Simply Six: Zeeshan Zaidi from The Commuters

The interview was done with Zeeshan Zaidi from The Commuters.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

There were 2 such defining moments for me.  

The first was when I heard "Alive" by Pearl Jam -- I was a high school senior in the Philippines.  I was an avid musician and played a lot of instruments for much of my life -- guitar, piano, trombone, saxophone, some drums, had taken some music theory classes, been in the school concert and jazz bands for years, etc.  I sang a lot on my own with my guitar or piano but never performed as a singer and never thought of myself as one.  One of my best friends, Sid, was a year older than me and was already at college in Oxford, England.  He mailed me the "Alive" cassette single when it came out with a note saying I absolutely had to listen to it.  I put it on and was totally blown away.  Something in that song, in Eddie Vedder's voice woke something up in me.  

That's when I said to myself "I need to do this." 

The other moment came several years later when I was in grad school in Cambridge, MA.  One day instead of studying for an exam as usual I was fooling around on my guitar.  As I was playing "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead I suddenly froze.  For the first time in my life my singing voice sounded decent to me.  I called a my brother and bunch of friends and started singing the song to their answering machines.  

That's when I said to myself "I CAN do this."

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

I've always listened to and appreciated all sorts of music!  A lot of alternative rock, but also hip-hop, R&B, pop, world music.  Too many favorites to list, but a couple of my favorite albums from this year are Wasting Light by Foo Fighters and the eponymous Bon Iver album.  

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

Again, I'm going to give you two! 

The first was completing the first album Rescue.  For me it was a culmination of life-long dreams, hopes, and efforts.  I had written all the songs on the album, done all the vocals, the piano, almost all the guitars (Uri Djemal did a few parts) and co-produced and arranged it with Uri, who I've known since I was 6 and is a producer in NY, at his studio.  All those skills -- songwriting, singing, guitar, piano, arranging, producing -- were ones that I had spent years learning and honing and to have them all come together was awesome.  And to produce it with someone I'd known practically all my life, who had seen my musical journey and whose journey I had watched, was really special.  Uri and I spent a lot of time at his studio working on it -- lots of hours laboring away on nights and weekends over many months -- and it paid off.  When we got back the mastered album and I listened to it I had to pinch myself. 

The second when the music video for our first single "As I Make My Way" was added to rotation at MTVU.  That was amazing.  Every artist grows up dreaming of having a video on MTV, and to have a video played on an MTV channel is just unbelievable. 

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

One of my favorite quotes is from Plato who once said: "When the mode of the music changes, the walls of the city shake."

Music can be our conscience, can make us think, can inspire people to act.  Music   

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Technology has totally upended the music industry and has defined my career as both a music executive and a musician.  I spent many years working at record labels like Arista and RCA in their digital departments, and then left to work at a couple of technology startups in the music and entertainment space.  As a musician technology has been an amazing blessing all around.  On the creative end, the music production revolution has empowered musicians like me.  When I started off working at a studio in Cambridge, MA years ago I was working with tape and large, expensive analog equipment.  I still love the sound of analog gear, and use a lot of it when we record, but I do all my demos in Pro Tools in my apartment.  On the distribution end, the fact that anyone can get their music into all of the major online retailers so easily is awesome.  And on the marketing end, the internet and new technologies allow artists to identify, reach, and communicate to audiences directly.  None of this guarantees success but now an artist is empowered to things for themselves that when I started my career only major labels could.  That's why I set up Communal Records -- to do this for The Commuters and hopefully other acts that I come across that I think have potential. 

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Probably a very versatile pair of casual shoes.  I like to do lots of different things and feel comfortable in different roles and settings.