Just beneath the surface of Zero Hour's Grasshopper, beneath the up-beat, high-energy riffs and jangling melodies, there is an undercurrent of darkness that supplies a delicious dichotomy between the music played and the music sung. Lead vocalist John Wall put it this way: "It's almost as if there was someone trying to fake optimism throughout, but never really fooling anyone, or even themselves."

We caught up with John Wall recently to talk about Zero Hour, Grasshopper, and the story behind the music:

Tell me a bit about the band members. How did you all get together?

It was just one of those chance meetings that seemed to work for all of us. Thus the name of our first CD, Kismet. From the very first rehearsal we knew we were gonna have some fun in the coming years! Seth [Launer] and Dereld [Padilla] compliment each other on the guitars as well as any two guitarists I know, bassist Gonzz [Paul Gonzales] and drummer Brian [Launer] were always on the same page, and I was almost always able to work with whatever the guys threw at me.

The opening track of Grasshopper, So Alone , starts with a fade from silence into a single staccato guitar and then brings up the lead guitar, drums and vocals. It's a great way to start the album! Can you tell me a little more about the song?

That was a particularly emotional song for me. One of those that just came together right from the start. I felt like I had some decisions to make at that point of my life and the feeling of being alone in those decisions was never more prevalent. It sort of sets the tone for the rest of the record.

There's a lot of energy throughout on Grasshopper, appearing immediately on the second track, The Lion's Den -- a song which asks repeatedly, "Will we know better next time?" Was that song written with anything in particular in mind?

Pretty specific on that one. That was based on a trip to Jamaica where I and my girlfriend at the time decided to wander off into a dangerous situation. We didn't think much of it at the time, but in retrospect we were very stupid to do what we did. We got in a car with total strangers in this third world country and they took us to an underground club called The Lion's Den. A lot of the lyrics are quite literal (I.e., Prince was a local kid that was kind of looking out for us, though we didn't know we were in danger). The other fun fact about that song is that Seth called me early one morning and played me the main riff right over the phone. I immediately woke up and began penning the lyrics based on what I heard.

Coma is a big Amie Street favorite. What can you tell me about that song?

That one is actually a companion to So Alone . It's sort of like looking back at your life before your life became what it is. In other words, what if you had made some different decisions once upon a time? How different would your life be now? And what if you woke up today with that different life? Deep, huh?

One of my personal favorites on this CD is the retro-sounding Becoming My Enemy . What can you tell me about this song?

A song about self-destruction. Also one of my favorites. That's all I've got to say about that.

Fair enough. The topper for this CD is a rapping jam called 13th Floor . Of all of the tracks on the CD, this one is totally different from the rest. There is obviously a story there. Did this come from a real life experience?

"The People from the 13th Floor" is actually more from imagination. There's just always been this sect of people out there who don't quite fit in -- and are damn proud of it. This was my song to them, or should I say us? That's a really fun song to perform.

Although Zero Hour is not a currently active band, there is hope for the future. At the moment, many of the former members of Zero Hour are playing in the band Illustrated Man, which has a new album due out any day. When I asked John about the future of Zero Hour he had this to say:

Fate is a funny thing. It brought us together and for now has us with different agendas. I'm never one to say never... and one day we may just surprise everyone who's listened to our music with something none of us saw coming. There certainly exists a possibility of doing something together in the future. Heck, the Eagles just put out a new album. You just never know! Let's call it an extended hiatus.

Let's hope the hiatus is over soon!

Additional Tracks:
Last Call, Repent
Bullet Drills