Rock Gods

WHILE most bands admit to a respect for the past, Toronto four-piece Zeus embrace it with relish.

And that doesn’t just apply to there music – which seems to come simultaneously from each of the past four decades; it affects the way these self-styled “four dudes from Canada” look, think and live.

“We are a rock & roll band with tendencies to some older styles of music we like,” says Carlin Nicholson, summing up the image of his band, named after the Greek thunderbolt-throwing god of the sky.

“We are not necessarily breaking boundaries. There is some contemporary stuff in there, but loads of old stuff too.”

Those influences range from Fats Domino to Michael Jackson, Boston, Stevie Wonder, Queen, The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who. And it shines through, in all its retro-technicolour glory.

“There are certainly things from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that really turn us on,” says Carlin.

“There is a pretty good chance we were born in the wrong decade. But I wouldn’t know who to appeal to to get that corrected.”

It’s raining hard, but Carlin and the band don’t seem to care; they are taking their first night off since the start of the tour, which tomorrow reaches Oxford. They are, he confesses, starting to feel the strain – but are determined to let their hair down.

“It’s our first night off in 14 days,” he says. “So we are going to get crazy! We’re going bowling and then a bit of gambling...you know what I mean?

“It’s been our longest stretch of gigs ever. We did 10 straight in the United States once, but this has been harder – and it can turn you cross-eyed. But it’s going great and we have been received really well.

“Most people are just kicking off their high heels and getting down on the floor, and that's the kind of excitement we like.”

Boasting not one but three songwriters, Zeus is the creation of Carlin and fellow multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Mike O’Brien and Neil Quin, along with drummer Rob Drake. Home is a down-at-heel converted garage called the Ill Eagle (say it out loud), in Toronto's insalubrious East End, where they have just released second album Busting Visions.

The record, says Carlin, is the result of a “revolving door” of collaborators who called in at their studio.

Certainly, the respect they are held in by the great and good of the bubbling Canadian music scene, and beyond, seems to know no bounds, and they have played alongside the likes of Broken Social Scene, Metric, the Sam Roberts Band, Bright Eyes, and Belle & Sebastian.

Yet, at the same time, they seem out of place. With their ’70s-style facial hair, shades and sharp lapels, they look like they’ve stepped out of an episode of Starsky & Hutch or Kojak. But, insists Carlin, that's just who they are.

“We are not trying to play a joke,” he says. “We are light-hearted but emotional dudes and don’t take it too seriously. After all, what’s the point if you can’t have some fun?

“You can still make good music without wearing a dog chain and eye make-up, or looking miserable in every photo.

“As to why we have that ’70s thing...I don’t know. I guess it’s the natural product of what we are. The clothes come from that. It’s like a kid looking at his idols; it becomes imprinted on your mind and you pick it up.”

And it seems to work. Even the multiple-songwriting process doesn’t derail what is an intensely creative process.

“We strive for cohesion,” says Carlin. “But we all bring our own songs, fire it up and let it rip. We are confident that way.

“Our first album had 2009 stamped on the back of the record, but sounded like it was from the mid-’60s, and this one sounds like the early ’70s. So we are travelling though time quite quickly, but just in a different way.”

And are they enjoying it? Stupid question.

“Absolutely!” says Carlin.

“It’s tough to be away this much though. I’ve got a two-year-old at home, and this is not the kind of thing you plan for. The rock ’n’ roll institution of touring was made with no regard for family life. But there is no other way to go about it.

“Yet our relationship as a group is very strong. We all go back years, and are able to draw on the richness of our personal history. We also talk a lot. We’re a psychologists’ group, and we know how to roll as a family unit.

“But, at the end of the day, we are just a bunch of Canadian dudes working it out – and having a good time doing it.

“So let’s all have a good time and stop taking it all so damn seriously!”

* Zeus play the Jericho Tavern, Walton Street, Oxford, with Dan Mangan, tomorrow. Tickets are £7 from seetickets.com