LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Zerobridge) - "Late Bloomer is one of those tracks that just arrived," says lead singer/songwriter Din. "When I wrote the tune, it felt effortless in that all the melodies, parts, emotions, and lyrics led into each other. There is honesty in the song that I'm proud of and embarrassed by all at once, and people really relate to that."
It may seem like a gimmick, but zerobridge are self-releasing a single every month for the remainder of 2008 because there is no other alternative. Din explains, "We've been STRICTLY independent for as long as we've been together and maybe even more than we would like to be. We've accumulated a catalog of songs that no one's heard outside our regional fan base and have not recorded until now. It seems that in this digital age for music, the single is the format of choice by the fans and what better way for a band like us to establish ourselves and get our music heard than to use the internet as our distribution company. It's still a challenge. Creating music still takes time and money, but it's on our terms and while I still think they are necessary, we don't have to deal with labels - just directly with music fans."
It's not often you hear about a band like zerobridge. Lead singer/guitarist and songwriter Mubashir "Din" Mohi-ud-Din and drummer Mohsin "Mo" Mohi-ud-Din are two brothers whose parents are from the disputed territory of Kashmir, nestled between northern India and Pakistan. Greg "The Quota", seasoned NYC bass player, and guitarist Jay Barclay (Ben Kweller, Damnwells), round out the quartet who have been playing their own unique brand of melodic, guitar driven rock n' roll for the last three years. With two independent releases behind them, zerobridge released the Havre de Grace EP that illustrates the band's penchant for classic song writing and a passion to become the only band that matters.
The name zerobridge comes from an actual bridge in Kashmir's capital, Srinagar, which earned the lesser known epithet of the "the city of seven bridges." The story goes that when they built an 8th bridge, no one knew what to call the original first bridge. The solution is a case of pragmatics taken to the extreme: they decided to name it zerobridge. The bridge itself is a sentimental place for anyone familiar with Kashmir. Just across the bridge, after passing through military checkpoints and barbed wire fences, is a cafe called the Zero Inn; a place where the bothers, family and friends go when reunited in Kashmir to hang out and have "cold coffees" (which are like frapuchinos, but far better according to the brothers).
Other songs on the EP include the title track, "Havre de Grace," the name of a town in northern Maryland, close to where the brothers grew up, meaning "Harbor of Grace." The incendiary political satire of "The Shake" sheds light on the hypocrisies of religious extremism. A reworking of "Suffering Moses," originally off the bands first LP, is an unabashedly beautiful ode to Kashmir which is followed by the razor edged bravado of "This is My Version," a live favorite that sounds like a mashup of the Smiths and the ragged snarl of Iggy Pop. Mo passionately adds, "No gimmicks. We put our hearts, souls and sweat into whatever we do. It's about love, war, and curiosity I suppose. It's just painfully true, good rock n' roll."
