Zilch is the title of two different artistic groups.

The first is a … Read Full Bio ↴Zilch is the title of two different artistic groups.

The first is a project founded by Hideto "hide" Matsumoto in 1995 during a stay in Los Angeles.

Zilch was intended to launch an English-speaking market for hide. At its core, hide was joined by two English musicians; guitarist Ray McVeigh who had previously played with members of the Sex Pistols in a band called The Professionals, and bassist Paul Raven of Killing Joke. To complete the line-up American drummer Joey Castillo (now of Queens of the Stone Age fame) and I.N.A, a good friend of hide and member of his solo band hide with Spread Beaver in Japan joined the group.

The band was first mentioned in hide's personal online blog in January 1998 when the video for "Electric Cucumber" was released on Japanese music television. hide said that the band had recorded the particular song and video in 1996 but its release was delayed due to the adult nature of the themes it dealt with. hide said that the he planned to release an album with the band which had already been completed the previous year as well as concentrate on live work with the group. It has now transpired that the band were set to tour with American alternative act Marilyn Manson, the lead singer of which hide was friends with and gave a special "thanks" to in the album notes for his "Psyence" CD.

It was not to be; hide died on May 2, 1998.

The album was released on schedual and is regarded as being close to how it was originally intended with only post production work been contributed after hide's passing. The band released an album of remixed songs the following year and another original album in 2002 before officially disbanding. The band took on numerous members in their post-hide era such as Dave Kushner (now of Velvet Revolver) and had guest performers such as Duff McKagan (Guns n' Roses, Velvet Revolver), J (Luna Sea) and Steve Jones (Sex Pistols).

The second is a Christian pop group formed out of the backup artists for another Christian group named dcTalk.

Zilch was arranged in the fall of 1996 from members of dcTalk's backing band while on tour of Europe in support of their album "Jesus Freak". They use the word "arranged" because none of the members had much in common as far as musical taste or background, which is not the optimal way to form a band.

Guitarist and frontman, Mark Lee Townsend, found influences in everything from 60's pop to alternative. Keyboardist [Jason Halbert preferred synth pop. Bassist Otto Price was everything R & B but loved The Smiths. Drummer Rick May had roots in power pop.

In any case, the four locked themselves in the studio after the New Year and wrote the material which would make up the songs on the 1997 release "Platinum" (Gotee Records). The name Zilch was suggested by Mark, possibly to indicate what kind of impact the band would have on the world, which was a somewhat harsh assessment. Probably closer to the truth is that the name was taken from a cut on The Monkees' 1967 album "Headquarters" (ironically, another band that was "arranged").

The original lineup was a strong one musically, but with such disparate tastes, the band struggled on the road and ultimately retired when dcTalk resumed touring in 1998.

Fast forward to the present where Mark Lee Townsend, the principle visionary in original Zilch, is back to writing new Zilch music. Mark is joined in the studio by Dan Gartley on bass and drummer Mark Graalman (both in the EMI band, Sanctus Real) to finish a new Zilch album, some 10 years after the original release. In keeping with tradition, the new Zilch promises quirky power pop guaranteed to bring a smile.

(Material for the second Zilch entry taken from their website http://www.zilchonline.com/)

Here We Go
Zilch Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I left my house today
Thinking about the words we throw
Away
Things that we shouldn't have said
Friends can be hard to find
Why do we leave the grace so far
Behind

Dragging us down instead
Here we go again when
Break before we bend
Thinking it all will mend in time
Here we go again
Here as we draw up sides
Both of us too assured to be
Denied

Someone will fall behind
Do we see
When can we cross this line
Here we go again we
Break before we bend

Thinking it all will mend in time
Here we go again

Overall Meaning

The song starts with the singer leaving their house and thinking about the weight of the words they use, and how it can affect their relationships with others. They reflect on the idea that sometimes friends can be difficult to maintain, and this is often because of the harsh words people say without thinking. The chorus repeats the phrase "Here we go again," indicating that this cycle of people hurting each other through their words is a repetitive pattern. The line "Both of us too assured to be denied" shows that the singer recognizes their own fault in this cycle and perceives that both sides are guilty of this cycle.

The second verse questions if people are aware of when they are stepping over a line and if they are willing to admit that they are wrong. The song suggests that when people draw a line in the sand, they may be too stubborn to admit that they are wrong, and they leave others behind. The chorus again repeats the cycle of the singer and the other person being unable to fix the relationship without breaking it first. The line "thinking it all will mend in time" shows that there is hope that the relationship will be restored, but not without the pain of breaking it first.

Overall, the song presents the idea that the things we say can hurt people deeply, and it can damage our relationships. It also talks about the cycle of people using words to hurt each other and how difficult it is to break this cycle. It suggests that instead of being too sure of ourselves and drawing lines in the sand, we should focus on maintaining grace and forgiveness in our relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

I left my house today
Starting the day with the realization that there are things to fix between us.

Thinking about the words we throw away
Contemplating the way we take for granted some of the things we say, which can cause damage to our relationships.

Things that we shouldn't have said
Remorseful about some of the hurtful words exchanged between us.

Friends can be hard to find
Understanding that true friends are hard to come by and should be valued.

Why do we leave the grace so far behind
Questioning why we often forget to forgive and extend grace to each other in difficult situations.

Dragging us down instead
Realizing that holding onto negative feelings and grudges is causing more trouble than it's worth.

Here we go again when
Acknowledging that this cycle of conflict has repeated itself before.

Break before we bend
Giving up on the relationship and walking away is always easier than working through the issues, but it's rarely the best option.

Thinking it all will mend in time
Believing that with time, effort, and communication, the relationship can be healed and restored.

Here as we draw up sides
Feeling like we're both taking opposing positions and not seeing eye to eye.

Both of us too assured to be denied
Both parties feel confident they're right and unwilling to see the other's point of view.

Someone will fall behind
Realizing that if we continue down this path, one of us will be left behind or hurt more than the other.

Do we see? When can we cross this line
Questioning if either of us truly understands the ramifications of our actions and when or if we can move past them.

Here we go again we
Recognizing that we're stuck in a cycle of conflict and disagreements.

Break before we bend
Realizing that we shouldn't give up on each other or our relationship too easily.

Thinking it all will mend in time
Having hope that with effort, time, and understanding, we can mend our relationship and overcome our differences.

Here we go again
Realizing that the cycle of disagreement and negative communication continues despite our best intentions.

Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: JASON D. HALBERT, MARK L. TOWNSEND, OTTO MONTGOMERY PRICE JR., RICHARD D. MAY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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