It’s starting to feel like summer. The bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and The Zone Band of the Month‘s are monthing.
Victoria’s Apex Breaks is June 2023’s Zone Band of the Month. The colossal unit of psychedelic jungle funk known as Apex Breaks is made up of Jesse on guitar, Andrew on vocals, Chase on saxophone, Spencer on drums, Felisha on Trumpet, Josh on bass, Nick on baritone saxophone, Marko on percussion, Cam on keys, and Kady on vocals. They fill the stage with high energy and fun times.
Shortly after cramming the entire band into a payphone box, Tyson Elder chatted with band leader Jesse Horwood about everything Apex Breaks and their upcoming Ska Fest performance.
Tyson Elder: Apex Breaks, congratulations on being this year’s June Zone Band of the Month.
Jesse Horwood: Thanks so much!
TE: Outside of maybe photographing an orchestra and Broken Social Scene you may be the largest group Rocktographers has ever had the pleasure of working with. There must be a lot of moving pieces when organizing a group of 10 individuals and becoming a cohesive unit. How do you keep everyone inline and from getting distracted?
Jesse: The hardest thing to do is scheduling. Once we’re all together it’s pretty tight. We do this for fun and everyone seems to pull the rope in the same direction. Naturally there’s a leadership group and a group of folks who act more as a support group but everyone gets a chance to bring ideas to the table and voice their opinion on important discussions.
TE: With a band as large as yours how did the band form? Did everyone already know each other?
Jesse: The band started with what we’ll call the ‘leadership group’ of Chase, Andrew, and Jesse over a slice of pizza at Brickyard Pizza. We were three musicians in need of an outlet. We started by recruiting people through various contacts and by putting up ads on LiveVictoria and other social media groups.
It’s funny, bass seems to be the cursed position. Over the years we’ve had the same guitar, vocals, 3 horns, percussion, and drummer, but about 15 different bassists.
TE: The band has been working on its debut album, Psychedelic Jungle Funk, when can we expect to hear it? How has the recording process been working on the album?
Jesse: We’ve really tried to capture a specific fun, tongue and cheek energy for the album with a psychedelic touch as well. There’s a lot of silly samples similar to what you’d hear in a 90s hip hop album but then there are some longer tracks that do a bit of exploration as well like a late 60s psych rock thing. Think Pink Floyd meets Jurassic 5.
TE: Let’s chat about your Band of the Month feature single, Mr. Black and White. It’s going to be a fun one to hear on the radio this June. Can you shed a little light on the song’s creation and what it’s about?
Jesse: Lyrically, Mr. Black and White is a song about perspective. It really came at a time when social media was shaping a lot of the way that people saw the world politically and it’s a commentary on that binary thinking that seems to go hand in hand. Musically, the song is really about trying to capture some tight funk grooves in a familiar format.
TE: It looks like you have a busy summer ahead of you with several big shows, one of which is Ska Fest — arguably one of the best parties of the summer. It must be exciting to get up on that stage. Who are you most excited to see there this year?
Jesse: It’s going to be an amazing festival, and Apex Breaks is really entrenched in the Victoria Ska and Reggae Society. This is our fourth year performing. Our guitarist Jesse is the president, Kady and Andrew have worked as organizers. and we’re all heavily involved with the Ska community.
For bands, you can’t beat the Aggrolites and Chali 2na. Those are two artists that have massively influenced our sound. Congo Natty is an absolute legend, Brother Ali and Kid Koala are going to blow minds as well. Then there’s the international bands who always bring a brand new flavour. But really, the smaller support bands are the lifeblood of the scene: Blackwood Kings, Caleb Hart & Co., Mo Moshiri & Nostic, Raincity, Los Furios, etc.
TE: What else can we expect from Apex Breaks this summer?
Jesse: We’ll finally be releasing our album on July 22 at Hermann’s Upstairs. We’re really excited and have to get over our perfectionism a little bit. Setting a deadline is a perfect way to do that. We’ll also be playing at Blackberry Festival on Denman Island. Other than that, sometimes we get a generator and do a random little pop up show on the beach or at a party.
TE: Thank you so much for taking the time to catch up with Rocktographers and once again, congratulations on being The Zone’s Band of the Month.
Jesse: Thanks so much!
June 2023’s Band of the Month, Apex Breaks, will have The Zone @ 91-3 grooving with their single, Mr. Black and White. The song is available for download (along with two other tracks) on Apex Breaks’ Band of the Month microsite. There you can also find out more about the band and more photos from their action-packed photo session.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.