Zerobridge was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based indie alternative/rock band from 2001–2017 founded by brothers Mubashir (songwriter, lead singer, and rhythm guitarist) and Mohsin (drums) Mohi-ud-Din. The band draws its name from the actual bridge in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

, the capital of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Greg Eckelman was added to the lineup on bass in 2004. Between 2002-2011, the band went through a series of lineup changes including: Kristin Fayne Mulroy (bass, 2002-2003), Kenji Shinigawa (lead guitar, 2004), Jay Barclay (lead guitar, 2007-2009), and Paolo Arao (keyboards, 2008-2010). In 2005

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...

produced the band and joined them for a series of live dates in Lower Manhattan. In 2011, noted

Strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

production consultant/ guitar teacher / 'guru'/ 'sensei' J. P. Bowersock joined the lineup as producer and lead guitar player.

''No Epiphany'' (2001)

No Epiphany was Zerobridge's first self-released EP. The tracks on this recording include "No Epiphany", "Ice Candy Man", and "Bleed". "Ice Candy Man" references a main character from the novel "Cracking India" by

Bapsi Sidhwa Bapsi Sidhwa ( ur, بیپسی سدھوا; born 11 August 1938) is a Pakistani novelist of Gujarati Parsi Zoroastrian descent who writes in English and is a resident in the United States. She is best known for her collaborative work with Indo- ...

, which was later turned into the film, "Earth," directed by

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2005 ...

. “Bleed” is a 12 and a half minute instrumental which samples “Chalte, Chalte,” composed by Ghulam Muhammad for the film

Pakeezah ''Pakeezah'' (; ) is a 1972 Indian Hindustani-language musical romantic drama film that was written, directed, and produced by Kamal Amrohi. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, and Raaj Kumar. It tells the story of Sahibjaan, a Lucknow ...

, a popular 1972 "

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

" film. The cover photography was taken by writer/photographer Maryam Reshi.

''Zerobridge'', aka ''The Basement Tapes'' (2003)

The band's first full-length debut was self-titled and recorded at Phase Recording Studios in College Park, MD and at Spike Recording Studios in New York City from 2002 to 2003. The songs were directly inspired by Kashmir and the brothers' travels there in December 2001, a tense time in the region after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

and a terrorist attack that was carried out on the Indian parliament. Songs such as "Suffering Moses" (which reappears on the 2007 EP, ''Havre de Grace''),"Nothing Doing," and "Refugee Citizen" offer a glimpse of life in the midst of the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...

. "Nazar" is influenced by the book, “The Tiger Ladies,” by Kashmiri author Sudha Kohl. "In Exile" is an experiment of the

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

, a poetic structure in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Agha Shahid Ali Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 – 8 December 2001) was an Indian-born poet who immigrated to the United States, and became affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. His collections include ''A Walk T ...

, writer

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

and professor, writer, and philosopher

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...

. The cover photo was taken in Kashmir in 1989 by

Amar Talwar Amar Talwar (born 21 December 1949) is an Indian artist and Bollywood actor. He appeared in the historic television series '' Shanti'', in which he played Raj 'G.J.' Singh. Born to a Sikh family on 21 December 1949, Talwar was educated at the L ...

, a prominent actor in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The self titled album came to be known as ''The Basement Tapes''. Music from ''The Basement Tapes'' was inspired by song structures and melodies from the likes of guitar based rock bands like

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

mixed with Indian instrumentation, rhythms, and samples. The song structure of "Refugee Citizen" borrows heavily from

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

's "I'm Waiting for the Man."

''The Earl Slick Sessions'' (2004-2005)

Former

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

guitarist, Earl Slick, teamed up with the band from 2004–2005 to play live with them and record demos with the intention of securing a record deal. Earl Slick provided all the lead guitar work on these unreleased recordings in addition to production, with the mixing assistance of

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, ...

. The song "It Is What It Is" was recorded for the first time during these sessions. It was inspired by the play The South Asian Monologues, in which lead singer Din played one of the lead characters, Zain.

''Havre de Grace'' (2007)

In the fall of 2007, Zerobridge released their third EP, ''Havre de Grace,'' whose sound was more stripped down, capturing the band as a 3-piece, and reflected the music of bands like

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

and U2. The title song takes its name from

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...

, a town near where the brothers grew up. "Havre de Grace" would go on to be included in independent films " The Messenger" (2009) and "

Amira and Sam ''Amira & Sam'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Sean Mullin and produced by Terry Leonard, Erich Lochner, and Matt Miller with executive producers James Ponsoldt, Meg Montagnino-Jarrett, and Peter Sobiloff. Set in ...

" (2015). The "Havre de Grace" video was directed by Musa Syeed, winner of the 2007

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

Best Documentary Short award and director of feature-length film "

Valley of Saints The Valley of Saints is located in Khuldabad, a town in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. Several Sufi saints of the Chishti Order chose to reside in Khuldabad in the fourteenth century. The dargah of Muntajib al-Din (Khuldabad), ...

" (2012), for which Din would compose the musical score. Zerobridge CBGB 2005 - Copy

"Late Bloomer" would be included in the independent film "Slakistan." "The Shake" is a direct confrontation to

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...

from a songwriter of

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

background. "This Is My Version" was remixed from ''The Earl Slick Sessions'' and includes the rhythm guitar work of Earl Slick.

''There We Were, Now Here We Are'' (2009)

After self-releasing a single every month for the last half of 2008, the band released a six-song EP titled ''There We Were, Now Here We Are'' in 2009.

''Big Songs for Small Spaces'' (2015)

In 2011, Zerobridge added record producer J. P. Bowersock to its lineup and began recording songs in

Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown () is a Neighborhoods in Manhattan, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center to its ...

over the course of four years on a minimal budget. On August 21, 2015, they released their full-length album titled ''Big Songs for Small Space''. To promote the album in advance, the band released its lead single "Ten Years" on December 8, 2014.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)