Drew Fortier’s ideas for Bang Tango songs ended up becoming Zen From Mars material

Drew Fortier’s ideas for Bang Tango songs ended up becoming Zen From Mars material

Bang Tango and Zen From Mars rhythm guitarist Drew Fortier was recently interviewed by All Music & All Bands: Local, National & Worldwide, and was asked about a new Bang Tango studio album.

In terms of a projected date for the record, Fortier stated: “Honestly i’m not sure to tell you the truth. The intention is definitely to make new music happen, and I know they have been working on new material, but at the moment, Joe [Leste] & Timmy [Russell] have Beautiful Creatures revving back up, which is great! So time will tell when new Bang Tango material will be on the horizon!”

On whether he has collaborated with anyone on the new Bang Tango material or brought in his own music to the band, Fortier advised: “I brought some of my music in a few years back, but the ideas were quite different than the Bang Tango sound so those song ideas actually ended up turning into Zen From Mars tunes. As far as collaborating on new Bang Tango music, I have personally chosen not to be involved with that process and would rather leave it up to Joe, Rowan [Robertson], Lance [Eric], & Timmy!”

In regard to how Zen From Mars came to be, Fortier stated: “It actually came together through me initially reaching out to Stephen Shareaux about me doing a Kik Tracee documentary. We hit it off immediately. A few months after that I had these fully structured acoustic demos that I was going to see if they can be used as new Bang Tango songs but the demos were quite a bit different than the BT sound. So I asked Stephen to check them out and the next thing I know, he starts sending me the demos back with his lyrics/melodies/vocal parts and it absolutely blew me away. That’s how ZFM was born…”

With respect to Fortier‘s future plans, the guitarist / video producer stated: “Aside from all this, I work very closely with Thom Hazaert and have been helping him out with Megadeth bassist David Ellefson‘s record label EMP (Ellefson Music Productions). Thom is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He always knows how to help keep my chin up when everything feels like it’s starting to suck. His belief in me and friendship has been a big motivator in getting the ZFM record done. Also David Ellefson is one of the kindest, nicest, and most talented people I have ever had the honor of meeting and working with. Expect big things from the EMP Label Group in the near future, we’re just getting started!

Stephen Shareaux and I are also doing a mini acoustic tour next month. We are performing at Rock n Roll Land in Green Bay, WI on April 6th, then we play David Ellefson‘s “Ellefson Coffee Co” grand opening in Jackson, Minnesota April 7-9. Brynn Arens will also be there playing with us. We’ll be performing Kik Tracee, and ZFM tunes. You’ll get to hear a lot of ZFM songs for the first time ever at these shows. It’s going to be a blast! Then we are playing The Aster Cafe in Minneapolis, MN on April 10th!”

You can read the rest of the interview with Fortier at All Music & All Bands: Local, National & Worldwide.

Zen From Mars‘ “New Leaf” video:

Zen From Mars – New Leaf (Demo) Official Music Video

https://www.facebook.com/ZenFromMars/Directed & Shot by Joe Placzkowski & Frank RitterEdited by Drew Fortier”New Leaf” Written by: Stephen Shareaux and Drew …