Music Local band The Zebecks

What do four young men have in common with a small, three masted Mediterranean vessel you may ask. The four in question – Daniel Thomson (vocals and guitar), Aiden Smith (drums) and Max Robertson (bass guitar) from Elgin, together with Hayden Peace (guitar) from Lossiemouth – make up a local band who call themselves The Zebecks. The unusual, but immediately recognisable, name came about after they were browsing in a record shop and musing about how few bands there were under the letter ‘Z’. It was decided that if they ever were to start a band the favoured first letter of their name would be a ‘Z’ and, after considering several options, the small Mediterranean vessel was chosen. All four went to school together. Daniel and Aiden are now studying at Glasgow University; Hayden and Max will join them later on this year. Celebrations for 18th birthdays have had to be put on hold due to covid restrictions but hopefully when Max celebrates his 18th in July all restrictions will have been lifted.

Normally the band rehearses in a cabin in Max’s garden; what once was Max’s father’s office space has been adapted to their needs and because it is out of town there is no fear of disturbing the neighbours.

The Zebecks’ debut gig was at the Elgin Town Hall 2019, where they supported The Roov, and they managed to play a few more gigs before lockdown. They are extremely grateful for the support they received from the Elgin Town Hall and the other gigs that gave them the initial start, as this gave them the exposure they needed to kick off. They actually had a

number of bookings before lockdown brought everything to a grinding halt.

Having won Moray’s Got Talent in February 2020 they should have been headlining the 2021 show. The winning song, Violet, had been successful for them, having led to their winning a competition in 2019. Violet which was their first song, will feature on the EP which is scheduled to be released later this year.

The biggest disappointment was the cancelling of North Hop for Neil as they had been delighted to have been approached by Nicola McAlley to play at this fundraising event. The Zebecks released their debut single, Concrete, on the 19th February 2021. This is a great achievement considering the band were not able to be together due to the lockdown restrictions. Even the recording had to take place in two’s to comply with the rules.

There is a music video to accompany the single and this was recorded (adhering to covid rules) on Elgin High St. The video was recorded by their immensely talented (their words) friend Leon Miele from Elgin. Leon is studying filming in Glasgow.

The Zebecks record their own material. Daniel is the main lyricist as the other members describe him as the poet. All the members bring their own style and input to the material and they all enjoy different genres of music, bringing influences from a wide spectrum of artists - but they say it works. They all just enjoy making music. The lyrics of Concrete were inspired by the poem Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath.

From the last line of Lady Lazarus “Out of the ash I rise with my red hair” and the opening line to Concrete is “Out of the dust I fall further than ever before”

The last time the band managed to play together was Sept 2020 but they hope that by the summer they will manage to get back together to start making more music.

Until then follow them on social media:

The guys obviously didn’t give up and as soon as lockdown eased they seized on the opportunity to record their single at Unity Recording Studio in Auldearn. They were so impressed and delighted with the help from Joe Harfield at the studio. Lifestyle MAG

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