Jeff Zero is taking on the “cycles of love.” On his rocking new EP Love Shampoo, the former Dallasite and current Fort Worthian channels Elvis Costello and even a little Zappa while describing the highs and lows of romance.
“It’s like a mini concept love album,” he said. “All of my songs are love songs about new love and realizing the end of a relationship.”
Zero can’t remember a time when he wasn’t making music. The 60-year-old said his first professional band was in high school in 1985. He moved to Texas with his ex-wife and son from Tampa Bay in the late 1990s and over the last four years started taking music seriously again. He spent some time in Dallas for work and family and is now making music full time.
“The thing that makes Fort Worth different is the sense of community,” he said. “Since I moved to Fort Worth, I’ve felt welcomed and a part of the music community. It’s the vibe of it.”
For Love Shampoo, vocalist/guitarist Zero was joined by his regular backing band: bassist Brent Hillendahl and drummer West Meyers. The trio recorded at Cloudland Studios on the East Side in October with Joe Tacke (Mean Motor Scooter, The Mullens, Jenna Clark), who also mastered the four songs.
“The band is really tight,” Zero said. “I’ve been in studios a lot, but I like the people in Fort Worth, and knowing the level of musicians and hanging out in the studio has been so much fun. I love the way [Tacke] works, and we work really well together.”
The songs pivot on finding and losing love with bittersweet melodies, but there are moments to rock out to for sure.
“I feel like songs or art already exist in their form, because I get an idea in my head and brush along like an archeologist,” he said. “When I go into the studio and when the song is uncovered and shaped with keys or drums and when it’s nice and smooth and shiny is when it’s done.”
The day Zero moved to Fort Worth last August, he and his band played The Cicada on the Near Southside. Since then, they’ve performed at smaller venues in the hopes of returning to bigger stages.
“I’m really trying to meet more people,” he said, “and I like Fort Worth, and I’m friends with lots of locals like Big Heaven, Denver Williams, and a few others, so why wouldn’t I go out to their shows to support my friends?
Zero said he’s always writing songs and that he’s dedicated to musicmaking.
“I can’t not write songs,” he said. “It’s the way I communicate. I feel like this album is me at my best. I’m happy with everything, and I wouldn’t change a note. I want people to enjoy the music and have the lyrics speak to them. … My goal in life is to make music an experience again for music lovers both live and recorded.”
