony Pereira, are celebrating 20 years as a band. Zeta formed in 2003 in the small coastal town of Lecheria, Venezuela, while its members were still in middle school. In 2016, after spending 13 years establishing themselves as an exciting post-hardcore band in their home country, Zeta moved to Florida where they began to lean harder into their Caribbean roots.
“We had an entire career outside of the U.S. and then ended up moving here,” said Chi over the phone. “Kinda like starting again, but with the conscience of all these years.”
While their music and vocals remained hardcore and heavy, Zeta began to add elements of Afro-Caribbean polyrhythmic drumming, as well as ‘70s-era psychedelic atmosphere, to create a unique, high-spirited punk sound.
“The changes in the music were very bound to the fact that we were moving and migrating here,” explained Chi. “I think it’s a combination of me staying home and trying to express our identity, to share with everybody who we are and where we come from. And lately we've been diving more into traditional music from, not just Venezuela, but the Caribbean, the tropical music. I think it's opened a new window for us. You know, we have been exploring so many new rhythms and styles of music, and it's been exciting to us. I think starting again, having that new canvas, really helped us to expand our our way of making music, and it's been really cool.”
Often, when hardcore bands begin to dabble in new sounds and directions, they lose many of their older fans, the ones who just want some raw, heavy music to go crazy in the pit to. Fortunately, for Zeta, that hasn’t been the case with their recent sonic evolutions.
“There's always people that will like the older stuff more, but I think we've had a lot of acceptance and love from people,” said Chi. “Honestly, the band's been growing and growing and growing. We haven't really seen people leaving, more like people joining.”
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Drum circles and Afro-Caribbean infusions
Zeta are still incorporating some of the older songs in their sets, albeit as medleys, or with updated progressive elements. One stand-out aspect of a typical Zeta show is the copious use of various Afro-Caribbean hand drums. At certain points in their sets, Zeta even band together into a drum circle.
“Hand drums are a big part of the Caribbean culture,” said Chi. “It's ‘healing music,’ music to heal. The people that are listening and the people that are playing it, we feel very connected to it. It happened right after moving here, honestly, but we've always had a lot of respect for traditions and just hand drumming. It's a big part of our culture.”
Zeta’s most recent album, 2022’s frenetic Todo Bailarlo, is their most Afro-Caribbean infused album yet. Zeta collaborated on the album with The Abajo Cadenas Orchestra, a collective of musicians from all over the world. The name means “dance it all” a reference to the idea that “life is composed of different rhythms and we are here to dance through all of it.”
“It was an album made completely in the lockdown in the pandemic, so we really didn't have rules and we were all working remotely,” explained Chi. “I was really cool. Nobody was with the other person telling them how to do something or controlling how it will turn out. It was sending files back and forward and then being like, “Wow, look at this, and this possibility here,” and whatnot. And something that was really cool was also making an album without thinking on how I am going to play these live, since we were in pandemic and we didn't know when we were going to play live again. We were just all-in pushing musical boundaries.”
Zeta are looking forward to recording their next record, which will maintain the melodic aspects of Todo Bailarlo, while returning to the heavy side of their music.
With seven albums and over 1500 shows under their belts, Zeta have a lot to draw from for their 20th anniversary tour. Zeta hope to include music from their entire career in their show, but ultimately, playing in front of people with their friends The Holy Ghost Tabernacle, is the most important thing.
“I think that's the best celebration that we could ever have,” said Chi.
Opening for Zeta and The Holy Ghost Tabernacle are Virginia metal-core band, Tan and Handsome, as well as Savannah progressive hardcore band Oshiner.
If You Go >>
What: Zeta w/ The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, Tan and Handsome, and Oshiner
When: 8 p.m., Oct. 19
Where: El Rocko Lounge, 117 Whitaker St.
Cost: $12 adv, $15 at door
Info: aurafestsavannah.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Zeta Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir play El Rocko Lounge
