Chi-Tunes: The Mother Z's

Chicago brother-sister duo the Mother Z's answered our Chi-Tunes questionnaire. Do the same and your band could appear in RedEye and Metromix!

Listen: "Sweater Weather"

I often start the evening by saying, "It's going to be this adorable all night folks" after playing our first song.  We're a brother and sister act, so we kind of can't help having a certain chemistry on stage.  Plus, we only come on with an acoustic guitar and a snare, and we have you shakin' it by the end of the night!

Describe your sound in five words or less.

Homemade soul, son! 

Tell us something random about the band, and why that's significant.

We have a secret handshake we call "cappin' it," where whoever initiates the handshake forms the bottom half of a "Z" and the other forms the top.  We do it all the time, and it's kind of lame.  Why is this significant?  Because we're The Mother Z's, naturally.

Who would you want to work with, and who would you never work with? Why?

I'd like to work with breakfast places like Ohio House, Golden Nugget etc. to organize a tour.  We kinda hate being out so late for shows, so this way we could play in the morning. Plus, I've always thought we were a kind of a get-up-and-get-your-day-going type of band. 

If the band was a cartoon character, who would it be and why?

Probably Wimpy from "Popeye" because he seems jolly and generally an affable fellow, but you can tell he's down to clown.

What's the best album you've heard recently?

"Recent" might not be the best word to describe the music I listen to. I really liked Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever ago," but that's not exactly recent.

What song do you never want to hear again?

It's not that I never want hear this song again, but if somebody covers "Hallelujah" at an open mic night again, I am just going to snap.

What is Chicago's best music venue and why?

We've made ourselves quite at home at Elbo Room. Nice folks, not too big of a room and it holds a little nostalgia for us as it was one of the first two places we played in the city.