Georgia Mahoney-Webster

To some, Zeus is a god, and to other Zeus is an incredible
Canadian rock band that recently had their new album, Busting Visions, featured on Rolling Stone magazine’s website and toured with Metric, Broken Social Scene, and
many other amazing bands. Rolling Stone magazine says: “Toronto’s
Zeus play a rootsy, melodic brand of rock.” But to me, they’re four guys I’ve
had the privilege of knowing practically my whole life! I got the chance to
talk to Carlin Nicholson, one quarter of Zeus, about music, school, and Zeus’
goals for 2012.

Georgia- When did you decide you wanted to pursue music as a full
time job?

Carlin- It’s always something that I hoped I would do/knew I
always would. It took some time to get to the stage of being able to do music
alone and it required a lot of blind faith over the years. I thought I
would quit sometimes but deep down knew that there was nothing else I’d be
happy doing and that I needed to give it longer to flower into a career.

G- What are your musical influences?

C- So many: Michael Jackson, the Kinks, the Zombies, Dr. Dog, Neil Young, Radio Head, Flaming Lips, Wings.

G- When and how did you guys meet?

C- Mike and I met in high school; I met Neil through a
friend’s band, The Golden Dogs. We were all friends before the band formed. We
had other bands and different things going on, but Zeus is a moment in time
where this combination of guys in a much larger circle got together and stayed
together.

G- What is a hobby of yours other than playing
music/singing?

C- I love to cook and download iPhone apps. Kidding! I spend
a lot of time recording music, as well—for myself and others.

G- What is one of your band’s goals for 2012?

C- Hoping for a European record deal. Also, going to start
tracking a new record. This one isn’t even out yet, but I really want to have a
long, casual time recording the follow up to Busting Visions.

G- What was your craziest experience as a band?

C- Every new trip we go on is somewhat crazy, in that this
is a crazy job to have chosen. But we keep each other laughing—that’s the key.

G- How old were you when you first started playing
instruments?

C- I started on drums at the age of 12.

G- What advice do you give to kids who want to be musicians?

C- Know that music is a muscle. The more you work it, the
easier it comes. The more skill you acquire, the less you need to think about
when performing.