Hey Zeus Post “I Don’t Want It” Video
Hey, look. It’s never happened to me, but yeah, I totally understand where sometimes you wake up in the alleyway around the side from ONCE Ballroom in Somerville, Mass., and go inside the venue to have a kind of acid-laced virtual reality religious experience. I mean, who hasn’t been there, right? Hello?
Fine.
This coming weekend, Boston heavy rockers Hey Zeus bid safe travels to guitarist Pete Knipfing, who’ll relocate to Tennessee, presumably for the relative proximity to the Stax Museum. They’re playing Great Scott with Cocked ‘n’ Loaded and Scissorfight to mark the occasion — event page here — and while it seems that Knipfing will continue to work remotely to stay involved with the band, even just the geographic loss of the former Lamont axeman is significant. Makes it way harder to book a weekender or pop over to O’Brien’s for a show. The change comes just about seven months after the release of their awaited debut album, X (review here), which was issued through Argonauta Records, and they’re a four-piece. It’s not like they have an extra guitarist just hanging around to pick up the slack.
Come what may, “I Don’t Want It” is indicative of the kind of infectious songwriting and energy that is writ large throughout X. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Hey Zeus a couple of times — the lineup of Knipfing, vocalist Bice Nathan (also production and percussion), bassist Ken Cmar and drummer Todd Bowman — and the feeling of righteousness-in-riotousness that the studio versions of “I Don’t Want It” or the peelout-ready “Save Your” brought to beat had its foundations in what the band did together in a live setting. Was it Radio Bar where they covered Deep Purple twice in the same set? The entire room, hammered. What the hell ever happened to that place?
But maybe it makes all the more sense then that as the band says goodbye to Knipfing, they’re having a blowout. That’s kind of been their thing all along. If you’re in the area and reading this, you’re probably already planning to go, but if not, and if you haven’t given X its fair shot yet, the hook-driven energy of “I Don’t Want It” is a compelling argument in favor of doing so. And, of course, all the best to Knipfing on the big move.
Enjoy:
Hey Zeus, “I Don’t Want It” official video
“I don’t want it” by Hey Zeus
Featuring Victoria Norton
Argonauta Records
Produced by Bice
Directed by Michael Cimpher
https://www.cimpher.com
Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks
Argonauta Records on Instagram
Tags: Argonauta Records, Boston, Hey Zeus, Hey Zeys X, Massachusetts, X
