The ‘Spray Q&A: Joy Zipper

In case you didn’t know, we’re quite fond of Joy Zipper here at hecklerspray.

Comprising of dynamic duo Vinny Cafiso and Tabitha Tindale, the Zip (as we hope they will never be called) have been garnering critical acclaim from numerous quarters. Word magazine referred to their work as a "psychedelic delight", while the NME heralded them as the "sugar-rush Pixies".

In other words, they’re something special.

Check out their oeuvre if you don’t believe us – Joy Zipper, 2004 masterwork American Whip and superb brand new release The Heartlight Set.

hecklerspray caught up with Tabitha, who took a moment out from crafting slices of atmospheric pop wonderment to answer a few questions…

To any hecklerspray readers who aren’t yet familiar with Joy Zipper, how would you describe yourselves?

It’s hard to say. There is definitely a certain feel to our music, but because we write and record according to the mood we are in at the time our sound isn’t very specific.

The general feeling is very organic, nostalgic and dreamlike without being overly psychedelic and retro. We sing a lot together, so there’s a certain lushness that comes from our vocals that colours a lot of what we do.

Vinny used to be in a band called Ritual Of Faith. What sort of music did they play? How did the ‘Joy Zipper sound’ develop later?

Vinny was playing guitar in that band and wrote most of the music. The lead singer wrote all of the words and melodies. A Ritual Of Faith leaned more towards heavy gothic, very intense and psychedelic with really strong vocals.

Joy Zipper are pretty much the opposite of that. Vinny had a much lighter side to him and wanted to make music that wasn’t as serious, more stream of consciousness. Pretty much right after that band broke up we bought a 4 track and that’s when the Joy Zipper sound developed. I think the freedom of writing and recording alone was what really opened things up for us. Without a democracy the music became more artful.

Your music is always very melodic and beautiful yet there also seems to be a darker undercurrent – particularly on tracks like Alzheimers. Is this a conscious decision or do the songs naturally evolve that way? How much of your personalities would you say is reflected in this?

That was always an unconscious thing. We never even really thought about our music like that until other people and journalists pointed that out. Like most writers, we write a lot of our songs while we are in certain moods, usually at pretty emotional times. By the time we produce and record them we are in a different emotional place which usually isn’t as introspective.

It’s more about the sound of the music and the overall feel of the song. I think the fact that we control our albums from beginning to end allows us to exploit the different phases of the songs which is the contrast that you are hearing.

 As well as being in a band together, you’re also a couple. Do you ever worry that promoters/PR types might try to use this as some sort of ‘gimmick’ rather than concentrating on the music? Have you had to overcome such things?

Yes, it seems to always be a topic of conversation in interviews. We’re so used to it that it’s become a drag to talk about.

How were your experiences working with Kevin Shields on American Whip?

To be honest, we spent about a week with him. Great person, and a huge influence, but didn’t have that much of an effect on the album.

On The Heartlight Set there is a song – For Lenny’s Own Pleasure –  about Lenny Bruce. Are there any other non-musical figures who you feel have an influence on your work?

Our families. We’ve had a lot of deaths and we tend to immortalise the people we love in our songs. A lot of our songs that sound like love songs between the two of us are really about them.

And what sort of musical influences do you have? People point out echoes of Serge Gainsbourg and My Bloody Valentine in your sound, but are there any more ‘unexpected’ influences that may not seem so apparent on first listen?

Never listened to Serge Gainsbourg but loved Loveless, Sly And The Family Stone (There’s A Riot Going On), Elvis, Pavement (Wowie Zowie), The Beatles (White Album - for it’s eclecticism).  

What were the problems that American Whip reportedly had getting released?

We were on a label called 13 amp that was funded by Ministry Of Sound. American Whip was scheduled to come out in February 2003 and then suddenly Ministry decided to drop all of their small labels. This all happened weeks before American Whip’s first scheduled release so we had a choice, stay with Ministry Of Sound and release on schedule or stay with 13 amp and find a new big label to fund the promo, which would mean delaying the release.

We didn’t really know anyone at Ministry so we elected to stay with 13 amp and crossed our fingers that a bigger label would pick us up. Fortunately Mercury picked 13 amp and us up, but unfortunately the release was delayed a year.

How was the recording/release of The Heartlight Set in comparison?

The whole cycle of The Heartlight Set was a lot smoother but I don’t think that Mercury was the right label for it. All they seem to care about is finding the next Coldplay.

They were definitely cool about letting us do whatever we wanted on the creative side of making the album but the love just wasn’t there. I don’t think labels like that know what to do with bands like us.

Would you ever consider branching out into other ‘forms’ of music, e.g. making film soundtracks?

Yes, we’ve always felt that our music is very cinematic. We just need to learn how to do it.

What plans/directions do you have for the band in the future?

We’re taking off in September to start writing our next album. I’m not sure what the direction is going to be yet but we’d like to take all of the best elements of Joy Zipper and really push them. The Heartlight Set isn’t out in the U.S yet so I’m sure we’ll be touring it here in the winter and spring.

Believe it or not American Whip just recently came out here so that’s still in the air. It’s nice to finally be concentrating on our music at home. It’s like a whole new world is opening up.

And on a more lighthearted note… What bands/books/films/TV shows are you enjoying at the moment?

There’s a band called Black Mountain that we heard recently and liked.

Vinny’s reading Narcissism-Denial Of The True Self. We just went to a book reading by an author that I love named Jonathan Ames. so I’m going to start his new book soon, Wake Up, Sir!. Just saw the last Six Feet Under and since we didn’t see the first season we’re renting the DVDs and watching that. Haven’t seen any great films lately.

And finally… hecklerspray is well known for… erm… heckling deserving public figures in print. Which public figures – politicians or celebrities annoy you and why?

Obviously The Whole Republican Party.

Once again, thanks very much for taking time out to do this. When are you guys thinking of touring the UK again?

No problem. Don’t know when the next UK tour is. I’m hoping sometime this fall but we’re in the process of leaving Mercury so without funding it’s tricky. I’ll definitely keep you posted though!

And so will we, dear hecklers…

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