Ali Tabatabaee of Zebrahead

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Recently I was able to schedule a Zoom call with Ali Tabatabaee of Zebrahead to discuss the band’s new single, “I Have Mixed Drinks About Feelings,” and the final record in their trilogy of EPs called I. In this interview I asked Ali about the band’s touring plans, how he organizes the band’s setlists, as well as a chance to reflect on Zebrahead’s near 30 year existence. I will be released on November 13th.

Thank you so much for your time today, Ali. It’s great to see you again! Let’s first chat about Zebrahead’s great new single called “I Have Mixed Drinks About Feelings.” What was the lyrical inspiration behind this new track?

The main idea, not only behind this track, but I feel like a few of the songs on this new EP that we had been working on, kind of what we realized as we’ve been together for so long and traveling and playing shows and stuff, and looking back on all our experiences, it’s like a community experience with your friends and experiencing all these things together. It really stood out to us every time we would hang out, we would talk about, remember when this happened? So, as we were working on some of these songs, we incorporated that vibe or that feeling into the song. This song in particular is about appreciating all the times that you have with your friends, when you experience things, mostly good, hopefully, but also some negative things. And just realizing that you’re with people that you care about, and who care about you, and trying to take the positive out of that in every experience.

That’s cool. That’s a nice way of encapsulating everything for that one. How has the band chemistry been since Adrian joined?

Oh, man, Adrian is such an outgoing person. I feel like not only band-wise, but everywhere we tour, he’s like out in line where the kids are lined up. He goes and talks to everybody. He’s super friendly. It’s just been really positive, man, and not only just hanging out with them, but writing with them. He’s really easy to write with. He comes up with a million ideas a second. So it’s always fun to write with somebody who it feels like can come up with something on the spot and inspire you to, like, improve your part or work just as hard. But it’s been great, man. He’s a really nice dude, and he’s fun to tour with as well.

That’s awesome. Has he challenged you guys at all? I mean, with different vocal parts, with his range, or the way you all collaborate over time?

I mean, his voice is amazing. He’s got a very distinct voice. But I would say the thing that he most challenges us with is drinking. <Laughter> He’s a hell of a drinker, so I wouldn’t mess with him on that.

<Laughter> To each his own, right? So your next EP is going to be called I and will close out the trilogy of EPs that Zebrahead has released, with the first one that dropped all the way back in November of 2021. What was the reasoning behind breaking up the releases into three different EPs rather than a singular record?

Well, we had never really done EPs before. And this was all during the pandemic. We were trying to, you know, be inspired. And we felt like we wanted to come out of the pandemic with an EP. And then I was talking to Ben, and we were just discussing: How can we make that a little bit different? And we decided to do a trilogy. We were inspired by a lot of movies that do that. And it was kind of like a concept for us to go and say, we’re going to release three EPs consecutively. And we decided at the time we’re going to go III, II, I, and stick with a theme for the artwork as well. So. These songs weren’t necessarily written all at the same time. We did write them separately, but we had it in the back of our head that we kind of wanted them to be able to integrate together as a wonderful project in the end. And so that’s how we came up with the III, II, I idea. And we had this idea before we even released the first EP a few years ago. So it’s kind of nice to see it coming to a conclusion now with the I EP. And we’re really excited for the fans to listen to it, and then also listen to all three of them consecutively to see if they appreciate the vibe we’re going for.

Nice! Do you have a recommendation for fans as far as whether or not they do it sequentially or flip the order now that they will all be out in November?

I would say, do it sequentially, initially, and see what they feel. And then, obviously, you can switch it up. But yeah, in my head, it was always sequential: III, II, I.

So, I understand the majority of your tour dates this summer will be in Europe. What songs from the new record do you think will resonate best with these crowds?

Well, you know, we have a song that we’re really excited about called “Pulling Teeth”, and that comes out on the 31st of July. So I think we’re going to try to play that a few times. And then also, we played at the Download Festival when we were there a couple of weeks ago in England, and that went really well. So I think those two songs for now, we’re really excited about, and hopefully the fans will like it and go off when we play it live.

Do you find yourself kind of “setlist crunching” a little bit with so much material that Zebrahead have put out? How do you guys go about organizing a set list these days?

Yeah, you know, it’s that we do have a lot of songs, so there is always a conversation. Like, alright, we’re going to put in a new one, so what are we going to have to take out? Especially if it’s like a limited booking, if we’re not headlining or something. So usually it’s like arm wrestling for whoever has the strongest forearm gets the pick. Usually Dan, I think…<Laughter>

<Laughter> So it may be hard to believe, but in just two years time, in 2026, Zebrahead will have been a band for 30 years!

Oh, my God!

A remarkable, remarkable achievement. Are there any plans for either a comprehensive world tour, vinyl reissues of past music, or are there any other ideas that are being floated around with the band at this point?

You are the first person who has brought that up. Honestly, we haven’t discussed it, but I’m going to have to bring it up now! Well, we’re going to do something, obviously. I didn’t realize. Oh, my God, it’s been that long.

Yeah, I had to go to Wikipedia just to make sure. I was like, that can’t be right…

Holy shit. Yeah, we’re going to do something. I don’t know what, but I’m going to say you inspired it, because you brought up the 30 year thing.

Alright. I’ll take credit for it! So you’ve tinkered with other projects recently, like Fear No Empire that put out an EP, but your heart seems to be firmly in place with Zebrahead. What are your best memories of being in the band?

Well, I always say this to my friends, it’s just the amount of people we’ve met and we’ve had a chance to become friends with all over the world. It’s just a very unique experience. Like you said, we’ve been doing it for 30 years and this weekend I had a friend here from Tokyo and I’ve known him for about 28 years. So, it’s just the friendships that we’ve had, that we’ve been able to make, and all the places we’ve gone together have been very special. And I think that’s very unique to being in a touring band where you get the opportunity to do that. We are really appreciative of that.

That’s great. And I think I saw that you guys got full ownership of your merch store at the very least, or at least you have major input in the creative process. Can you talk about how that’s been going recently?

Yeah, it’s great. I feel like, for an artist, the more ownership you have over the way you’re perceived, the songs you write, it’s very important. And we’ve always tried to have as much control of what we create as possible. As far as our artwork goes now, we work with a few great artists and they either send us ideas and we’ll go through them or like I’ll be talking to Ben and I’ll be like, Hey, what if we did something like this? I’m a horrible artist, but like I’ll jot something down or I’ll find something online that is kind of the vibe I’m going for. And then we’ll send it off to the “talented people” who are good at it and they will make it look cool. But I’m very stoked on the fact that we have such a big voice in the way we’re marketed and the T-shirts and the artwork. And I highly recommend it to other artists if they can do it.

That’s awesome. Where’s the most bizarre place you’ve ever seen your merchandise out in the world?

Oh, my God. Well, we played Punk Rock Holiday in Slovenia, and we saw a bumper sticker on a car there once. I mean, I would have never imagined that. So it’s just crazy, man. Like, you never know. Sometimes I’ll look at where our songs are streaming and it’ll be in a city that I’ve never really even heard of. And it’s just such a cool thing. And, you know, we’re really appreciative of that. Whenever something weird like that in our head happens, it’s something that’s very special.

That’s really cool. So after the final EP in the trilogy releases this November, what do you envision for the next year or so? What will that look like for Zebrahead?

We are going to be touring a lot. We head over to Europe next Wednesday. We’re gone for like three and a half weeks. And then from there, from what I understand, we’re just booking more and more shows now. So, I think within the next year and a half to two years, there’s going to be a lot of touring. So if you could just go to Zebrahead.com, and if you are up for it, come hang out with us. It’s going to be fun.

Any last words for your fans or a reason to check out the new EP?

Yeah, please check it out. The songs are bangers on this one. I feel like they’re going to really appreciate it. The next single comes out on July 31st. And then the album, the EP, comes out in November. November 13th is when EP I comes out. So please check that out. And thank you for supporting us for almost 30 years. We really appreciate it, and we can’t wait to come to a town near you. So come party with us.

Thanks so much, Ali. It’s great seeing you, as always!

Thanks, Adam. I appreciate it, buddy.

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