April 2005 - During their 10-odd years as a band, near-legendary metalcore outfit Zao have broken up more times and seen more members depart than VH-1 could cram into a two-hour episode of Behind the Music. “There were certain members of the band that didn’t want to do it full force,” guitarist Scott Mellinger, who joined Zao in the late ‘90s, explained. “The financial decisions made it hard. It was a lot of different factors.” Things are finally looking up, though, following an event that could have signaled the end of the group the departure of the last remaining original member, drummer Jesse Smith, prior to recording sessions for Zao’s last full-length, The Funeral of God. “As a band and a business, we operate a lot differently now,” Mellinger said. “It’s a lot more fun and unstressed than we used to be.” Though Smith was often seen as the figurehead of Zao, according to the guitarist, his role in the group's creative process was blown out of proportion. “Before, me, Russ [Cogdell, guitarist] and Dan [Weyandt, singer] had as big or a bigger part in the songwriting than Jesse did,” Mellinger explained. “He made it out that he was the main songwriter. He never came out and said that, but everybody always talked to him. Since I’ve joined the band, the songwriting hasn’t changed.” What has changed in the last couple years is Zao’s record label. After releasing several records on the Tooth & Nail/Solid State family, the group made the jump to Ferret Records for Funeral, and they haven’t looked back since. “They’ve been great,” Mellinger said. “With the band being as unstable as it was, I don’t think Solid State wanted to put the money in, and I can’t blame them. The support’s better [now] it’s nice to have the president of your label be your bro.” Touring wasn’t even an appropriate term for the sporadic shows Zao would play every now and then throughout the bulk of their career. But Ferret and the stronger commitment of current members has enabled the group to stay on the road pretty consistently for the last year. “This band’s been such a joke with touring and breaking up it’s nice to be stabilized,” Mellinger said. “I definitely think it’s made a lot of difference for us as a band and the record sales.” Having completed a run of dates with emo-oriented rockers the Juliana Theory last month, Zao will get back out on the road next Sunday for their first outing with metal-band-of-the-moment Shadows Fall. “We’ve tried a couple times before [to tour with them], but things haven’t materialized,” Mellinger said. “So that should be fun.” But long-time fans may be surprised to hear that many of their favorites might not make set lists this time around. “What we’re trying to do is phase out a lot of the old songs, because a lot of us are sick and tired of [them], but there’s definitely a few that you have to do,” Mellinger said. “The bigger percentage of the crowd knows the new songs.” Regardless of how supportive their fans and label are, the guitarist said it’s still difficult to play music full time. “I think there’s a lot of bands that are paving the way for our style of music to come to the forefront,” he said. “To a certain degree, people are more open to heavy music, but there’s bands out there that still aren’t going to get complete success. It’s still a struggle.” However, Mellinger looks at success very differently from major label record executives. “There are a lot of bands that come up to us and say, ‘We listened to you when we were 13’,” Mellinger explained. “To know that we’ve influenced people, that’s more of a success than selling 100,000 records.” Of course, Zao wouldn’t be Zao without at least one member change per album cycle. Taking up the mantle of past departees like former bassist Bret Detar now the frontman for the aforementioned Juliana Theory was Shawn Koschik, who held down the low end for Funeral, then split. “Shawn just came in for a little bit,” Mellinger explained. “He might’ve just lost the drive to be in a band.” However, the group’s tour manager, Marty Lunn, stepped into Koschik’s spot without missing a beat. “Marty has always been in bands with us since the beginning of our musical careers,” Mellinger said. “Before Shawn even joined the band, Marty was up for the bass-playing position. Since he’s been our tour manager for the last two years, it’s nice to know that he’s committed.” And Zao will be forging ahead with new material next fall, continuing in the more traditionally-structured approach of Funeral’s songs. “We’re going to take a break at the beginning of October and write for like three months,” Mellinger said. “I think the key to having people like your stuff is parts where everybody can come together. When you’re 18, 19, you don’t give a crap what the structure is. Finally, with everybody getting along, it’s a lot better we work on things and work out things.” ­- Todd Thatcher