Commuter

Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

"I think punk is a state of mind," says Steve Zing, frontman for the punk/metal band Doomtree, ex-frontman for Chyna, current bassist for Danzig, and former drummer in Samhain and Mourning Noise, two punk rock bands that broke up in the '80s.

Punk is "just having your own thoughts and doing your own thing," Zing says. "It doesn't matter that it's a distorted guitar sound, spiked hair, black hair, red hair."

The spirit of punk rock lives in Zing, who encourages others to think for themselves and not give up on their dreams. You can hear that spirit it Doomtree's 2005 release, "Down Below. "

"In my world is a better place for you," speak the lyrics of the album's punk anthem, "Stand and Fall."

Doomtree members include Steve Falco and Ronnie Borje on guitars, Danno on bass, and John Caton on drums. With influences from The Misfits, The Ramones, The Damned, Generation X, and Elvis, Zing and the band are inspired to make well-crafted , versatile music that could make anyone a fan.

"We write whatever we want and that's how we come across," Zing says. "I don't care about the image of Doomtree."

This is a bold way of thinking in a time where it appears that image is quite possibly more important than music.

"When you think about it, the '50s, the '60s, the '70s, there was no video," Zing says. "So whatever they were going to sing, they had to come across right in the recording. I'm really into that."

But Zing's punk rock music and attitude wasn't always accepted. "It wasn't easy because it wasn't the norm and people couldn't accept that there was something new besides what was coming out," he says. "It was something that wasn't safe. It was beyond safe music for safe people."

The punks of the late '70s and early '80s were only trying to do their own thing, Zing says.

"You got criticized," he remembers. "You'd be sent home from school if you came to school with safety pins in your shirt. They thought they were weapons. Look at it now. Now they're bringing guns and knives to school and they were worried about a safety pin."

Looking at punk music today, and how easily accessible and accepted the genre is, Zing says, "Look, they saw the cash cow and they realized that, 'You know what? We could make money with this.'" As for finding new, original music, such as that of Doomtree, "You kinda have to keep searching and searching to hear what's going on out there and there's some good stuff out there," Zing says.

Searching for new artists is a great asset that the Internet provides for musicians and artists alike, Zing says. "You can reach anybody, anywhere in the world with the click of a button."

As for the changes the industry is experiencing, Zing says, "The [record] labels weren't prepared for the computer age. They're run by old-school accountants and lawyers who just thought that it was going to be the same old thing and of course it's not and it will never be the same again. And you know what? That's probably a good thing."

Doomtree is currently recording its new album with a possible release set for April. The band is recording and producing the album itself. Zing is no stranger to popular bedroom recordings.

"Samhain was originally me and Glenn [Danzig] in my bedroom," says Zing, speaking of the punk outfit started by Glenn Danzig, founder and lead singer of The Misfits, Samhain and Danzig.

Zing, like his friend and Danzig bandmate, Glenn Danzig, is self-made. "You don't need a major record label to put your CD out," he says. "You could do it yourself and be just as successful as a lot of artists in the past."

Zing recently finished touring with Danzig, which wrapped up the tour with a homecoming performance in Sayreville, N.J. Its current lineup consists of Zing on bass, Danzig on vocals, Johnny Kelly on drums, and Kenny Hickey on guitar, the latter two also members of Type O Negative.

As the new Doomtree album release date approaches, Zing talks of Doomtree going back out on tour. "Hopefully we're going to do a bunch of shows with Johnny and Kenny from Type O with their new band Seventh Void and hopefully do some Type O shows as well 'cause they're going on tour."

Zing is also looking at the possibility of taking Doomtree on tour with Danzig. In 1999, Zing was asked by Glenn Danzig to reunite with London May, also a former drummer of Samhain, and do a Samhain Reunion tour. The band had broken up in 1987.

Following the tour, Zing joined forces with May, Todd Youth (who was touring with Danzig and filling in as the Samhain guitarist), and AFI's Davey Havok to record an album titled "Songs from the Earth."

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