ABOUT THE BAND
10 years ago, Austin Collins heard the call to form a band. Equipped with a dream and a name — Back From Zero — finding the right people was all it would take. Enter Mary Anne, Austin's girlfriend, and her son Dean Bonsignore. With Mary Anne's encouragement and Dean's vocal talent, Back From Zero began to take shape. Soon Dean brought in Erik Samuelsen on drums, and the project became official.
The band's songs are all driven by the same hard work ethic: sort through all the ideas — riffs, full songs, sections of jams recorded during practice — arrange and refine. It's rare for bands to operate this smoothly and diligently, and BFZ's new EP, FIVE, is an honest reflection of their dedication.
"It was recorded at least twice," says Collins. "We had a bass player change in the middle of it, and that took us back a bit. It took about 5 years to finally finish, and once we started the final process, it took another year or two. But we persevered, and got it done. There were still bumps in the road, but you do what you gotta do, and get it done."
FIVE was named not for its production time, but as an homage to a period of significant transformation in Austin's life. "A song on the EP is about a break up period that happened many years ago, that helped transform me into what I have become nowadays," admits Collins. “The title FIVE is symbolic of the time I wrote that song.”
Now that the band have reached this milestone, they are dreaming bigger. Playing Gramercy Theater bolstered the bands confidence and certainly broadened their reach within the scene. "We played in front of a few hundred people and it was a great show and feeling. The crowd was awesome and we received a great response. We’ve played there a few times and we love it every time we do," says Collins.
The band also proudly supports their community by playing benefit shows such as a fundraiser for an Autism charity. Members of the group agree it was a great time for a good cause and for good people.
Back From Zero lives to rock. In fact, with enough new material for a full length album already on deck, they’re on track to bring us a lot more shows in New York City and beyond.
Photography: Terrence Matlin
Words: Annie Kills