We may have lost them to the bright lights and big bridges of Brooklyn, but former Richmond musical oddities, One Ring Zero, make it a habit to check in every once in a while.
You use weird instruments to make weird songs. Do you ever want to just grab an electric guitar and play some Whitesnake?
Actually, we use a lot of electric guitar; it just doesn’t always stand out against the accordion and theremin. Quite often we do find ourselves wanting to just grab a guitar and play some… uh, well, not Whitesnake, but maybe some Queen or Styx. Wait, did I just say that out loud?
Is there such a thing as accordion groupies? If so, please describe them.
There seem to be two major species of accordion groupies. One that is under the age of forty, is bespectacled and “slightly” hip, and listens to bands like They Might Be Giants, The Decemberists, and The Magnetic Fields. Then there are the forty-plus groupies that grew up on Frank Yankovic and Lawrence Welk… also bespectacled. A third classification might consist of ethnic-music lovers who geek-out on traditional Polka, Zydeco, Forró, Cumbia, etc.
“As Smart As We Are” paired you with some fantastic writers. Please regale us with a tale of New York literary greatness that involves at least one of the following: alcohol, livestock, law enforcement, body fluids, funny accents or Viggo Mortensen.
I think I can hit two of those at once. There was one particular gig where Joshua and I were backstage and had the opportunity to pass a bottle of Jameson with Viggo Mortensen before going out and performing our horrendous cover of “Sweet Caroline” to a packed house of nubile young woman who had been waiting around all day just to catch a glimpse of Viggo. Viggo came out right when we hit the chorus, grabbed René Ricard from the front row, and danced with him as the audience screamed and sang along. Oh and then we brought out a miniature donkey…
You made an album where authors wrote the lyrics. You released a DVD with 21 music videos made by the general public. Have you thought of subcontracting musicians so that you guys don’t have to work at all?
Funny you should mention it. We’ve had the idea now for a while that we’d like to franchise One Ring Zero. Sort of like Blue Man Group. For example, we’d go to Chicago and find a couple musicians who can play claviola, theremin, and accordion, and then fix them up with a bunch of ORZ sheet music and set lists, dress them in vintage suits, and let them do their thing.
Both you and Joshua have musical side projects. Is this “alone time” meant to prevent potential double homicide?
No double homicides, we hope. We’ve actually been getting along quite well recently. And One Ring Zero’s as busy as ever. The music industry just doesn’t move as fast as we would like it to, and we both have tons of material, ideas, and different styles of music that we want to work on. For Joshua, right now it happens to be creepy country music in the form of a band called Hang The Lights. For me, it’s a solo album of new songs for ice cream trucks called, um, “Songs For Ice Cream Trucks.”
What are some of the most ridiculous ways your music/your band has been described?
I think “avant-dork-lit-rock” might take the prize. It was from a nationally broadcast television segment on the CBC which featured Margaret Atwood sitting in on theremin. You can still see the clip on YouTube. Other descriptions include “Jewish wedding music played by ghost and goblins” and “Nino Rota on processed sugar.”
Finally, how can we, the people of Richmond, make you more comfortable during your time here?
Meat juice. Bring us Valentine’s Meat Juice.
One Ring Zero – Saturday, February 17 at Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St.
Published February 15, 2007
Sound Advice
Mothers should have not let their children grow up to be musicians.
When Jamaican calypso songwriter Norman "Lord Radio" Span wrote "Man Smart, Women Smarter" in the early 1950's...He was looking for an innovative way to get into their pants.
