Bands, especially those who meet at a young age, tend to face their demise once clashing egos and differing artistic visions become too much to handle. Animal Liberation Orchestra has managed to avoid this territorial fate and are gearing up to release their most collaborative album yet.
The group will be performing in Seattle on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1 for back to back, 21+ shows at Nectar Lounge in support of their upcoming “Frames” album.
Having first met while in middle school, the members of ALO have been a band since the 80s. Led by Zach Gill, the group first achieved mainstream success in 2005 while following “Banana Pancakes” writer Jack Johnson on tour and the subsequent release of the “Fly Between Falls” album on Johnson’s label. Instead of stagnating and dissolving after years of performance, the members of ALO have learned to adapt and grow together. “Frames” sees other members beside Gill singing and writing more than ever before.
“ALO [is] a prime example of a band that kept going,” Gill said. “The original dynamic that propelled the band is going to change, because everybody’s gonna grow up. Suddenly you’re like ‘Okay, you can sing too, and I’m not going to be threatened by you singing.’ Either you figure out how to share the space or you break up.”
ALO’s prior albums typically saw the majority of songs written and performed by Gill and drummer Dave Brogan, with songs from other members being less common. Following Brogan’s departure from the band, Gill took up the majority of songwriting duties on their last release. In contrast to that album, “Frames” has every member of the band singing and writing. Ezra Lipp has since taken Brogan’s place as drummer, and now has the chance to showcase his own writing prowess.
“Once Dave left, it opened up this vacuum and now there’s more Lebo writing and there’s more Steve writing. Ezra, our new drummer, just writes song after song after song,” Gill said. “Ezra is younger and this emerging songwriter. There’s a lot more songs to sort through.”
After decades of songwriting, Gill’s passion for it is yet to be extinguished. While taking an art class, Gill gained a new perspective on his artistic process and began showing more intention in his writing.
“I’ve found that if I do the breathing exercise and then this humming exercise and get in a meditative space, I am way more receptive to writing music,” Gill said. “You almost set the intention, which I’ve never done until just recently. I’m a believer now that you can totally show up with nothing and get in the headspace and do something. It might not be a masterpiece or it might be, you don’t know until you step up to it.”
Following the release of Frames on April 4, Gill is looking forward to trying different approaches to songwriting that better incorporate the whole band in the process. Currently, most new songs for the band are written separately and then brought to the other members to workshop and develop. Gill is interested in the band writing more songs collaboratively.
“We kind of all write separately and then we work on the songs as a group but I think the evolution would be we just write all of this stuff together as a group. Now with everybody singing, I’d be intrigued to see what’d happen. But that’s a much more time consuming process because it’s got to go through everybody’s filter. That might be for the next one.”
While Gill is excited about their new songs, their classic tracks will not be left behind in their sets. Every show they play has a different set list. To Gill, his older work serves as a source of inspiration rather than an obligation.
“Sometimes I write lyrics and I forget them and then I remember them and they come at just the right time in my life,” Gill said. “It’s like I placed a post-it note from my soul in this place externally and then it comes back right at the right time. I’m just so thankful for songs.”
ALO performs at Nectar Lounge in Fremont on Friday, Apr 28 and March 1. Both shows are 21+. Tickets can be found at nectarlounge.com.
