Zach Seibert formed E.Z. Shakes with Todd T. Hicks as an acoustic duo – Seibert on guitar and Hicks on banjo and pedal steel – in 2017 and things have moved pretty quickly since then, the band have two EPs and an album under their belt and another album on the way. They also grew to a five piece with John Furr adding electric guitar, acoustic guitar and keyboards, Stanford Gardner on percussion and bass by Jim Taylor. John Furr also acts as the in-house producer on this fuller sound. On the new record the band recruited Mitch Easter (the producer of seminal albums by R.E.M. and Pavement) to mix the album at his Fidelitorium studio.
Seibert grew up in small-town Illinois, raised on the sounds of heartland rock & roll, hard-hitting punk, and old-school country/gospel music. His parents were hippie Christians who bounced from church to church, searching for a congregation that suited their family’s countercultural ideals. Seibert carries that background into his music, the stories he tells have a hard hitting sound behind them and the subject matter wrestles with demons. ‘The Spirit‘ encapsulates that, as there is an apocalyptic tension in the air as Seibert sings “A storm is coming…I suggest you hit your knees, boy, ’cause it ain’t no joke — He’s coming again.”
As Zach Seibert elaborates “My upbringing played a monumental role in my life. If I’m going to be honest as an artist, it’s hard to separate those personal experiences from my art. But I’m not out to proselytize anyone. These are personal stories. Hopefully, people can find some sort of hope in them.”
‘The Spirit‘ is taken from the album of the same name which is released on October 9th on Pow Pow Sound.
Photo: Saul Seibert
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