Weezal: But Seriously…

Weezal launch Not Too Serious at The Zoo on Thursday.

Weezal frontman Mark has spent the best part of fifteen years plying his trade in various Brisbane bands. Now, as a member of Weezal (named after his puppy, and fleshed out in wireframe 3D to boot.) he’s about to take part in the release of their debut CD Not Too Serious.

“At first I thought we wouldn’t have a place in the local scene,” Mark explains of the band’s stripped back, 12 string guitar driven tunesmithery. “I sort of think there seems to be a fair bit of guitar pop/punk pop/folk pop/rock pop out there. So somewhere there are people with an appreciation of the sort of music that Weezal play - folk influenced guitar pop.”

Were you looking to put together a band to work on songs you had written, or did the writing process really kick into gear once the line up was complete?

“A little bit of both really. I had come out of an incredibly dark period of life over a couple of years. I had almost stopped playing guitar, stopped writing, then all of a sudden I wrote Shell, very simple song, but something about playing it made me feel alive again, I knew what I had to do.”

“The song itself is all about waking up one day, to find you are the person you didn’t want to be. That time when you realize that you’ve got ‘out of sync’ with who you are. Then trying to deal with that realization, and doing something about it as well.”

“So I started writing again, rang up J and Tim and the first version of Weezal was formed.” 

Was home recording a new experience for you?

“Well I’ve recorded at home heaps, that’s where I do a lot of writing and demoing anyway, but we have never attempted something like this. The process that really got us, I think, was mastering the damn thing. We went back and forth in that process, I never realized before in other bands and while doing other recordings how much effect good and bad mastering can have on the sound of a recording, let alone the complexities of a mix.”

What kind of dog is your namesake? Is he a fan?

“The real Weezal is a Rottweiler – Labrador cross, he’s the most beautiful animal, he has two half siblings Fern and Lunchbox. My friend Chrissie move in with two dogs, and moved out with 1. Weezal and I sort of bonded heavily… When you find the dog that’s right for you, that’s it – destiny cannot be changed! Weezal is the biggest fan of all.”