Zebra Troop Q&A: Solo Artist

Q: How long have you been pursuing music?

Brandon Shephard: Probably for like seven maybe eight years? I started around my senior year of high school, which was back in 2015, so about eight years. That’s around the time I started writing music, but I’ve been playing instruments since I was a kid. Both of my parents are musically inclined. I've kind of always been into music and doing musical things.

Q: What was your first instrument that you learned how to play?

Brandon: The first instrument I learned how to play was the guitar.

Q: So you've been pursuing music since about 2017. How do you feel you've grown as an artist through that time?

Brandon: When I first started making music, I was doing more like rapping and trap stuff. I didn't start making indie or band-oriented music until 2018. Around that time I switched from rockier stuff to more of a jazzier or psychedelic sound. I’ve definitely grown in my sound through experimentation.

Q: What got you interested in that psychedelic indie rock vibe?

Brandon: Tame Impala. Funny story about that, I went to a party and I got pretty drunk. Well, I was hungover the next day and just listened to Currents on repeat. I guess it helped my hangover. Anyways, I thought it'd be cool to try to make music like that. Kevin Parker does everything so I thought it would be interesting to try.

Q: What made you come up with that name?

Brandon: For starters, I wanted a name that people would wonder whether Zebra Troop was a group or solo artist. Kind of like Tame Impala. I wanted that sort of ambiguity. I asked myself, “If I was an animal, what would I be?” and I picked a zebra because I'm mixed. I had also just watched the movie Moonrise Kingdom and I was like imagining troop scouts or something like that, and I put those two words together. I just thought it was a cool name. To be honest, I didn't think about it that long.

Q: Do you have any other inspirations that you can name?

Brandon: Oh, a lot of old-school music actually. I really like Electric Lights Orchestra and Hall and Oates. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is a psychedelic band. Those are probably the main ones.

Q: So as a solo artist, what do you find challenges you the most?

Brandon: I guess just maintaining my confidence and believing in myself. It can be hard when it's just you because you’re depending on yourself to do everything from marketing to creating. I don't know, I just like making music so I don't really think about it that much. I just kind of record and chill.

Q: How long does it take you to write that song?

Brandon: On average probably takes me about a day. That’s what happened with my song “Dopamine” I wrote and recorded it in a day. I ended up uploading it a day or two after. Once I have an idea, I usually work pretty quickly. For the album I released last year, I recorded all seven of those songs in maybe a week or two.

Q: Do you have any tips on coping with writer's block?

Brandon: Yeah, I usually listen to a lot of talk radio or something like that. I like to listen to conversations because it can help me brainstorm different topics to write about. That always helps me, but I don't really rush it I try to work with whatever comes to mind.

Q: You performed at SXSW Festival with A-Wall and his crew, what was that experience like?

Brandon: Yeah, well I was there with Chroma and A-Wall. I was filling in as a guitar player for him. It's always awesome to play with them and get to see their shows; they're always so alive and energetic. Hopefully, it wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it was fun to do. That was my first time ever playing at a festival.

Q: Is music something you want to do for a living or is this more of a passion project?

Brandon: It's definitely something I want to do for a living. Sometimes it's hard to imagine things like that because it feels so far out, but yeah, definitely. Music is something I would love to do forever.