NEWS

Langley & Vancouver shows

zaac — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:05:24 +0000

Fresh off of the ol' dusty (and snowy) tour trail, there's a couple of shows coming up here at home that I should make mention of.

For the good people of Langley BC, it's a special all-ages solo show on Friday April 20th, opening for my friends The Left at the Fort Langley Hall. It's their last big show before they head off to tour Japan, and it's an early one (for the kids), starting at 7PM. You can get advance tickets here.

On Friday April 27th, it's the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver for a free show in the Lobby Lounge. I'll be joined by some special musical guests for this one — best to look sharp, as it's a decidedly James Bond-ian sort of place. 10PM.

More to come, and real soon.

Postcards of Canada

zaac — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Home, after 14 shows in 14 cities, and nearly 13,000 kilo-miles of road between them. Somewhat miraculously, Joshua and I encountered only one day of old-fashioned white-out winter driving conditions on our drive from Vancouver to Montreal, and escaped even a single moose sighting. It would seem that both Canadian winters and moose populations should be added to the endangered species list.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to all of you who came out to the shows, bought music, brought us baking, gave us directions, made us breakfast, housed or otherwise fed us along the journey. Your presence and providence was a reviving tonic for a couple of weary travelers, and having the opportunity to meet so many of you post-show this tour is at the top of a very long list of highlights. To the other bands we shared stages with, venue staff, and radio/blog personalities who played/blogged our music, thank-you for being flexible and cool, for taking such good care of us, and for supporting independent Canadian music.

There’s a photo gallery of the trip (as seen through many a dusty windshield) up if you’d like to have a closer look at life on the road. Thank-you again for the warm welcome friends. My heart is full. Hope to see you again soon.

Live and love well.

+ Z

Spring nearly-Canadian tour

zaac — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:23:26 +0000

Joshua Hyslop and I are hitting the road this spring, to celebrate the release of our recent EPs (his Cold Wind, and my Whitewater). It’ll be our longest trip yet — all the way to Montreal and back.

We’ll be making stops along the way to say hello and play songs for you. Just check out the tour dates section to see when and where. Any help spreading the word in towns where you know folks is always appreciated, along with offers of home-cooked food, places to sleep, and strong coffee!

March 15 Kelowna BC
March 16 Calgary AB
March 17 Medicine Hat AB
March 21 Toronto ON (CMW)
March 22 Waterloo ON
March 26 Ottawa ON
March 27 Oakville, ON
March 28 Kingston ON
March 29 Guelph ON
March 30 Montreal QC
March 31 Ottawa ON
April 2 Sudbury ON
April 4 Thunder Bay ON
April 5 Steinbach MB
April 6 Saskatoon SK
April 7 Edmonton AB

Recent reviews for 'Whitewater'

zaac — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:01:37 +0000

Some very kind reviews beginning to roll in of the 'Whitewater' EP. I'm humbled and floored at the same time:

"Echoes of Paul Simon and Neil Young...authoritive and humble at the same time" — The Province

"An honest and wondrous collection of songs that very well may hold the power to change people’s lives" — Mass Movement

“An undeniable little gem of an album” — This Great Society

“Whitewater shows off Pick's knack for melody” — Given & Taken in Ink

Top listens of 2011

zaac — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:01:18 +0000

It feels like I’ve been listening to more music this year than ever, but I probably say that every year. My collection keeps growing, increasingly scattered between CDs, Vinyl, and all sorts of bits and bytes — I keep meaning to get it organized, digitized, or cloud-ified (if that’s a word), but then get distracted listening to something and forget about it.

Whatever the format, I’m sure most of us are usually listening to a mix of things classic, current, and/or eclectic, which makes it hard to narrow down favorites, especially in 2011 — a year full of brilliant records. Fortunately, I've decided to consult my iTunes/Rdio play counter and this is what I've been listening to the most out of the year's releases (I've also put together a playlist to sample on iTunes):

1. James Vincent McMorrow - Early in the Morning
2. Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain
3. Wilco - The Whole Love
4. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
5. Bry Webb - Provider
6. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
9. The National - High Violet
10. Feist - Metals

Honorable Mentions:
Lisa Hannigan - Passenger
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

Notable Locals (friends):
Jonathan Inc. - Lost Time
Noah Gundersen - Family
Joshua Hyslop - Cold Wind EP
Ryan McAllister - Music for a Rainy Town
The Belle Game - Sleep to Grow EP

12 Bands of Christmas

zaac — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:00:56 +0000

This Friday morning bright and early (the crack of 8AM, anyways), I'll be playing a set at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, as part of the '12 Bands of Christmas' fundraiser for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Joining me will be Jay Stewart on drums and percussion, and Pete Davyduck on upright bass. Looking forward to throwing in a few Christmas songs too. The event is free, but don't forget to bring coffee or some other non-perishable food item to donate.

Christmas

zaac — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:12:08 +0000

A few weeks back I wrote and recorded a Christmas tune, called 'Finding Christmas', which as of today is available for streaming and download through Bandcamp or on iTunes.

Recorded at Buena Vista Audio with the help of Jonathan Anderson (Aidan Knight, In Medias Res), it features my debut on record behind the drum kit and glockenspeil as well as some pretty smooth organ and guitar licks from Jon. We had a great time working on this one - super relaxed and fun. Just like the best parts of the Christmas season. Hope you enjoy it.

NEW EP OUT TODAY

zaac — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:53:06 +0000

As of today, the long-coming 'Whitewater' EP is available for your listening pleasure from my BandCamp store. It'll be up on iTunes very soon, and shiny compact discs are also on the way and should start shipping out on December 1st (though you'll get an immediate download of all four tracks if you order one before then).

And should you choose to support my musical endeavors with your hard-earned cash before November 29th, and I'll give you the new Christmas song I've just recorded as a bonus download, before it's officially released.

Helpful link to where you can listen and stuff: http://zaacpick.bandcamp.com/album/whitewater-ep

There will be tour dates coming early in the new year as well—I'm excited to finally try and connect the dots across this huge country we call Canada (that's Canadia to our dear American friends).

I hope you enjoy listening to these new songs as much as the band and I have enjoyed making them.

Thanks for all the support gang.

'Whitewater' Video

zaac — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:01:59 +0000

I'm so very pleased to debut the brand-new 'Whitewater' video for your viewing enjoyment. Directed and Produced by JLP Studios, it tells the tale of a sailboat as it sets out for many an adventure at sea. Ok, it's an actual river. And there are pyrotechnics. And did I mention pirates?

It was a labour of love to be sure, since these boats are made of paper and don't exactly like being in real water, or listen particularly well to instructions. Hit the full-screen button, sit back, and enjoy the ride.

new website, new ep this november

zaac — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:06:35 +0000

It's been a long time coming, but next month, I'll be putting out a four-track EP, entitled 'Whitewater' - recorded with the careful ears and wise beards of producers Shawn Cole and Garth Richardson. Tracks were laid down here and there over the past number of months, but mostly at Nimbus Studios here in Vancouver and some at The Farm, on the Sunshine Coast.

There'll be more show dates and details posted soon, so in the meantime, have a look around the newly designed website. I think you'll find it rather er, refreshing.

Check out the EP cover and tracklist below:

Tracklist

Whitewater
Out of Fashion
Heavy
Modern Times