Interview with Chris Salinas, vocalist for Zero Hour

By Jill Hughes

USAProgMusic: What was your first exposure to singing for a live audience?  How long have you been singing in a band?

Chris Salinas:  I started as a child knowing I could sing and I went through the progression everyone else goes through being in middle school, playing the guitar is originally what I did, and playing the bass and singing in garage bands. Got in my real first band with all adults in my teens and they were all in their 20s and 30s and I was the singer in that band.  That kinda progressed into joining Power of Omens. And Power of Omens was a definite challenge for me writing-wise and it was just a different level and of course being in Power of Omens all those years that’s how I ended up meeting the guys in Zero Hourin Chicago at the first ProgPower and we got along real well. I got the call from Jasun saying they needed help with an East Coast tour and at that time Power of Omens wasn’t doing anything. It was stagnant and I was like, “What am I doing?” and so I didn’t have to think about it so I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!” and it quickly progressed and I was like, “ I want to sing for you guys.” [laughs] So it went over well and the rest is pretty much history so that’s it in a nutshell.

USAProgMusic:  Why did you choose to sing for a prog metal band over any other genre of music?

Chris: I think what it is is that I enjoy the challenge of writing stuff for progressive music. To me it is more fulfilling internally. I can use my imagination a lot more than going to a regular verse back in the day. I am just able to use my imagination and be more creative. It is not easy at times; it is very difficult.

USAProgMusic: How is singing for Zero Hour different from any other prog band you sang for, such as Power of Omens?

Chris:  Zero Hour is very professional and very business-oriented. They look ahead, rather than now. They work very hard.  Jasun Tipton is one of the hardest working persons in music. He is an awesome guitar player and he is a cool guy. He’s our manager right now basically and handles all of our business. The killer music they write – they are a well-rounded bunch of guys. The music they write is a little more straight-forward – heavy riffness that I just love that I didn’t get in Power of Omens. They were all over the place. Don’t get me wrong I liked my time in Power of Omens and it was what it was. I definitely have fun on stage with the guys and way less stress. I was always majorly stressed out in Power Omens. In Zero Hour I don’t have to worry about anything because everything they do is all good.  All I need to worry about is what I do.  They push me – you need to be pushed once in awhile – and they push to get the best out of you. I think that is awesome. And that is the major difference.

USAProgMusic:  I know that you are located in Texas and Jasun, Troy, and Mike are located in California. How often are you guys able to get together in person to practice and record?

Chris: Usually what they will do is send me ideas like the old-fashioned way via CD and now Jasun is upgrading to a Pro Tools thing where they can send me ideas via Internet or maybe the old way still. They usually send me the ideas. I have Pro Tools here at home, and basically put the music files down and sing on top and send my ideas over the Internet. And we’ll be like “well let’s fix this or do it this way” – we collaborate on everything. I don’t just go in there and this is what I want. We work as a team and it’s like, “Well that’s not doing it” and I’ll be like, “Yeah, I think you are right.” And Jasun or Troy will suggest something and I’ll come back a day or two later and ask ‘how about that’? And that’s pretty much how we do it. We send the ideas back and forth. The way we did it on this last CD before we did the east coast touring, I showed up two weeks in California before we went on the road and basically it was the first time we had gotten together as a band and we wanted to make sure we were on the same page. By the end of the first practice we were like, ‘Oh yeah this is something special.’  We all knew our parts and of course we still needed to practice but we were ready when we got on the road. That pretty much is how we do things. When I need to fly, I fly over there and get things done.

USAProgMusic:  So you do the recording separately and then just get together when you have to go out on the road?

Chris:  Well, when I go to Dino’s which I believe is in Santa Rosa, California, slap me if I am wrong.  When I go to record the actual CD I am there for about 3 days in the studio to record. But for the ideas I record here at home but the real stuff is done in Cali.

USAProgMusic:  What are some techniques you use to warm up your voice before a performance or even before a recording session?

Chris: The body is your instrument so what I do is stretch; gently stretch all my neck muscles, shoulder muscles and back. Breathing techniques are opening up the lungs and good cardio, too but I haven’t been able to do that lately since I am having surgery soon but that’s another story. You don’t have to be a long distance runner but something to open up the lungs is good. Avoid drinking alcohol. A lot of vocal exercises and that’s pretty much what I do before I have to perform.  I have to stretch and get all the muscles in that area loosen up – the jaw muscles and everything.  They all work together so I don’t want to go out there and blow my voice out and it’s pretty tough sometimes. It’s never easy to go out there consecutive nights and nail everything but it’s a good way to warm up.

USAProgMusic:  You did a bunch of gigs with Zero Hour this year, and even were over in Europe. Did you want to talk about that experience?

Chris: It was a dream come true for me personally to play at the Headway festival. That was an amazing experience and my dream was to always go across the pond and sing. Zero Hour helped that dream come true and that’s an experience I will never forget. It was the first time going over there and we had such a great time at the Headway fest and we headlined that night. It was just breath-taking. It almost brought me to tears at one point, not to sound gay or anything. It was just awesome. For me I didn’t take it for granted.  And of course Germany they were just so awesome over there. It was just amazing. They treated us so well, like royalty over there.  You can’t just explain the feelings you get when someone really respects you for what you do and it’s all worth it. Definitely the shows went well. Jasun & Troy did clinics and those went over real well. It was the first time I got to see them do a clinic so it was interesting for me, too to see them perform and show their techniques to up and coming guitar players. That was a cool experience for sure.   Oh, I almost left out Iceland – they treated us awesome over there, too! But god it is so beautiful over there! Everyone was so friendly and the crowds were awesome and the bands were excellent and I can’t remember to name off all the bands. We went there on my birthday I might add.

USAProgMusic: It’s a country most people don’t get to go to.

Chris:  Yeah exactly.  It is a beautiful place.

USAProgMusic: What was the most nerve-wracking live performance you ever had to do whether with Zero Hour or not?  Any interesting stories about how fans reacted (or distracted) while you were performing?

Chris: The most nerve-wracking that was ProgPower I with Power of Omens. I was probably a half step away from having a nervous breakdown. We didn’t have a keyboardist so Alex was playing to a sequencer and if anything went wrong we were up shit creek without a paddle. A lot of people were like, ‘I gotta see this’, and there were a lot of mixed emotions about it. For me I was just so glad it was done. It was a terrible experience.

USAProgMusic:  From personal experience of seeing you live, I don’t know if you want to say how you dealt with the situation when you were at the NJ Proghouse and you had a fan that was kind of distracting when you were performing. How did you handle that situation?

Chris:  [laughs] I didn’t want to be rude and say, “Sit down!” But the main thing it is such an intimate crowd and everybody is in your face and I didn’t want the song to be ruined by it so I just kind of closed my eyes when she was right in my face and try not to forget the lyrics because it is kind of hard when someone is right in your face singing along to Zero Hour music which isn’t easy music to sing, you gotta be right on top. And I managed.

USAProgMusic: And you did! Because I didn’t understand how you were not getting distracted by the girl who was waving her arms and putting her face in yours during the performance. 

Chris: I was distracted! It was just funny and I kept looking in the crowd and people’s faces were like, “Oh my god, what is she doing?  Someone sit her down!”  I am sure they learned from that experience and will never let that happen again.

USAProgMusic: Well, it is something to laugh about now.

Chris: [laughs] For sure.

USAProgMusic:  Are your currently working on a new album for Zero Hour? 

Chris: Yeah, I can tell you that everything is ready to record. It’s all written. Finalizing some negotiation with Sensory and yeah, then it’s into the studio. It should be out on time for a ‘08 release.

USAProgMusic: Are there any new techniques or styles you might try out on this new Zero Hour album?

Chris: Well, I know that Jasun is ripping a lot more on this CD and soloing a lot more which a lot of people wanted him to do because before he kinda just teased but on this he is just going off. Troy is going off, too. They are definitely showing their stuff on this CD a lot. Me personally a couple of different things. I got more aggressive on some of the vocals. It’s going to be interesting. I think the CD is going to be awesome. Once we get it tracked I think it’s going to be amazing. Based on what I’ve worked on and we’ve collaborated on it’s going to be one hell of a CD.

USAProgMusic:  Awesome, well we look forward to hearing it.

Chris:  The title of it I don’t know but the guys once they decide they’ll let everyone know.  I am looking forward to touring in ’08.

USAProgMusic:  I have one more question for you and it’s kind of a fun question.

If you could sing a duet with any female artist, whether dead or alive, who would that be?  Why?

Chris: Oh my god, I don’t know. I have a crush on Christine Aguilera. I think I’d want to do a duet just to … touch her [laughs hysterically].

USAProgMusic:  She is a married woman now!

Chris: [laughs] Yeah…I think she has a great voice and she’s an awesome singer. I never thought about that much but I’d have to say her and as long as she doesn’t go all crazy with her vocals.  She has a very big sound. I am guessing that will be it.

USAProgMusic:  Well that’s all I have for you. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?

Chris: Well, thank everybody for all their support and all the kind words and opinions.  Definitely everybody in ’08 all over, hopefully in Europe and I am sure we will be through the United States in ’08.  Just looking forward to saying hi to everybody and hope they enjoy the show listening to all the Zero Hour stuff.

USAProgMusic:  Oh I almost forgot to ask you something! I was talking to Clay [from Suspyre] just before this and he mentioned that at ProgPower this year that you got on stage with Krucible and were able to sing with Lance [King]?

Chris:  Yeah, I was shang-hai’d to come on stage, so they tricked me.  I went to [ProgPower USA] just to show my face and talk to fans and hang out with my friends in Krucible, and Shane Dubose who does the pre-party and is in the band said, ‘Hey, can you stand on the side of the stage in case something goes wrong?” and I was like, ‘yeah sure’ cause you know he hooked me up for the whole weekend basically.  I am over there being serious and thank god I was sober. I wasn’t drinking. I am not going to do anything until they are finished in case Lance needs something, ya know just help out. I am sitting back there and yeah he put me on the spot, and I was like, oh my god and the reception was great.

USAProgMusic: Well you did demos with them so you knew their songs, or were you like ‘uhhh…’ or were they doing something other than Krucible songs?

Chris:  Well, usually when I do songs with Mindcrime [Chris’ Queensrÿche cover band]  I am doing lead vocals so when I was doing backing vocals on “Eyes of a Stranger”, I am like ‘oh my what is the harmony?’  I had to kinda figure it out. My heart was pumping and I got it like right at the last second. Yeah, that was being put on the spot.  And the last night I did some back-up vocals on “Take Hold of the Flame” as well. It was fun.  

Yeah, Shane knew about it so he got me real good on that.

USAProgMusic:  Sounds like you had a fun time. Well, thanks for taking the time to talk to USA Progressive Music. I am glad we finally got to do this and look forward to the new Zero Hour material.