Zulu Wave

It may not be the most hallowed music venue in New York City. Still, for any band, it’s pretty cool to post on your resume that you got to play Times Square.
Last summer, Tampa rockers Zulu Wave was selected to play a free show in New York’s nerve center at New York’s new CBGB Festival, alongside rock royalty like The Hold Steady, Superchunk, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Duff McKagen from Guns N’ Roses.
It was an eye-opening (and door-opening) experience, and while they don’t want to be known simply as “that festival band,” they have to admit, playing Times Square was pretty cool.
“I’m always looking for confirmation that we don’t suck,” laughed keyboardist Ariel Cortes.
Added singer Michael Barrow, also with a laugh: “We’re still looking for it.”
Even before their Times Square gig, Zulu Wave had been winning over local fans with a polished, focused indie-alternative sound.
Born to British parents in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa — “I was, like, the only white kid for six hours in every direction,” he said — Barrow always knew he’d come to America to pursue music. And since he had no preconceptions about the musical geography of the United States, when an uncle who worked at MacDill Air Force Base offered to help set him up, he came to Tampa in 2011.
“Before I moved here, I Googled Tampa nightlife,” he said. “I got a bunch of stuff which wasn’t interesting, like strip clubs, and I saw one article about New World Brewery being a place for young bands to play.” It was a start.
Even in Africa, Barrow was planting the seeds of his first American band. Cortes, a New York native who moved to Tampa as a child, responded to his Craiglist ad looking for musicians — “He never said he was in Africa,” Cortes deadpanned — and within a few weeks, they were playing and recording together.
Early on, Barrow said Zulu Wave benefitted from recording a polished-sounding EP, Theep, and posting it online. Tampa promoters heard their stuff — particularly their catchy single Puppy Tails — and began booking them, first as an opener on local shows around town, then at bigger shows like the Antiwarpt Music Festival, and opening for national acts like The Kills and And So I Watched You From Afar.
Their biggest break came last summer while playing a couple of small shows in New York City. In the crowd was Joe D’Urso, a co-owner of New York’s iconic CBGB brand (the notorious club itself closed in 2006). They hit it off, and when D’Urso mentioned he was planning a CBGB Festival, Zulu Wave asked to be a part of it — and sure enough, they were selected. The high-profile Times Square gig was the icing on the cake. The fact that they got to meet artists like Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols was, well, the icing on the icing.
The CBGB gig led to an appearance at another New York Festival, the CMJ Music Marathon. As all this was happening, Zulu Wave working on songs that would become their second EP, Nyami Nyami, which features a more expansive sound with spacey, prog-rock touches.
“I don’t want to be an instrumental band, I don’t want to be a vocally driven band,” Barrow said. “I don’t want to write songs where I feel like I have to do something because that’s what’s expected. Nyami Nyami wasn’t us planning so much; it was us doing what we felt was natural and right.”
Zulu Wave hasn’t coasted on their Times Square bona fides. So far in 2013, they’ve added a new drummer, recent Chicago expat Courtney Grove, and bassist, Brian Schanck, a veteran of many Tampa bands. They’re gearing up for a summer tour with the South Carolina band Pan, and they’re itching to record yet another EP — their third in three years.
“If I had my way, if we had the money and the time, I’d be in the studio tomorrow, and we’d have the thing out next week,” Barrow said. “I’m that excited about it.”
-- Jay Cridlin, tbt* - Tampa Bay Times

It may not be the most hallowed music venue in New York City. Still, for any band, it’s pretty cool to post on your resume that you got to play Times Square.
Last summer, Tampa rockers Zulu Wave was selected to play a free show in New York’s nerve center at New York’s new CBGB Festival, alongside rock royalty like The Hold Steady, Superchunk, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Duff McKagen from Guns N’ Roses.
It was an eye-opening (and door-opening) experience, and while they don’t want to be known simply as “that festival band,” they have to admit, playing Times Square was pretty cool.
“I’m always looking for confirmation that we don’t suck,” laughed keyboardist Ariel Cortes.
Added singer Michael Barrow, also with a laugh: “We’re still looking for it.”
Even before their Times Square gig, Zulu Wave had been winning over local fans with a polished, focused indie-alternative sound.
Born to British parents in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa — “I was, like, the only white kid for six hours in every direction,” he said — Barrow always knew he’d come to America to pursue music. And since he had no preconceptions about the musical geography of the United States, when an uncle who worked at MacDill Air Force Base offered to help set him up, he came to Tampa in 2011.
“Before I moved here, I Googled Tampa nightlife,” he said. “I got a bunch of stuff which wasn’t interesting, like strip clubs, and I saw one article about New World Brewery being a place for young bands to play.” It was a start.
Even in Africa, Barrow was planting the seeds of his first American band. Cortes, a New York native who moved to Tampa as a child, responded to his Craiglist ad looking for musicians — “He never said he was in Africa,” Cortes deadpanned — and within a few weeks, they were playing and recording together.
Early on, Barrow said Zulu Wave benefitted from recording a polished-sounding EP, Theep, and posting it online. Tampa promoters heard their stuff — particularly their catchy single Puppy Tails — and began booking them, first as an opener on local shows around town, then at bigger shows like the Antiwarpt Music Festival, and opening for national acts like The Kills and And So I Watched You From Afar.
Their biggest break came last summer while playing a couple of small shows in New York City. In the crowd was Joe D’Urso, a co-owner of New York’s iconic CBGB brand (the notorious club itself closed in 2006). They hit it off, and when D’Urso mentioned he was planning a CBGB Festival, Zulu Wave asked to be a part of it — and sure enough, they were selected. The high-profile Times Square gig was the icing on the cake. The fact that they got to meet artists like Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols was, well, the icing on the icing.
The CBGB gig led to an appearance at another New York Festival, the CMJ Music Marathon. As all this was happening, Zulu Wave working on songs that would become their second EP, Nyami Nyami, which features a more expansive sound with spacey, prog-rock touches.
“I don’t want to be an instrumental band, I don’t want to be a vocally driven band,” Barrow said. “I don’t want to write songs where I feel like I have to do something because that’s what’s expected. Nyami Nyami wasn’t us planning so much; it was us doing what we felt was natural and right.”
Zulu Wave hasn’t coasted on their Times Square bona fides. So far in 2013, they’ve added a new drummer, recent Chicago expat Courtney Grove, and bassist, Brian Schanck, a veteran of many Tampa bands. They’re gearing up for a summer tour with the South Carolina band Pan, and they’re itching to record yet another EP — their third in three years.
“If I had my way, if we had the money and the time, I’d be in the studio tomorrow, and we’d have the thing out next week,” Barrow said. “I’m that excited about it.”
-- Jay Cridlin, tbt* - Tampa Bay Times

Last week Tampa’s Zulu Wave released Nyami Nyami, a follow-up EP to their 2011 release Theep. The EP’s title comes from lead singer Mike Barrow’s upbringing in Zimbabwe and South Africa and his interest in African black magic. Apparently Nyami Nyami is the name for a man-eating fish with a body of a snake that is said to live in the Zambezi River. We couldn’t make this stuff up if we wanted to and we know that story is intriguing enough for you to give this man-eating EP a listen. Stream the full EP below via bandcamp and if you like what you hear (which we think you will) you can pay what you want for it with all proceeds benefiting Ray of Hope, a charity in South Africa that provides for the abandoned and elderly.

- Maimed and Tamed

Another Bay area band amid a handful throwing album release parties this weekend is Zulu Wave. The hard-buzzing indie rock four-piece has the recent distinction of playing a free show in Times Square at New York's CBGB Festival, and sharing a bill with the likes of The Hold Steady and Superchunk. Several other high-quality Bay area experimental rock acts -- Sons of Hippies, DieAlps!, and Macrame Owls -- open for Zulu Wave when they unveil a five-song EP, Nyami Nyami, recorded in July at Rock Garden Recordings with Dan Byers (bassist of Wolf-Face) and likely showcasing the band's propulsive interplay of subtle guitar textures and ripping solos, throbbing lowend buzz, roiling rhythms, and layered keyboard melodies that bring a spark of bright to the overall dark vibe.
— Leilani Polk - Creative Loafing

Although the group has only been together for about one year — with members hailing from Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg — Zulu Wave has already gone far.

The band was recently tapped to perform at New York's CBGB Festival on July 7. They ended up playing a free show in Times Square, where they shared the bill with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Hold Steady, Superchunk and Duff McKagan's Loaded.

For guitarist-vocalist Mike Barrow, the moment when the surreal situation sank in was when McKagan, the former bassist of Guns N' Roses, came up to compliment the band on their sound.

"As if that wasn't enough, then Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols came in and starting talking with him, and then Krist Novoselic from Nirvana came in," he said.

The group will perform at Saturday's Antiwarpt Festival in St. Petersburg. They'll be at Cafe Bohemia, 937 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, from 6:30 to 7 p.m. For more info on the festival, click here. - Tampa Bay Times

CBGB - Brooklyn Vegan

CBGB - Brooklyn Vegan

Although the group has only been together for about one year — with members hailing from Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg — Zulu Wave has already gone far.

The band was recently tapped to perform at New York's CBGB Festival on July 7. They ended up playing a free show in Times Square, where they shared the bill with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Hold Steady, Superchunk and Duff McKagan's Loaded.

For guitarist-vocalist Mike Barrow, the moment when the surreal situation sank in was when McKagan, the former bassist of Guns N' Roses, came up to compliment the band on their sound.

"As if that wasn't enough, then Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols came in and starting talking with him, and then Krist Novoselic from Nirvana came in," he said.

For drummer Dan Sullivan, it was meeting former Headbangers Ball and 120 Minutes host Matt Pinfield, who was already a fan of the band.

"He came up to us and was like, 'Oh, you guys are Zulu Wave,' " he said. "He goes, 'I f---ing love Puppy Tails!" referring to the song off their EP Theep.

Playing such a high-profile show comes early for Zulu Wave. The group started when Barrow, who was leaving Africa after five years in South Africa and 17 in Zimbabwe, was looking on Craiglist for a band to play in.

Barrow then connected with Sullivan and keyboardist Ariel Cortes. After a stint with another bassist, Ryan Coons of the Tampa indie group Empire Cinema joined to complete the band's current lineup.

Categorizing the band's sound — which blends rock, experimental and even African elements — becomes a little easier after learning each member's various influences.

Coons counts progressive acts such as Minus the Bear and RX Bandits among his favorite bands. Cortes lists jazz musicians such as Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck.

Along with The Mars Volta and Radiohead, one of Barrow's biggest influences was BLK JKS, a South African group that blended experimental rock with traditional African music.

He said seeing one of their shows three years ago in a small Johannesburg venue changed his perspective on playing music and how to incorporate his African roots within it.

"They inspired me to think outside of what I'd been doing and sort of made me think you don't want to be an African band, but you sort of want to embrace it," Barrow said.

Zulu Wave is currently recording a full-length to follow up Theep. Barrow said the new record will be a little darker and edgier than previous work, and will blend pleasing melodies with contrasting, noisier moments.

"We kind of call it a dinosaur sound — if you could somehow match up really pretty sounds with a dinosaur," he said.

Beyond recording their new album, Zulu Wave is also in the process of planning to play in New York again and have applied for CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival — although they have not heard yet if they've been accepted.
- Tampa Bay Times

With nearly 100 artists on the bill, it's tough to know which bands to see. Here are seven acts not to miss.

1The Mountain Goats: Folk scene favorites, John Darnielle and company (including Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster), sold out Crowbar in January. Darnielle has come a long way from his days of recording albums on cassette tapes. Expect allegorical tales, pianos and maybe a banjo (but no goats) from the California band.

2Adrian Younge: Younge is the Los Angeles man behind the original score to the 2009 blaxploitation satire Black Dynamite. He'll draw you in and keep you there with the smooth-as-honey vintage jams, making you forget what decade you're in, and then spit you out in a dark psychedelic fusion of funk.

3Jane Jane Pollock: The Tallahassee experimental pop group brings the quirkiness of CocoRosie and the fullness of the Dirty Projectors, with their own indie spice. Multi-instrumentalists. Utterly fabulous live energy. Male and female vocals. Sold.

4Florida Night Heat: The Tampa instrumental trio is a soundtrack to a perfect evening: nostalgic and sexy. Bass, electric, drums. Who needs a vocalist?

5Sleepy Vikings: This local lady-centric indie favorite will be packed from wall to wall with fans, as it's the last show with drummer Ryann Slauson before she heads off to grad school. Their musical tenderness, complete with triangles and whimsical lyrics, will match the emotions flowing during the goodbye gig.

6Jensen Serf Company: These peppy garage-rocking skateboarders roll on the mean streets of St. Petersburg. Add a little lo-fi and distortion and you get a joyfully loud foursome.

7Zulu Wave: Together about a year — with members hailing from Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg, South Africa — Zulu Wave has gone far. The band played New York's CBGB Festival July 7 and ended up playing a free show in Times Square. They blend rock, experimental and African elements. - Tampa Bay Times

Zulu Wave, a new alt-rock outfit that's been making waves in the Tampa Bay music scene in 2012, is heading to New York this weekend to play the CBGB Festival, whose lineup includes Guided By Voices, Fishbone, David Johansen and many more. But here's the kicker -- it was announced Wednesday that they'll be part of a free concert on Saturday in Times Square featuring indie rockers The Hold Steady, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Superchunk, Glint and (just for kicks, we guess) Duff McKagen's Loaded. Zulu Wave is at the bottom of the bill, but man, what a bill -- and what unbelievable exposure for a band from our neck of the woods - Tampa Bay Times

Zulu Wave, a new alt-rock outfit that's been making waves in the Tampa Bay music scene in 2012, is heading to New York this weekend to play the CBGB Festival, whose lineup includes Guided By Voices, Fishbone, David Johansen and many more. But here's the kicker -- it was announced Wednesday that they'll be part of a free concert on Saturday in Times Square featuring indie rockers The Hold Steady, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Superchunk, Glint and (just for kicks, we guess) Duff McKagen's Loaded. Zulu Wave is at the bottom of the bill, but man, what a bill -- and what unbelievable exposure for a band from our neck of the woods - Tampa Bay Times

It may not be the most hallowed music venue in New York City. Still, for any band, it’s pretty cool to post on your resume that you got to play Times Square.
Last summer, Tampa rockers Zulu Wave was selected to play a free show in New York’s nerve center at New York’s new CBGB Festival, alongside rock royalty like The Hold Steady, Superchunk, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Duff McKagen from Guns N’ Roses.It was an eye-opening (and door-opening) experience, and while they don’t want to be known simply as “that festival band,” they have to admit, playing Times Square was pretty cool.
“I’m always looking for confirmation that we don’t suck,” laughed keyboardist Ariel Cortes.
Added singer Michael Barrow, also with a laugh: “We’re still looking for it.”
Even before their Times Square gig, Zulu Wave had been winning over local fans with a polished, focused indie-alternative sound.
Born to British parents in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa — “I was, like, the only white kid for six hours in every direction,” he said — Barrow always knew he’d come to America to pursue music. And since he had no preconceptions about the musical geography of the United States, when an uncle who worked at MacDill Air Force Base offered to help set him up, he came to Tampa in 2011.
“Before I moved here, I Googled Tampa nightlife,” he said. “I got a bunch of stuff which wasn’t interesting, like strip clubs, and I saw one article about New World Brewery being a place for young bands to play.” It was a start.
Even in Africa, Barrow was planting the seeds of his first American band. Cortes, a New York native who moved to Tampa as a child, responded to his Craigslist ad looking for musicians — “He never said he was in Africa,” Cortes deadpanned — and within a few weeks, they were playing and recording together.
Early on, Barrow said Zulu Wave benefitted from recording a polished-sounding EP, Theep, and posting it online. Tampa promoters heard their stuff — particularly their catchy single Puppy Tails — and began booking them, first as an opener on local shows around town, then at bigger shows like the Antiwarpt Music Festival, and opening for national acts like The Kills and And So I Watched You From Afar.
Their biggest break came last summer while playing a couple of small shows in New York City. In the crowd was Joe D’Urso, a co-owner of New York’s iconic CBGB brand (the notorious club itself closed in 2006). They hit it off, and when D’Urso mentioned he was planning a CBGB Festival, Zulu Wave asked to be a part of it — and sure enough, they were selected. The high-profile Times Square gig was the icing on the cake. The fact that they got to meet artists like Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols was, well, the icing on the icing.
The CBGB gig led to an appearance at another New York Festival, the CMJ Music Marathon. As all this was happening, Zulu Wave working on songs that would become their second EP, Nyami Nyami, which features a more expansive sound with spacey, prog-rock touches.
“I don’t want to be an instrumental band, I don’t want to be a vocally driven band,” Barrow said. “I don’t want to write songs where I feel like I have to do something because that’s what’s expected. Nyami Nyami wasn’t us planning so much; it was us doing what we felt was natural and right.”
Zulu Wave hasn’t coasted on their Times Square bona fides. So far in 2013, they’ve added a new drummer, recent Chicago expat Courtney Grove, and bassist, Brian Schanck, a veteran of many Tampa bands. They’re gearing up for a summer tour with the South Carolina band Pan, and they’re itching to record yet another EP — their third in three years.
“If I had my way, if we had the money and the time, I’d be in the studio tomorrow, and we’d have the thing out next week,” Barrow said. “I’m that excited about it.” - Tampa Bay Times

Tampa Florida has been known to harbor some of the best rising acts in music, with huge names coming up in almost every music scene at a consistent pace: Underoath, Tallhart, Set It Off, The Backstreet Boys. Now, perhaps, the odd funk/indie/pop mix that is Zulu Wave? - Cardinal Playlists

Named one of Tampa's Best Bands. Check out the PDF copy via the link provided.

"Zulu Wave is a cool name for a group from Tampa, but it fits in a way you might not expect - singer/guitarist Mike Barrow actually hails from Johannesburg, South Africa.
The group has a thoroughly modern and polished indie-rock sound that calls to mind Silversun Pickups, Arcade Fire and the Airborne Toxic Event. The group has a three-song EP at the moment, but is working on a full slate of material for a fulllength, which could come in 2012." - Tampa Bay Times

Named one of Tampa's Best Bands. Check out the PDF copy via the link provided.

"Zulu Wave is a cool name for a group from Tampa, but it fits in a way you might not expect - singer/guitarist Mike Barrow actually hails from Johannesburg, South Africa.
The group has a thoroughly modern and polished indie-rock sound that calls to mind Silversun Pickups, Arcade Fire and the Airborne Toxic Event. The group has a three-song EP at the moment, but is working on a full slate of material for a fulllength, which could come in 2012." - Tampa Bay Times

...thoroughly modern and polished indie-rock sound that calls to mind anyone from Silversun Pickups to Arcade Fire to the Airborne Toxic Event.

-TBT - Tampa Bay Times