The Blazing Zoos

The Blazing Zoos

The Blazing Zoos are a country and Americana group from England. The band brings together musician and journalist Andrew Mueller, who is also the author of I Wouldn’t Start From Here and Rock & Hard Places; Mike Edwards and Gen Matthews, both formerly of Jesus Jones; Seymour Patrick, who plays bass and has also been a guitarist in Miss Black America and Ten City Nation; and piano player Robin Colgan.

Formation and early activity

The band’s songs for its debut album, I’ll Leave Quietly, are largely written in early 2006 during time spent in Tripoli, Nashville, Edinburgh and Kilkenny. The group’s first live performance takes place in summer 2006 on a beach in southern Albania. By late 2009, the band is playing live again after a break, with Norman Levene on piano and Jeremy Jones on lead guitar joining the line-up.

Recordings and collaborators

I’ll Leave Quietly is recorded in 2008 and 2009 at producer Mark Wallis’s London studio. Wallis has worked with The Go-Betweens, Travis, U2 and Alabama 3. The album includes guest contributions from Astrid Williamson on vocals, John Moore of Black Box Recorder on saw, Jason Moffatt of The Cedars on banjo, and Neil Bob Herd of The Coal Porters on pedal steel.

Live performances and songs

The Blazing Zoos play support slots for Chuck Prophet, Corb Lund & The Hurtin' Albertans, Kris Delmhorst, Grant Langston & The Supermodels, and Luke Haines. Among the songs on I’ll Leave Quietly, “Kumbo Prison Blues” is an account of imprisonment in Cameroon and a nod to Johnny Cash, while bonus track “Like Tirana” is written as a reference to Albania’s capital.