by Tonianne Bellomo

I’ve written about him before but just in case you didn’t read my last article, I’ll give you a little background. Zane Carney is a well-trained, versatile musician whose passion for music is evident in his playing. He’s probably best known for his work as the lead guitarist in the Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark musical (which, he admitted to taking off from every Monday in February for his residency at the Rockwood) but he’s also played lead guitar in Carney, a band he formed with his older brother Reeve (Spiderman/Peter Parker in the aforementioned production) and their two friends Aiden Moore and Jon Epcar. He’s also a professional studio guitarist who has worked as a producer for Natasha Bedingfield and has toured with Jesse McCartney. Basically, to save you all some time, this guy has a laundry list of credentials (I weep over how wonderful his resume must be) and yet is probably the most down to earth musician in New York who is just excited about music.

This was the second time I got to see Zane play live, not including the two times I saw Spiderman, and it was definitely worth seeing. Last night was the first performance of his February residency and it was stellar. He played a bunch of new, hand penned tracks that he hopes to record soon (and sell) and basically wowed the audience with his skill.

The night started off with an original song of his that truly showcased his vocal abilities. His voice is slightly softer than his brother Reeve’s, having a more pop oriented sound to it yet still retaining that bluesy edge that so many Carney fans love. The vocals were rich and melodious and, as always the guitar playing was SPOT ON (I may have been fangirling over how well he played. May have been, okay. I have an image of aloofness to maintain).

The thing with Zane’s music that I was noticing by the third song in, “You’re Not the One, was that his lyrics are very poetic and well written. They had a craftsmanship and mastery that made the creative writing student in me melt. There was a definite storytelling to his vibe to his lyrics, but not a Bob Dylan, workman style. They were more refined (Dylan fans, do not kill me. I like Dylan, alright, I really do, but these lyrics were cleaner and more polished), kind of glistening like I was listening to a writer sing a short story. His solo work is a perfect conglomeration of polished lyrics, smooth vocals and intricate guitar playing that any fan of Carney, John Lennon, or even Bob Dylan would love.

Before the fourth song, he changed guitars and giddily talked about how excited he was about this new guitar (a Django, I believe, but don’t quote me). He decided then to improvise an intro because the guitar was “too awesome not to”. You have to see him in person to understand just how amazing the sound was but, I promise you, it sent chills down my arms.

The fourth song was a beautiful cover of Julie London’s “Cry Me a River” (he posted a video of himself playing this on his site so go check it out). After, he went right into a cover of Neil Young’s “Southern Man” which gave him the opportunity to show just how versatile his vocals are.

The sixth song was a song his father, John Carney, wrote, and it had a very John Lennon/Beatles/Dylan vibe to it (in fact, all I could think about was the song “Across the Universe” when I heard it). He played it with a reverence and respect for his father’s work yet made it his own. It didn’t sound like he was playing someone else’s song.

My favorite songs, though, were the last two- “Nothing You Can Say”, which he co-wrote and was supposed to be a duet, and “Fade to Black” which, if there are any fans of Carney, sounds like a sister song to “Testify”. When he started “Nothing You Can Say”, he apologized for not having a second singer for it, but, in all honesty, he played and sung it so brilliantly that I didn’t feel like it needed that second singer.

The last song, “Fade to Black”, was a perfect closer, filled with power and passion and guitar playing that gives people hope that there are musicians out there who appreciate the art of playing music.

Now, the night wasn’t over for me. Luckily, a week ago, I was able to contact Zane on the almighty Tumblr (oh, Tumblr, my people will make altars for you before which they will pray daily) and he oh so graciously granted me an interview (cue disgruntled thirteen year-old sister who pleaded with me to bring her and to whom I responded she was too young). So, after taking copious notes on the performance, I waited outside for him.

Can I just say it was cold? Very cold. I was the genius who went home to Westchester after work, decided, “oh, you’re getting dropped off at the show. You won’t need a heavy jacket” and wore a small pea coat. That being said, I waited outside with my lovely friend who offered to take a photo of Zane and I after the interview. Zane came out after not too long of a wait and took pity on my poor soul and offered to do the interview inside at Rockwood Hall’s Stage 0. Lovely, man, really. I could sing his praises for days because of this decision.

I mentioned before how his vocals were different than Reeve’s, slightly softer but just as rich. When I asked him about his influences, which, if you read his Tumblr where he mentions everything from Silverchair to Wes Montgomery, you’ll know are many, he said that he writes for his voice. He has influences but he doesn’t rely on them so much as he relies on writing music that will suit his voice. “When I first learned to play guitar, I loved jazz but I couldn’t play that so I played rock and roll. You write what you can play. The same with singing.” This became the standard style of answer from Zane- very technical but honest and lighthearted.

From this, he started talking about the song writing process. He said that he really wanted to reach people and spread a message. He said he was “drawn to lyrics” and really tried to make them polished, which was why lyric writing took so long.

He then fed the literature geek in me, talking about his lyric writing process. He said that he is inspired by writers such as C.S Lewis and Sartre (who penned the only quote I would ever get tattooed; five points to the house that guesses it). If you really listen to his lyrics, you can hear those influences. He is brutally honest (in “Fade to Black” he sings “try to forget her and I never loved her…as I look into the sun it fades to black”) yet there’s a shining veneer over the lyrics, not necessarily making the ugly beautiful, but making you understand why the ugly exists.

When asked if he shared brother Reeve’s mentality that people should come to their own conclusions about lyrics, that there’s “not enough thinking going on” in terms of lyric analysis (made that sound all fancy, huh?), he said he was a “teeny bit different”.

“I want the lyrics to have a concrete definition but not limited to my own story.” He said he wanted to be a little different than singers like Christina Aguilera and P!nk, both who “are doing beautiful things”. He doesn’t want it to be limited to just his own experience. He wants it to reach all his listeners and wants it to connect to them on some level so, even if there’s a concrete definition, the definition can be applied universally.

If you know anything about Zane’s background, you’ll know that he was a child actor in the series Dave’s World and now has his own webseries called “Big City”. I’ve heard different musicians talk about how there should not be a line between acting and music and I wanted to get his take on this. Surprisingly, he did think there is a line and that it is a very organic line. He likes honesty. “I try not to have a persona on stage,” he said. Again, it went back to what he wants to get across with his music and his lyrics- honesty. His main goal is to offer “the idea to people that there’s beauty in raw honesty,” that it’s not just being honest about a feeling, but being honest about what gives you that feeling. In an era of bands lathered in war paint and pop stars photo shopped to look stick thin, this idea of honesty and promoting it is refreshing and welcome.

And Zane himself comes across as very honest. He’s not trying to be something he’s not. He gets up on that stage and does not try to hide his excitement and enthusiasm. He puts himself out there unapologetically, self-proclaimed bad jokes and all.

Finally, the big question: compare the New York and LA music scenes (this is very important to me; I’m a New York loyalist and refuse to believe that LA has a better scene than New York). Zane has lived and played in both New York and LA so I figured this is the best guy to ask. Turns out I was right. He broke it down from a professional standpoint and stylistically.

“As a professional, in LA, I didn’t need to read music. I would go in with notes and I didn’t need that. And we learned the music that day, in the studio, and played it. In New York, you need to know how to read music and you need to know the song before you go in.”

He admitted that, because of his obligations to Spiderman he hasn’t really been able to immerse himself in the NY music scene but, for example: “In LA, everything is more geographically spread out with a lot of rehearsal spaces. In New York, you have a few rehearsal spaces where you might run into friends.” He said that, in New York, there seems to be more of a sense of community.

Stylistically, he said that Carney was the first, it seemed, to really bring rock back to LA and then the Rival Sons, a rock band who were friends of theirs, started coming up as well. New York seems to be more about rock.

He was probably one of the nicest and easiest guys to talk to, really giving in depth, well thought out answers that showed just how much he cared about music and his work. -TB

(Originally Posted on Stagebuddy.Tumblr.Com)