The Tazers release debute EP Dream Machine
The Tazers is a trio consisting of Jethro Lock on vocals and guitar, Timothy Edwards on drums and backing vocals, and Guido Assman on bass. They are a psychedelic electric blues band with an old school, melancholic influence to their sound.
They recently released their full length EP entailing six sassy tracks with an overall sound that I find to be quite experimental and produced well. Its unique vibe centres their genre stability and captures Jethros tantalizing voice; disembarking on a bright future for The Tazers.
The title of the EP, Dream Machine came to mind while they were driving from Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontein on The Best Tour Ever.
The song has a unique influence to it, derived mainly from girls.
“…it is about the idea of a girl, and she doesn’t really exist, at least not yet,” says The Tazers.
Tim and Jethro work at Big House; a top class recording studio and media content company. They had the privilege of recording here after hours or on weekends.
“We tracked a lot of the songs ourselves, but we were lucky enough to have Levon Lock’s expertise on most of the recording processes with guitars and vocals,” says Jethro.
“ It’s also really rad that we got to use quality equipment for free, which is a huge perk.”
I asked the band to talk about each individual track on the EP and their influences. Their sound was influenced by bands such as Truck Fighters, Hanni El Khatib and Radio Moscow.
“Lonely road” is a refrain about going down the wrong path and making the same mistakes over and over again, hence the repetitive nature of the lyrics.
“We retained our live feel, and coloured in the gaps with vocals and instruments, “they add.
“The song “Go away” was written as a celebration of moving on but also as a blunt statement telling my ex to fuck off.” says Jethro.
“A minor decision” is about wondering what lines to cross when you’ve known someone for so long. “Sleepless city” is about moving to Johannesburg and what was left behind. They tried a lot of experimental recording techniques, while recording the EP, using three mics on the drums for most of the songs, which made it sound really organic.
Tim and Jethro occasionally play in a ska, jazz, reggae, indie band called Hey!Bang!Dead!
They have an affinity for swing which shows in the drumming. They have been playing together for over five years and there is a strong chemistry that was created in a mix of many different genres. The Tazers might be rock and roll for now, but Dream Machine is a prime example of how much they’re willing to experiment with their sound.
The Tazers won’t be playing at Oppikoppi this year, so I asked them how they would have felt if they did.
“If Oppikoppi books us, I will get tazed playing on stage.” – Jethro
“I’ll do the naked run and then just keep running onto stage and whip out the most wonderfully organic drum solo.” – Tim
“Seeing as my name is Guido. I will dress up in a super Mario costume and get tazed while playing on stage too.” – Guido
Download the Dream Machine EP on Soundcloud and be sure to follow The Tazers on Facebook to stay up to date.
