Meet The Unders

Let’s go down below with the hard-hitting emotional rocking of The Unders. In our latest interview, we chat with Michael Zadick about tempo, reality TV, and their 2020 release “III”.

A self-portrait by, Michael of The Unders

Would You Rather

your sense of smell or sense of hearing be a hundred times stronger? Why?

I guess I’d go for the smell. I’m somewhat of an audiophile and bad sound would be worse to me than too much smell.

Some Questions with The Unders

Do you see a correlation between tempo and emotion? How does this play into your songwriting?

Sometimes a really heavy, fast song has an angsty tone to it like our song “Made It For You” on our first record, or “Ohio!” on our new record III. But sometimes a fast song can be about something happier and lighter. Like our track “Always Waiting” which is fast but about waiting for summer. So there’s not always a correlation between the two.

If you could be on any reality TV show, what would it be and why?

Probably Alone. They just take you to the middle of nowhere and drop you off with 10 preselected survival items. Plus I don’t necessarily mind being alone. As long as I could find food, build a nice shelter, and play my guitar I’d be set. Plus the winner gets $500k which would be nice.

Has there been any change in your creative process between your 2017 and 2020 release?

A lot actually. Our lead guitar player Ted Beck left the group in that time. Because of that we really tried to make our sound work without having solos (because I’m not a great lead guitar play myself). Through that process, as a 3 piece that is, we really started concentrate on every single note or drum hit we were playing because we were playing a much more rhythmic style. That created a lot of space in some of the tracks on the new record. Such as: “He Combs His Hair & He brushes His teeth,” “Notice,” and “Give Up To Get By”

What was the creative drive behind your 2020 release “III”?

Sort of what I was mentioning in the last question. We went from a 4 piece to a 3 piece and that had a major effect on the song crafting process. But also the state of the world since our last record really seeped in there. When I was reviewing the final lyric sheet I really started to see that.

What would you want the name of your rival band to be? What kind of music would they play?

Probably The Overs. I think there is a band called that lol. They’re probably much better looking and talented than us.

What are the worst things about being a musician in NYC? What are the best things?

Well, obviously this will apply to the pre-pandemic times.

Worst things:
1. feeling like we're not any good because you just saw a really sick band play.
2. feeling like everything is expensive: going to shows, practice space, recording and mixing costs, etc.
3. loading in your gear when it’s freezing cold outside

Best things:
1. There’s a good band playing just about every night.
2. so many great venues in the city
3. The community of bands, or "the scene" is great too.

What songs off your new album are you looking forward to playing live (whenever we can do that again)?

We really crafted most of the songs on the new record by playing them to death live, but my personal favorite song to play is “He Combs His Hair & Brushes His Teeth” It’s longer and has a bit of a slower tempo than a lot of our songs but the chorus is very heavy cathartic for me to play and sing. And I’ll be damned if there’s not a least one person in the crowd bobbing their head by the end of it.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Just want to say stay safe to everyone out there and support your local music scene as much as you can. Buy local records and support local record shops, labels, and venues. Also, be sure to snag a copy of our new "local" record “III” on cassette or digitally Nov. 13 from King Pizza records or on our Bandcamp site: the-unders.bandcamp.com

The Unders