The Story behind "...OF NOTHING"
Lyrics and music by: Zenon Zamora
______________________________________________________________________________
It was the dead of summer. The only thing separating me from complete exhaustion was the
blaring refrain of central air conditioning… Although typical for this time of year, the weather
was not the cause of my distress. Rather, it was the tempestual week I spent consoling my two
closest friends during their “divorce”; a break up I was not prepared to handle… If there was
ever a constant in my existence, it was that these two people were a couple. Now, it seemed that
their 10 year reign was coming to an end.
I considered both people to be my closest friends. My brother and my sister to be sure. How was
I to deal with it? I made it a point not to stick my nose in their business, however I had to
consider how this would effect my life as well. I began to see how these connections we make
during our lifetime help shape our understanding of ourselves. With this connection falling apart,
I wondered if I was going to be the same person as well.
One half of this connection was not only my best friend, but my creative and music partner.
Together we formed the basis of our group, HARLEQUIN, and together we let it fall apart.
But I digress.
The weekend after the break-up was “official” I decided to call-off band practice due to the
emotional strain of the situation for all parties involved. I didn’t want to make it seem like “life is
coming to an end” but I thought my best friend and creative partner needed a break from the
routine My drummer Maurice, who incidentally is my cousin, (also known in the rap industry as
the talented “TRECE”), called me and prompted me to “jam” with him during this hiatus; a
session or two to maintain our stability – just the two of us... I agreed and planned to have the
impromptu practice later that evening.
As I waited for Maurice to arrive, I was messing around on the guitar; idling through simple
movements and staple “jam session” tunes. Out of nowhere I started to play the melody riff of
what was to become “Of Nothing” I couldn’t get enough of the progression; its rising tone mixed
with heavy distortion made it seem playfully sorrowful, considering the events of that week, I
thought it fitting.
As I continued to work on the melody, Maurice showed up and heard my riffs as he walked up
the drive. By the time he reached the garage, he had developed a drum scheme that would push
this song to overflow. I kept playing as he walked in a set-up his kit; knowing very well that he
was up to something. Little did I know, I was writing what was to become the staple song of
HARLEQUIN.
The minute Maurice began to play with my melody, the song, lyrics and all, took off like a
rocket. It simply poured out of me with the intensity of a collapsing star. Line by line, the song
became a representation of my lost feeling in the wake of a disastrous break-up. Within an half
an hour, I had this song formatted to perfection. Oddly enough, little change was made to the
structure and lyrics of the song; I thought it best to leave it as it was; RAW. The dying scream of
a once beautiful dream.
The next week, HARLEQUIN began to rehearse “Of Nothing”. Everyone knew what it was
about but no one talked about it. By this time, the break-up seemed to be passing with the
seasons. But the song still carried its weight with me; every time I performed this song in front of
a crowd, I felt like I was in that garage again working on it with Maurice.
While I am entranced with the power of this track, I am also somewhat burdened by it. It’s one
of those instances where the artist loves the art, but cannot adequately quell the burning desire to
bring it to conclusion. The raw sound of this track is intentional; when good tracks are over-
produced, they lose that “edge of realism”. I hope the severity of the music takes you to that day
when I was alone in the garage with my guitar.
Always,
Z
***
Lyrics and music by: Zenon Zamora
______________________________________________________________________________
It was the dead of summer. The only thing separating me from complete exhaustion was the
blaring refrain of central air conditioning… Although typical for this time of year, the weather
was not the cause of my distress. Rather, it was the tempestual week I spent consoling my two
closest friends during their “divorce”; a break up I was not prepared to handle… If there was
ever a constant in my existence, it was that these two people were a couple. Now, it seemed that
their 10 year reign was coming to an end.
I considered both people to be my closest friends. My brother and my sister to be sure. How was
I to deal with it? I made it a point not to stick my nose in their business, however I had to
consider how this would effect my life as well. I began to see how these connections we make
during our lifetime help shape our understanding of ourselves. With this connection falling apart,
I wondered if I was going to be the same person as well.
One half of this connection was not only my best friend, but my creative and music partner.
Together we formed the basis of our group, HARLEQUIN, and together we let it fall apart.
But I digress.
The weekend after the break-up was “official” I decided to call-off band practice due to the
emotional strain of the situation for all parties involved. I didn’t want to make it seem like “life is
coming to an end” but I thought my best friend and creative partner needed a break from the
routine My drummer Maurice, who incidentally is my cousin, (also known in the rap industry as
the talented “TRECE”), called me and prompted me to “jam” with him during this hiatus; a
session or two to maintain our stability – just the two of us... I agreed and planned to have the
impromptu practice later that evening.
As I waited for Maurice to arrive, I was messing around on the guitar; idling through simple
movements and staple “jam session” tunes. Out of nowhere I started to play the melody riff of
what was to become “Of Nothing” I couldn’t get enough of the progression; its rising tone mixed
with heavy distortion made it seem playfully sorrowful, considering the events of that week, I
thought it fitting.
As I continued to work on the melody, Maurice showed up and heard my riffs as he walked up
the drive. By the time he reached the garage, he had developed a drum scheme that would push
this song to overflow. I kept playing as he walked in a set-up his kit; knowing very well that he
was up to something. Little did I know, I was writing what was to become the staple song of
HARLEQUIN.
The minute Maurice began to play with my melody, the song, lyrics and all, took off like a
rocket. It simply poured out of me with the intensity of a collapsing star. Line by line, the song
became a representation of my lost feeling in the wake of a disastrous break-up. Within an half
an hour, I had this song formatted to perfection. Oddly enough, little change was made to the
structure and lyrics of the song; I thought it best to leave it as it was; RAW. The dying scream of
a once beautiful dream.
The next week, HARLEQUIN began to rehearse “Of Nothing”. Everyone knew what it was
about but no one talked about it. By this time, the break-up seemed to be passing with the
seasons. But the song still carried its weight with me; every time I performed this song in front of
a crowd, I felt like I was in that garage again working on it with Maurice.
While I am entranced with the power of this track, I am also somewhat burdened by it. It’s one
of those instances where the artist loves the art, but cannot adequately quell the burning desire to
bring it to conclusion. The raw sound of this track is intentional; when good tracks are over-
produced, they lose that “edge of realism”. I hope the severity of the music takes you to that day
when I was alone in the garage with my guitar.
Always,
Z
***
The story behind, "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES"
Lyrics and music by: Zenon Zamora
______________________________________________________________________________
This was an odd song for me. The music to DMTNT was taken from a symphony I was
working on. The variable melodies and intentional movements throughout the song made the
conversion to a "glam/goth" track interesting...
The inspiration behind the symphony was an awakening I experienced in the summer of '03.
This life-changing realization intrigued me so much that I felt like I was being reborn. Nothing
had sparked my curiosity as such... It seemed only logical that this level of wonder could only
mean that I was beginning a new phase in my existence.
The source of this inspiration was the discovery of a story by one of my most admired Authors /
Philosophers, the Marquis De Sade... The story, 'Florville and Courval' (or 'The Works Of
Fate'). This story re-arranged my perception about the "human condition". Never before, nor
since have I read such a powerful story about "vice and its triumphs over virtue". This quote
from the story describes the human experience through the eyes of an incredible artist, the
Marquis De Sade.
As I said before, the song began as a symphony. The intro to the song is really a condensed
version of the beginning movement of the symphony. When I began to reform DMTNT, it was
obvious that I needed to keep the strings at their primal state. In other words, the strings you hear
are exactly as I originally wrote them... Because this had to become a "mainstream" song, I didn't
feel it was necessary to include any of the other instruments. The simplistic build-up of a string
octet could only make sense to the overwhelming "melodies".
The melody section of this track was probably the most cumbersome portion to complete; maybe
on the album as a whole. I simply couldn't find sounds that "fit" (to those of you who record
songs, you know what I mean)... I played with samples off a website for hours one weekend to
see if I could get the right sounds to "play" the three melodies. The final version of the track
contains sounds that I discovered quite by accident. Much to my happiness, the arpeggiated bass
line came out of a vintage (1980!!!) Korg that I inherited. It's quite lovely - most of the sounds
sound like they are straight from "Flash Gordon" (Queen)..... :)
Oddly enough, the very end portion of the track was actually the original drum-beat / melody
scheme... Because this song came from an orchestral structure, there was not a concrete
"transfer" version. I recorded several versions of the melody portion to see which would tie in
best with the chorus....
Based on all the hits that page receives, I trust you like...
The song maintains its original intent; the metaphor of "Dead Men Tall No Tales" is simple... I'm
going to leave that for you to decipher... It may sound like a sexual innuendo / power song... But
I assure you, its point is direct and 100% inspired by my quest into the mind of the Marquis De
Sade...
"... 'Tis a truly extraordinary thing, the malicious joy of vice in its triumphs over virtue..."
taken from Florville and Courval, by the Marquis De Sade
Z
***
Lyrics and music by: Zenon Zamora
______________________________________________________________________________
This was an odd song for me. The music to DMTNT was taken from a symphony I was
working on. The variable melodies and intentional movements throughout the song made the
conversion to a "glam/goth" track interesting...
The inspiration behind the symphony was an awakening I experienced in the summer of '03.
This life-changing realization intrigued me so much that I felt like I was being reborn. Nothing
had sparked my curiosity as such... It seemed only logical that this level of wonder could only
mean that I was beginning a new phase in my existence.
The source of this inspiration was the discovery of a story by one of my most admired Authors /
Philosophers, the Marquis De Sade... The story, 'Florville and Courval' (or 'The Works Of
Fate'). This story re-arranged my perception about the "human condition". Never before, nor
since have I read such a powerful story about "vice and its triumphs over virtue". This quote
from the story describes the human experience through the eyes of an incredible artist, the
Marquis De Sade.
As I said before, the song began as a symphony. The intro to the song is really a condensed
version of the beginning movement of the symphony. When I began to reform DMTNT, it was
obvious that I needed to keep the strings at their primal state. In other words, the strings you hear
are exactly as I originally wrote them... Because this had to become a "mainstream" song, I didn't
feel it was necessary to include any of the other instruments. The simplistic build-up of a string
octet could only make sense to the overwhelming "melodies".
The melody section of this track was probably the most cumbersome portion to complete; maybe
on the album as a whole. I simply couldn't find sounds that "fit" (to those of you who record
songs, you know what I mean)... I played with samples off a website for hours one weekend to
see if I could get the right sounds to "play" the three melodies. The final version of the track
contains sounds that I discovered quite by accident. Much to my happiness, the arpeggiated bass
line came out of a vintage (1980!!!) Korg that I inherited. It's quite lovely - most of the sounds
sound like they are straight from "Flash Gordon" (Queen)..... :)
Oddly enough, the very end portion of the track was actually the original drum-beat / melody
scheme... Because this song came from an orchestral structure, there was not a concrete
"transfer" version. I recorded several versions of the melody portion to see which would tie in
best with the chorus....
Based on all the hits that page receives, I trust you like...
The song maintains its original intent; the metaphor of "Dead Men Tall No Tales" is simple... I'm
going to leave that for you to decipher... It may sound like a sexual innuendo / power song... But
I assure you, its point is direct and 100% inspired by my quest into the mind of the Marquis De
Sade...
"... 'Tis a truly extraordinary thing, the malicious joy of vice in its triumphs over virtue..."
taken from Florville and Courval, by the Marquis De Sade
Z
***
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