an interview with ztuped

Photo by Grace

Ztuped is a punk rock band from Washington, DC. I recently caught up with their frontman, Aidan Tydings-Lynch, who's been an active member of the DC DIY scene since we went to high school together. Check out our convo below.

To start, let’s talk about Ztuped, the band you front. How did the project get started?

Ztuped basically started by accident, [with] me and one of my best friends Mr. Daniel Peña, who plays guitar in a few other DC bands. We both love this band from a few years ago called Culo. One time, he was like, "Aidan, you know I wrote this song that sounds like Culo" and I was like, "Hmm. We should record it and I’ll front. It’ll be a one time thing." But then we ended up writing a bunch more songs and it became a band, haha.

Ztuped’s first batch of demos are out on Bandcamp. Take us into the recording process for those tracks. Did you do anything differently than with previous recording sessions? Did anything particularly surprise you while you were working or writing?

The recording process for Ztuped was a little different, just because we weren’t a full band yet. Daniel and I had written all the songs as just the two of us. We hadn’t played any shows or anything, so when we recorded it, it was just us two. He played guitar and bass, and I did drums and vocals and a few synth parts. If anything surprised me, I guess it was just how much we liked the songs, haha. Up to that point, we hadn’t really decided if we wanted [Ztuped] to be a real band or just a side project. During recording, I realized this was the sound I’d been wanting to do for a while (that sound being catchy punk songs with some synths and weird shit thrown in.) I also didn't [think] that I would enjoy writing lyrics and being a vocalist, but turns out I do.

The demos definitely feel more classic punk. Who were you listening to when you were recording? Did anything inspire that shift from your other hardcore/grindcore sounds, or was it simply wanting to try something new?

All my other bands are very fast and aggressive hardcore type stuff, which I enjoy listening to and playing a lot, but Ztuped is probably more in line with my own personal taste than some of my other bands. I like catchy punk stuff a lot: shit that has some melodies thrown in, you know? Also, at the time when Ztuped started, I was on a really big synth kick. I got really into some weird underground European synth from the 80's; a bunch of random groups from Yugoslavia I was listening to a lot. The difference in sound was definitely [due to] just wanting to try some new stuff. I just knew I wanted it to have some synth shit going on. I was also reading a bunch of cyberpunk manga at the time, haha. I wanted to make it sound futuristic.

Do you have a favorite song to perform live, or one you’re really looking forward to playing live again?

"DDSD" is definitely my favorite to do live for Ztuped. That’s the one people like most. It’s just very catchy, and the vocal part is fun. Drumming for my grindcore band Needle is also very fun live. Those songs are so crazy and chaotic. I feel like I’m in a fight with the drums. It’s a very exhilarating feeling.

What’s the most important thing you hope people take away from your music? What do you feel is the biggest thing you’re trying to say?

The biggest thing I want people to take away...hmm...I guess with Ztuped, I just want it to sound like a bunch of crazy punk kids making weird catchy songs. If there’s anything I want people to take away from it, it’s the song being stuck in their heads, haha. My lyrics are mostly personal stuff going on in my head. There isn’t one big unifying message overall. Just, like, have fun, and express yourself.

Any more Ztuped project in the works in the near future?

Yeah! We have a ton of new material written. We already have our next EP fully written and ready to record as soon as quarantine is over. Then we have another EP after that's almost done as well. THEN we’ll do an LP. I’ve already been working on writing for the LP, so we’ve got plenty to be getting along with, haha. My phone is full of Ztuped songs I’ve been demoing at home by myself during quarantine: just drums, bass and synth.

Your band Bust Off (RIP) was kind of legendary when we were in high school. Was that your first real endeavor with music, or at least in a band/performance setting? What were some of the most important things you learned during those days?

Yeah, Bust Off was my first band. I definitely learned a lot (good and bad) during those days, haha. I learned just how to be in a band and how to play shows. It was basically my introduction to the scene since I joined that band so young. Yeah, I learned a lot.

The DC DIY scene is so unique, and has evolved so much throughout the years. What’s the best part about it for you? Do you have any favorite memories from playing shows around there, or in the larger DMV area?

Yeah, I love the DC scene! It really is like my home. The punk scene was the first place/group of people I found where I could really just be and express myself in the way that was most honest to me. The most special thing about it is just having this big extended group of friends who all get me. We can all hang out and make art and just be punk, haha. In terms of specific memories...oh man, there's too many to count. I've been going to and playing shows since I was fourteen. There’s been a lot of special moments. Last year, my band Needle played a record release show for our self-titled EP. A ton of people came out and it was just a crazy ass night overall. That was really special for me because while I’ve played and been to crazy packed shows before, Needle was the first band I started myself with two of my best friends back when we were all still in Bust Off together. It felt like our hard work [was] coming to fruition. Seeing all our friends enjoying themselves at a show we set up was [also really] special.

Favorite hometown venue to play? Favorite hometown venue to see shows at?

Well, my favorite hometown venue WAS this place called the Pinch in Columbia Heights. It was basically a shitty dive bar upstairs, but then downstairs, there was this venue space with a little stage. That place was probably the most important venue of my teenage years. Unfortunately, it closed back in the fall (FUCK GENTRIFICATION!) but I played and went to sooooo many shows there between the ages of fifteen and nineteen.It really was a special place. They were the most consistent venue in hosting punk shows for sure, and also didn’t give a fuck, haha. Like, that downstairs space probably should have been like 100-200 cap, but I saw shows with, like, 500 people crammed down there. That place probably has more good memories for me than any other building, except maybe the Chill Factory, which is DC's premiere punk house venue. It’s a group house in Northwest DC that’s been a punk house since 2006. A bunch of my friends live there, so even when I’m not playing shows or having practices there, I’m hanging out there almost everyday (WHEN IT'S NOT QUARANTINE). I started going to shows there as a nervous fifteen-year-old, and now I basically live there more than at my parents' house. A bunch of my bands practice and record there, and the shows there are always awesome.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had when playing a show?

Oh lord. That is difficult. There has been some WEIRD SHIT over the years. Maybe the time I was playing onstage at the Pinch and this dude in the crowd got outed as a rapist. It was, like, during the set and then while I was literally playing a song, half the crowd ganged up on him and beat the fuck out of him. That was a crazy thing to see while playing. One time on tour in Pittsburgh, I was at this crazy party after the show. I went out and found a refrigerator just sitting in the backyard of this punk house. I opened it and inside was just a giant machete. That was weird. I could probably think of other shit but I’ll keep it short, haha.

Aside from Ztuped, you keep pretty busy in a bunch of other projects. Give us the basic rundown of them. What other bands can we see you play in?

My other bands are Needle, a grindcore band I helped start. That’s probably my most active band. We were supposed to be on a long tour, but it got cancelled. Then I play drums in a hardcore band called Corvo, which is super fast d-beat hardcore. My friend Kevin does vocals in Spanish. Then I drum in this more rock and roll but still fast band called CDR. Also this band called Brain Tourniquet, which is a powerviolence band (powerviolence is like halfway between hardcore punk and grindcore). And then I ALSO play in a DC punk band called Misled Youth, which has been around since 2011. I didn’t join as the replacement drummer until 2017.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do once things chill out a bit in the world? What’s next for Ztuped and everyone else?

My friends and I who live at the Chill Factory already agreed that as soon as it’s okay to do it, we’re gonna book a big two day mini-fest at the house: just two days of bands playing and partying to celebrate the end of quarantine. But at this point, who knows when that will be, haha. Whenever it does happen, a couple of my bands will play. Ztuped is gonna be recording and then going on tour. Needle is gonna be recording soon; we’ve got several tours in the works. My other bands all have shit to do too (recording and touring etc).

We’re all about finding new bands here at Underground. Who do we need to be listening to right now?

Dang, what bands should you be listening to right now? Well, Hank Wood and the Hammerheads for sure. Also, listen to Rahomon from DC. My friend Daniel from Ztuped plays guitar for them; they're big in punk right now. There’s this cool industrial electronic punk band from New York called LOTION that I like a lot. Another semi current punk band I love is a band called Tarantula from Chicago. They kinda have a similar sound to Ztuped. I’ve also been listening to a lot of super weird shit...Dungeon Synth and weird stuff, haha. There's this one Detroit trance house DJ Omar S, and this Yugoslavian electronic band from the 80's called Demolition Group. My favorite grindcore release of 2020 so far is this AMAZING LP by Australian grind band Internal Rot. OK I'M DONE.

Lastly, is there anything else you would like us to know?

Thanks!

Check out Ztuped here.

Keep up to date with Aidan's other projects here.

Words by Carly.