Some words placed together evoke many other words. This is for you that want to know what the lyrics mean:
Zipperhead
gather all the sacred songs
for out of body release
(old and cherished music is played at funerals for the souls of the dead) wrap them all in cotton gauze
in twenty seven degrees
(the songs are aching and fragile and appropriate for the dead of winter)
oh my darling
(what a friend will say to the grieving spouse, when there is nothing left to say)
brave the wind with Capricorn
(imagining the huddled mourners at a January interment)
follow orders for free
what we do when we have nothing left and surrender to religion, the truth etc.)
bow your head and raise your eyes
(literally what you see in the crowd during a funeral prayer, also referring to the defiance we attempt to mount against our own similar fates) see the man on the tree
(look at the crucifix , ie be a witness to suffering; and a reference to the scene in Amarcord which mocks our pathos)
oh my darling
dry the tears hemp mourning cloth
(a Japanese garment for mourning and a reference to using substances to lighten the weight of the moment)
pastry cart on the scene
(the necessity of bringing back the corporal at the end of a funeral, reminding us that we are still among the living. also referring to the attempts to lighten what feels so heavy at the moment, or not so heavy to others)
seven angels coming now
could it all be a dream
(refers to the mourner’s fantasy of the apocalypse and desire for an after life)
oh my darling
Lyrics and annotation by Steven Pacia
Sineparade:
Steven Pacia – Vox
Alex Garcia – Drums
Ariel de la Portilla – Bass
Javier Hernandez-Miyares – Guitar
J. Armen – Guitar
Review From The New York Press
Zipperhead Show
April 17, 17 Frost Art and Performance Space, 17 Frost St. (betw. Union Ave. & Lorimer St.), Brooklyn, zipperheadshow.com; 8, $20. A multi-media theater experience, featuring music from Sineparade and video art on three screens courtesy of Alex Itin, this show focuses on a banker who escaped the 9/11 attacks by being in a hotel banging his secretary instead of at his desk.Watch (and listen!) as the drama unfolds. The Bottom Line: At some point, the theater in Williamsburg has to catch up to the music, dance, dining and art.We’ve got our fingers crossed that this will be the show to usher in a new era.
The first and successful run of Zipperhead at 17 Frost ended tonight.
Although there were moments of sheer terror, we all survived intact thanks to the support of:
Steven Pacia
Alex Garcia
Ariel de La Portilla
J. Armen
Manuel de La Portilla
Alex Itin
Theresa Scott
Michael Cesarcyck
Aakash Nihalani
David Scarborough
Natalie Scarborough
Paul Sheehan
Ben Vershbow
Josef Raffoni
Poster Boy
Alex Morosi
Havana On The Hudson
Me
Sineparade is:
Alex Garcia: Drums
Ariel de La Portilla: Bass and Keyboards
J. Armen: Guitar and backing vocals
Javier Hernandez-Miyares: Guitar and backing vocals
Steven Pacia: Vocals and Keyboard
The Following Pics Were Shot By Linda Yau On April 17th
Review By Christina Cromeyer (Encore NYC)
Zipperhead is a multimedia show about 9/11, the financial meltdown, adultery and brain cancer with live music, narration and moving images on three wall-size screens. Sounds like a recipe for too many ills, but somehow, it works. The music is the best part of the show, with local band Sineparade providing Pink Floyd-esque sounds (circa Dark Side) to an already dark story. Local filmmaker/painter/overall artist Alex Itin narrates the story of Andrew Sarchus, a Wall Street trader who is caught cheating on September 11, 2001 (being in a hotel room with his secretary instead of in his office that morning was a life-saving mistake). He stays together with his wife, Marla, but it’s a downward spiral of overspending, insider trading, religious fanaticism, and, eventually, cancer…
Transcript of interview conducted by Christina Cromeyer of Steven Pacia, and published here for the first time :
1. – I know it’s New York and all, but is there a specific reason for having 9/11 as the backdrop?
9/11 represented a new beginning for New York City, that is, in the way we perceived ourselves with regard to our vulnerability etc. It was a fitting time for the lead character Andrew Sarchus to begin his social and physical decline. The decline of the character Andrew Sarchus as a Wall Street Trader is also an allegory for the decline of our economy and the melt down of the banking system.
2. – Maybe I missed something, but I still don’t get the title. Any explanation? As far as I knew it’s a derogatory term for the Vietnamese.
Patients who have had multiple brain surgeries will sometimes refer to themselves as Zipperheads or make the statement ” the surgeon should have installed a zipper” for subsequent operations. It also refers to the ability to unzip the head and look inside to see the functions or dysfunctions of the mind and brain. I was unaware of the negative racial reference until recently.
3. – I can’t imagine how something like this, with video, image, music and written elements, would come together. Could you describe the creative process behind a multimedia show?
It started as a program that I was involved in at the New Museum in Jan 2009 together with the Raqs Media Collective and Arani Bose ( Neurologist and Gallerist). In short, the program was designed to throw out ideas about art and perception and relate it to the functions of the brain. As an art gallerist and Neurologist, I was invited as a participant. The art- interested audience was very enthusiastic. That spawned the idea of the Neuro-didactic section together with the visual art and animation. My love of music and of themes that deal with New York and the existential, added the third component, ie the songs and instrumental accompaniments.
4. – How did Sineparade become involved with Alex Itin?
Itin was a friend of one of the 17 Frost founders and Sineparade members, Javier Hernandez Miyares. Itin was given a solo show at the 17 Frost space. I saw his incredible animated video, Orson Whales and felt that his sensibility was right for the show. He offered to narrate also, and it evolved from there.
5- What inspired the songs? Frankly, I thought these were the best part.
Thank you, the songs were largely inspired by the energy of the city, both positive and negative, as well as my personal and physician- related experiences. Zipperhead, the song was written specifically for the show about Andrew’s funeral on a cold January day. Demon is about addiction and self destructive behavior. Andrew Sarchus was written before Zipperhead was conceived and was inspired by a friend’s “ordinary guy” neighbor on Long Island who was hauled off to jail for one year for insider trading. It is about how easily we all may be corrupted. Blastoff is about how arbitrarily we may have our fortunes changed. Closer now is about finding happiness or salvation in the midst of terrible confusion and pain.
Prog rockers Sineparade and video artist Alex Itin collaborate on a musical portrait of a trader who escaped death on 9/11, only to fall prey to a fast-growing brain tumor.
When:
Sat 8pm , Apr 24 8pm , May 1 8pm , May 8 8pm , May 15 8pm
“Andrew Sarchus/King of the Markets/In a hell of a town…” Thus begins one of the songs in Zipperhead, a blistering live multimedia event about life in post-9/11 New York featuring Brooklyn-based progressive rock band Sineparade and video artist Alex Itin. Following a successful one night preview at Monkeytown in September 2009, the highly anticipated show will open a six consecutive weekend run at the newly renovated 17 Frost Art and Performance Space on April 10.
Zipperhead explores contemporary American life through the story of Andrew Sarchus, a prominent Wall Street trader who escapes death in the World Trade Center on 9/11 by stealing away to a hotel room with his secretary. His wife Marla’s anger quickly turns into concern as Sarchus becomes increasingly erratic, the result of a growing brain tumor. In order to cope with his feelings of guilt and loneliness, he becomes an obsessive collector of American art, convinced that he can see God in the paintings. Although later arrested for insider trading, and nearly destroyed by the deterioration of his brain and his marriage, Sarchus eventually manages to come to terms with his life and achieves a bittersweet salvation. His journey is told by a combination of spoken narrative and iconic video art provided by Itin and a set of songs and soundscapes written and performed by Sineparade. At 17 Frost Space, three massive screens and a state-of-the-art sound system envelop both the performers and the audience.
Itin delivers an explosive, almost manic performance, playing multiple characters with visceral conviction. He never plays to the audience for a cheap laugh or gasp. Instead, he dances so close to the edge of role-playing that a sense of danger is continually present throughout Zipperhead. The hallucinations of Sarchus become terrifyingly real in Itin’s moans and screams. The surreal stream-of-consciousness animation that streams across the screens creates a haunting sense of isolation.
The songs of Sineparade, however, pull in the opposite direction. Each is a musical gem that can stand by itself and all surge with life – a welcome counterbalance to the claustrophobic existentialism of Sarchus. The astonishing versatility of the band and the wide range of their songs are due mainly to the diverse backgrounds and styles of the members. Sineparade, which performs regularly at 17 Frost Space, is loaded with amazing musicians. Lead vocalist Steven Pacia combines literate and multilayered lyrics with gorgeous melodies. Although at heart a crooner, he stretches his distinctive voice at every opportunity. Guitarist/producer J. Armen and singer-songwriter Javier Hernandez-Miyares share driving guitar duties. Armen’s jazzy playing has a soulful, penetrating quality reminiscent of Santana while Hernandez-Miyares sounds more like a bluesman on a glorious acid trip. Ariel de la Portilla (bass) and Alex Garcia (drums) are also both members of acclaimed Latin Jazz ensemble Afromantra, so it should come as no surprise that they play as though joined at the hip. Garcia is supple, precise and always bursting with ideas. De la Portilla’s tuneful bass playing never falters and looks teasingly effortless to boot.
Among the songs that stand out in Zipperhead are the smartly crafted power-pop “Underground Man,” the evocative, serpentine “Blast Off” (featuring that rock rarity – a bass solo!) and “Closer Now”. The last of these is not only the best number in the show, but also arguably one of the most impressive pieces of pop music to emerge in recent years. “Closer Now” has an aching, addictive melody as beautiful as one’s first crush and lyrics that reward close listening. Sineparade’s performance of the song is as close to perfection as Zipperhead (or any show) gets, and Pacia’s phrasing in particular is exquisite.
Despite the subject matter of Zipperhead, the show is neither dated nor exploitative. 9/11 and the global financial meltdown are only the background. The real themes of the story are illusion and fragility. Nothing is safe or secure, no matter how impressive the appearance seems. A marriage, a brain or a banking system can crumble as easily as a building and most do so in the end. Interspersed throughout the show at key moments are short notes on neurobiology spoken clinically by Pacia, detailing the frailty of human nature. A brain lesion is simply another damaged piece of tissue. A seizure is an uncommon burst of electrical activity. Addiction and love are just synaptic communications. Even though such an approach may be startlingly cold at first, it actually humanizes Sarchus.
Much of the credit for the remarkable cohesion of Zipperhead must also go to a devoted technical crew led by musician/engineer Dave Scarborough. 17 Frost Space has gained a reputation among local bands as one of the best venues to play in Brooklyn and it shows in the sound and picture quality of Zipperhead as a whole.
The show will play each Saturday evening at 8PM until May 15 (running time 75 minutes). For tickets and additional information, visit Zipperhead: The Show.
Zipperhead Cast:
Alex Itin: Narrator
Steven Pacia: Lead Vocals, Keys
Javier Hernandez-Miyares: Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals
J. Armen: Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass
Ariel de al Portilla: Bass, Piano, Synth
Alex Garcia: Drums
A Show Grows in Brooklyn- Live Multimedia Event, Zipperhead, Opens at the 17 Frost Art and Performance Space on April 10, 2010.
Following a successful one night preview of Zipperhead in September 2009 at Monkeytown, the show will open for a six consecutive weekend run at the 17 Frost Art and Performance Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In the words of Michael Cesarczyk, writer for the Greenpoint Gazzette, “Zipperhead is a spellbinding musical and visual exploration of post-9/11 America by progressive rockers Sineparade and artist Alex Itin. Wonderfully provocative and original.”
The story begins on 9/11 when Andrew Sarchus, a prominent Wall Street Trader, escapes death in the World Trade Center by stealing away to a hotel room with his secretary. His wife Marla’s anger quickly turns to concern as his behavior becomes progressively more erratic, the result of a growing brain tumor. The show explores the fine line between behavior and disordered behavior resulting from brain disease, as well as contemporary greed, forgiveness and love in the first decade of our new century in New York City. Surrounded by three massive screens, the performers and audience are enveloped in the video and animations of Mr. Itin. The narrations are backed by the original soundscapes of Sineparade and in return, the band’s songs are supported by Itin’s iconic videos and animations.
Show opens April 10th and plays each Saturday evening at 8PM until May 15th (running time 75 minutes).
