Review Fix Exclusive: Zinnia Talks Goals, Inspirations And More

Review Fix Chats with singer/songwriter Zinnia to find all about her creative process, inspirations and goals for 2019.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music? 

Zinnia: I grew up in a house strewn with musical instruments and art supplies in the mountains of Helena, Montana – starting bands with my brothers, singing Les Miserables songs with my mom, going through my dad’s old piano books of Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young charts. The public school system got me going on viola which later brought me to UVic for a classical degree. Feeling a bit stifled in the classical scene I found myself hanging out with folk musicians who then plugged me into Toronto’s many great music scenes.

I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some truly wonderful musicians over time including Tim Darcy (of Ought), Charlotte Cornfield, The Elwins, Hannah Epperson, Hey Ocean!, David Beckingham (at Massey Hall), the Fast Romantics, Gabrielle Papillon, Abigail Lapell, Skye Wallace and Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Zinnia: Writing used to always involve midnight sessions with boomy pianos, but because my Toronto life has never had room for a piano, I now write most of my songs while biking or walking around town. For better or for worse, songs seem to come in one, fully realized burst with very little post-editing. This new material from our upcoming album Sensations in Two Dot was very much influenced by my bandmates in ZINNIA and built around their particular styles – James Burrows on guitar, Chris Pruden on synth, Connor Walsh on bass and Ian Morris on drums.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Zinnia: People and the many ways they persevere.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you? 

Zinnia: 80s inspired synth with driving beats – simultaneously intimate and fierce with elements of Kate Bush, Bruce Springsteen and Future Islands.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Zinnia: We’re a bit wilder, more unhinged and way more fun live.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2019? 

Zinnia: I’m thrilled to bring these songs and this new sound out into the world and would just love to play as much as possible – doesn’t matter if it’s a stadium or somebody’s shed.

Review Fix: What’s next? 

Zinnia: This winter we’ll continue rolling out singles and videos leading up to our album release in April. We’ll be on the road for much of the year touring these songs through North America and Europe but I’m hoping to also record a few fresh ones in the spaces between.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Zinnia: It feels like a great privilege to be living this artistic life and sharing these spaces. I often think I get the best version of communities through music – open-hearted and generous. It really is a treat to be moving through the world in this way and I’m so thankful for that opportunity.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*