The band's latest album, entitled The Tipping Point was released on April 2nd 2013. The band toured with Rehab on the "Lack of Luxury" 2007 tour. This album is the final one featuring Jeremy Wood on bass, leaving in November 2006 due to personal differences within the band.
Lead singer Jason DeVore has also released material as a solo artist.
Authority Zero was started in 1994 when Bill Marcks met Jason DeVore at Westwood High School. Marcks didn't actually meet DeVore until the summer of 1995, until then Authority Zero consisted of two guitarists (Marcks & Jerry Douglas) and a drummer J.W. Gordon, all from Westwood. This trio put a few songs together without lyrics or basslines. When that summer rolled around, Douglas was expecting the yearly visit of his friend Jason DeVore, from Wyoming. Douglas introduced his long time friend and Marcks jokingly asked if he wanted to be their singer, soon later it was no joke.
Marcks was impressed with DeVore's ability to "write catchy songs in fifteen minutes with really sticky hooks". The two quickly enlisted Jeremy Wood on bass. His experience with lead guitar and musical theory separated his bass playing from others'. Not just a "follow along," his baselines were independent and yet fluid with the music. (Wood actually taught Marcks & Douglas how to play guitar). However, because of Gordon's commitment to the Air Force, his position as drummer soon had to be replaced. Fellow classmate, skateboarder, and drummer Daniel Garcia fit this empty stool like a missing puzzle piece. He brought a new charge and tempo that evolved Authority Zero's music into a faster, more complex, punk rock style. Eventually, however, differences and family obligations led to Garcia's exit from the group.
Marcks, Douglas, DeVore, and Wood finally came upon Los Angeles native Jim Wilcox formerly of Welter/The New Militia who's tragic events ended the group, and he fittingly completed the Authority Zero's lineup. Later Douglas also left the group and joined the Air Force.
After releasing a local EP that sold very well, Authority Zero released their debut album A Passage In Time in 2002 on Lava Records. The album featured a blend of genres including punk rock and reggae, with obvious Spanish and Portuguese influences. A Passage In Time included the hits "One More Minute" and "Over Seasons".
The success of A Passage In Time propelled the band into new popularity. Authority Zero appeared on many tours, such as Warped Tour, the No Use for a Name/The Starting Line tour, and Sum 41's "Sum on Your Face". The band has also toured with the likes of Everclear, Guttermouth and H2O.
In 2004, Authority Zero released Andiamó, again on Lava Records. "Andiamó" means literally "We go" in Italian, but can also be read as "And I am Zero", the title of their live DVD released following Andiamó. The album again featured a blend of genres and Spanish/Portuguese influences. Andiamó is somewhat politically charged, evident in the songs "Revolution", "A Thousand Years of War", and the cover of the song "Mexican Radio", originally written by Wall of Voodoo (the version that appears on Andiamó has lyric changes in order to make a statement against the 2003 invasion of Iraq). In the summer of 2006, Authority Zero released a live acoustic compilation album titled Rhythm and Booze on Suburban Noize Records.
The band's next album, entitled 12:34 was released on January 30, 2007. The track "Courage" was released as a single. The band recently toured with Rehab on the "Lack of Luxury" 2007 tour. This album is the final one featuring Jeremy Wood on bass, who left Authority Zero in November 2006 due to personal differences within the band.
On December 30th, 2008 Bill Marcks posted a blog on his MySpace stating he left the band to spend more time with his family and to focus 100 percent on his new band, Sanziggo.
Jason DeVore has also been working on a side project called The Bollox, an Irish punk band he started with longtime friends.
It has also been confirmed that Authority Zero is working on a new studio album to be released February of 2010.
Dean "DJ" Farmer resigned as the bass player on July 20, 2009 citing personal, business, and creative differences.
Jeremy Wood has rejoined Authority Zero as the bass player.
Retreat
Authority Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you do, these times will come for you
You're giving up what you're thinking
But now you're thinking you were right
Put up in a sticky situation without putting up a fight
Now face to face reflections have got you thinking you were wrong
In that sticky situation when you've known it all along
Assist how? Up in the air your continence wavers
So what you gonna do?
Run fast as you can?
You're thinking back
No, you never had a plan
That's when you turn away
And you say you'll be back some other day
And then you run and hide
Retreat!
Your sticky situation
You retreat!
With out any hesitation
You retreat!
Your sticky situation now
Rackin' them up there's no question that you've played this game before
This sticky situation that you're choosing to ignore
What once was, it still is, and may forever be
But if ever I don't face it man I'm never gonna see
'Cause if I cease now, I'm liable to regret it later
Assist how? Up in the air your continence wavers
So what you gonna do?
Run fast as you can?
You're thinking back
Nope, you never had a plan
That's when you turn away
And you say you'll be back some other day
But then you run and hide
Retreat!
Your sticky situation
You retreat!
With out any hesitation
You retreat!
Your sticky situation now
HERE IT COMES!
You're giving up what you're thinking
But now you're thinking you were right
In a sticky situation without putting up a fight
Now face to face reflections have got you thinking you were wrong
In that sticky situation when you had known it all along
And what you do with your life is your own
Apart from different things that we're told
All the times you've chose to run and hide
All those different things you were afraid would unwind
But now you're picking up and running away
You're packing up, backing up, leaving it for another day
All the different times you've chose to run and hide
All the different things you thought they might find
You pack it up, back it up, pack it up, back it up and run
You're picking up, packing up, and back up under the sun
Now all the different reason you'd chose to run away
All those different reasons, now for another day
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Retreat!
Your sticky situation
You retreat!
With out any hesitation
You retreat!
Your sticky situation now
Yeah you run away right now!
The song Retreat by Authority Zero speaks about the consequences of choosing to run away and avoid facing difficult situations in life. The song's central theme is that if you choose to run away from a problematic situation, it will come back to haunt you no matter how fast you run or where you hide. The song conveys that retreating from a situation does not solve the problem at hand and, in fact, worsens it in the long run.
The opening line, "You retreat your sticky situation, don't choose to walk away," suggests that you can avoid facing difficult situations in life by retreating from them, but this only leads to further complications later on. The use of the phrase "sticky situation" ties to the idea of being stuck in a difficult predicament, making it hard to escape. The line, "If you do, these times will come for you," implies that one's troubles cannot be avoided, and the only option is to confront them head-on.
As the song progresses, the singer warns, "All the times you've chosen to run and hide, all those different things, you were afraid would unwind." The lyrics suggest that every time you run away from something, you are only postponing the inevitable, and the issues that you are trying to avoid will still be there, waiting for you to face them.
Overall, the song Retreat by Authority Zero is a reminder that retreat should not be our default mode of operation in the face of adversity, and trying to escape our problems is not a viable solution to our struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
You retreat your sticky situation, don't choose to walk away
You avoid your problems, but you need to confront them!
If you do, these times will come for you
If you don't, you will face the consequences later.
You're giving up what you're thinking
You're suppressing your true feelings.
But now you're thinking you were right
You thought you made the right choice to retreat.
Put up in a sticky situation without putting up a fight
You're in a difficult situation, but you're not trying to overcome it.
Now face to face reflections have got you thinking you were wrong
Looking back, you realize that running away was a mistake.
Because if I cease now, I'm liable to regret it later
If you give up now, you'll regret it in the future.
Assist how? Up in the air your continence wavers
You don't know how to fix the situation and you're indecisive.
So what you gonna do?
What actions are you going to take now?
Run fast as you can?
Are you going to continue to run away?
You're thinking back
You're reflecting on the past.
No, you never had a plan
You never had a strategy for dealing with the issue.
That's when you turn away
You're giving up and retreating once again.
And you say you'll be back some other day
You promise to return later when you're ready to confront the problem.
And then you run and hide
You flee and avoid the situation.
Rackin' them up there's no question that you've played this game before
You've been in this situation before and fled previously.
This sticky situation that you're choosing to ignore
You're disregarding the issue and avoiding it.
What once was, it still is, and may forever be
The problem still persists and will continue if not addressed.
But if ever I don't face it man I'm never gonna see
If you avoid the issue, you'll never know how to resolve it.
And what you do with your life is your own
You have control over your own life and the decisions you make.
Apart from different things that we're told
Despite what others say or advise, you have to make your own choices.
All the times you've chose to run and hide
You've chosen to flee in the past multiple times.
All those different things you were afraid would unwind
You were scared of the consequences of dealing with the issue.
But now you're picking up and running away
You're trying to escape the situation again.
You're packing up, backing up, leaving it for another day
You're putting off the issue for later and avoiding it once again.
All the different things you thought they might find
You were worried about what others might think or discover.
You pack it up, back it up, pack it up, back it up and run
You're running away from the problem by leaving and avoiding it.
You're picking up, packing up, and back up under the sun
You're trying to escape the situation and the glare of the truth.
Now all the different reason you'd chose to run away
You had various reasons for running away from the issue.
All those different reasons, now for another day
You're delaying dealing with the problem again.
Yeah you run away right now!
You're currently fleeing from the issue at hand.
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARTIN NOBLE, JAN WILKINSON, NEIL WILKINSON, MATTHEW WOOD, ABIGAIL FRY, PHILLIP SUMNER, MATTHEW JAMES WOOD, NEIL HAMILTON WILKINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind