Jasun Tipton (of Zero Hour) - May 2009
The brother act of Jasun and Troy Tipton of Zero Hour is probably the most effective one-two punch in all of progressive metal. Both Jasun (on guitar) and Troy (on the bass) push the boundaries of musical virtuosity and progressive metal every time they pick up their instruments. From their self-titled debut album, to their most recent album Dark Deceiver, each successive release raises the progressive metal bar even higher. Joined in the attack by ace vocalist Chris Salinas and skin basher Mike Guy, Zero Hour is truly a force that will continue to expand the horizons of prog metal for years to come.
Recently, we caught up with guitarist and co-founder Jasun Tipton, and he was more than happy to answer some questions for us! We hope you enjoy this interview!
Jasun Tipton, guitarist and co-founder of Zero Hour. In 1993, Jasun formed Zero Hour with his brother Troy Tipton on bass guitar to create their own brand of dark and technical progressive metal. Since then, the band has released 6 albums and have earned wide critical acclaim, a devoted fan base and performances at festivals such as ProgPower Europe.
Matthew Bankes (MB): Thanks for agreeing to this interview! How have you been? I want to, of course, start out by giving my best wishes to your brother Troy who is recovering from surgery. I wanted to let you know that our prayers and thoughts at RFUSA are with him.
Jasun Tipton (JT): Thank you very much for that. Yes, it's been a tough road for Troy but we hope he'll be 100 percent in 2010.
MB: How did you guys get interested in music? What sparked your interest?
JT: Music was playing constantly in the Tipton house growing up. My dad would put on Elvis, James Brown and lots of 50's material. My mom was playing Earth, Wind and Fire, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Hendrix, and Pink Floyd. So, my brother and I would play drums on pots and pans to the beat. Grab anything that resembled a guitar and air jam. That's all it took.
MB: Who were the first metal and hard rock bands that you became interested in?
JT: Rainbow was the first band (for me) where you go “Man, that's it!” Ritchie Blackmore is just the cat, and what great players did he have in the band! Plus for me Dio, (Graham) Bonnet and (Joe Lynn) Turner were such amazing singers. All different, but I feel they were at their best with Rainbow. My brother and I really enjoyed The Pat Metheny Group as my mom would play them constantly. The Shrapnel (Records) invasion of Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Vinnie Moore, Greg Howe and so on…It was a very exciting time to discover such amazing players.
Troy Tipton, bass guitar
MB: Later on, you guys decided to form your own band. How did that come about?
JT: My brother and I wanted to create dark, heavy, technical, and dynamic music. With Mikey (Guy) on drums, we started Zero Hour in 1993 and a few years later we found an amazing singer in Erik Rosvold to create our sound. We recorded a demo in 1997 and the band took off on the internet selling over 2,200 copies on our own. The band was receiving amazing reviews from the demo and labels took notice. We became a band that was known in the progressive metal market.
MB: I believe Zero Hour is one of the most unique progressive metal bands out there. You have a sound which is almost unclassifiable! It's awesome! Describe for me, in your own words...Zero Hour's sound.
JT: Dark, heavy material that uses odd-time signatures and tempo changes to pull the carpet out from under the listener. We also use beautiful clean passages to allow the music and vocals to be very dynamic.
MB: I am sad to say I do not have all of your albums, but the ones I do have are excellent. Which album or albums are your favorites?
JT: My favorites would be The Towers of Avarice, Dark Deceiver and Metamorphosis.
Chris Salinas, vocals
MB: Vocalist Chris Salinas joined Zero Hour for your 2006 album Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond. How did you get in contact with him and how did he end up joining?
JT: I contacted Chris to do some shows with ZH. He's a fantastic singer and a good guy. We met at ProgPower 1 where his band at the time, Power of Omens, was playing the event and ZH was playing the event too. His vocals were great live and we had a great conversation. When I contacted him about doing live shows he told me that Power Of Omens was basically finished and he was into being a member of ZH. It was a pretty easy call, and since then we've put out a couple of great CD's and done some fantastic live events.
MB: What has been your most memorable tour or gig that you have done with Zero Hour?
JT: For me, it was ProgPower Europe 3. It was our first time to Europe and it was such a great experience. We played a few shows in Europe to warm up for ProgPower Europe and had the most amazing crowd response. After the 3rd song the whole crowd chanted “USA! USA! USA!” I stood up there with the biggest smile. The next day, we went to play the Westfallen Festival in Dortmund, Germany and I remember on the bus ride there feeling so proud of what we accomplished.
MB: You design your own guitars that you use on stage and in studio. Can you tell us a bit about that? Are the instruments you design available for sale to the general public?
JT: Yeah. Troy and I have signature models with Manne guitars. The guitars are out of this world as Andrea (Ballarin, founder of Manne guitars) knows how to build an amazing axe for you to express yourself. They are available throughout Europe with PPC Music http://www.ppc-music.de.The people at PPC music are the best, and they are such an amazing company. The guitars are not as easy to find in the USA. You can find them at http://www.manne.com.
Mike Guy, drums
MB: Can you tell us a bit about the Chops from Hell DVD series?
JT: Troy and I did instructional DVD’s with http://www.chopsfromhell.com,and we show you our approach to playing. Troy and I are very proud of the instructionals, and we've received a great response from people who've purchased them. I want to thank Chris for having us as a part of the Chops from Hell team.
MB: Troy, drummer Mike Guy, and yourself also recorded an album entitled Death Machine. Is that a one time project or can we expect more from that in the future? I really liked what I heard off the MySpace.
JT: Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the material you heard. The band is no longer together.
MB: We know that once Troy gets back up to 100 percent, the Zero Hour machine will be running again. When can we expect you guys to return to the studio and the road? I know we on the East Coast are anxious for your triumphant return!
JT: I hope we will record a disc in 2010. We won’t start writing Zero Hour material until my brother is ready to write, record and play live. I'm writing progressive material for a future release, but it won’t be Zero Hour material. My brother and I have always written the music together in Zero Hour and I will wait ‘til he feels he's ready.
MB: Thank you so much for your time! This has been a long time in the works and we appreciate it greatly! I have to say Zero Hour are four of the nicest people we have ever met in the music business. Don't ever change! Do you have any closing thoughts for our readers and your fans?
JT: Thank you so much, bro, for the very kind words and we just appreciate you wanting to push Zero Hour to your readers.
Zero Hour rocks the crowd at The Hook in Brooklyn, New York during their East Coast mini-tour with Odin’s Court in 2006.
Thank you so much, Jasun! We certainly wish a speedy recovery for your brother Troy. In the meantime, you can get more information on Zero Hour at http://www.zerohourweb.com! If you are interested in the Chops from Hell instructional DVD series, go to http://www.chopsfromhell.com. We cannot wait to see the Zero Hour boys back on the road again!
