Event

Zilla

Zilla is a band trapped in two worlds. Tied to the jamband scene through String Cheese Incident drummer Michael Travis, Zilla also has a rightful place in the electronica realm based on their use of loop pedals, synthesizers and other devices as a compliment to their real instruments. If anything, Zilla is best considered a live electronica act than the jamband. Hereâs where it all becomes blurred: the band, which also includes hammered dulcimer player Jamie Janover and guitarist Aaron Holstein, comes to the stage with no preconceived notion of what might happen, what direction the music might travel, and where it might end up. Everything Zilla does is live, organic, and spontaneous, playing off the crowd, the atmosphere or the Mexican food churning in their bellies. Their five albums were all recorded liveâone in the studio. Perhaps Janover sums up this split personality best: âWe joke that we are the only real jamband because thatâs all we do,â Janover says with a laugh. âItâs organic, electronic, and nothingâs planned â¦ we are 100 percent improvisation.â