The Zou finds inspiration in the unlikeliest places

By John Benson

The Youngstown favorite goes back in time and forward in concept for this album.

Mixing it up old school — you know, 19th-century style — is the approach Youngstown rock act the Zou decided to take with its recently released studio album “Archaeopteryx.”

“I’d say we moved from a more melodramatic, theatrical feel on our last album [‘Pine Box’] into more of a blend of older and newer rock,” said singer-guitarist Khaled Tabbara, a 1997 Austintown Fitch High School graduate. “This definitely has elements of pre-rock music, 1890s spooky music like Stephen Foster, but then also mixed in with Nintendo and ’80s elements, and computer-digital synths are coming into play.”

Granted, mash-ups are the rage of late, but the combination of Foster’s American music with video game sounds is, if not bizarre, then truly imaginative. For the Zou — Tabbara, Rob Thorndike (vocals, guitar), Murad Ghazi Shorrab (vocals, bass) and Dean Anshutz (drums) — the musical direction was natural.

“It’s just where we went,” Tabbara laughed. “We never consciously discussed our direction, it just kind of happens. It’s the combination of what we were listening to as a whole. I think we’re all into making nonrock-inspired rock. When you’re trying to be a rock band trying to be just another rock band, you just end up with a real watered-down, flavorless rock ‘n’ roll or redundant rock ‘n’ roll.

“We still like to do rock — we’re still a rock band — but we like to grab our sides from other places. The heart of it is rock ‘n’ roll, but instead of someone saying that’s kind of like a Rolling Stones thing, we’d rather somebody say that sounds like Koji Kondo did music for ‘The Legend of Zelda.’ So it’s still rock with other influences.”

Among the songs that Tabbara said define the vision behind “Archaeopteryx” are the upbeat, trip-hop-based “They Don’t Make ’em Like They Used To” and the early Americana-meets-epic rock-sounding “When the Ink Dries.”

After undertaking several successful stateside tours this past year, the Zou members feel as though they’ve finally left behind the tag of being just a Northeast Ohio band.

“Youngstown is always a good crowd, definitely friends and family, and I’d say we’re one of the best-drawing bands for sure, if not arguably the best,” Tabbara said. “But right now we’re at the highest point we’ve ever been as far as national notoriety. I feel like we really have a grasp in a lot of regional pockets.”

While the band plans on plenty of touring in 2009, up next for the Zou is a hometown show tonight at Cedar’s.

As for the future, Tabbara dreams of pragmatic success that suits the Zou’s eclectic sound.

“The next hump is more and more touring,” Tabbara said. “The thing is we’re definitely going for a niche market now. We’re not trying to be the next U2, but we are trying to be the next Modest Mouse or Flaming Lips. One of those bands that has a pocket of fans that love and adore them, but you’re really not trying to cater to a completely mainstream audience.”