Turn Zero talks NAMM, pre-show rituals, new music, and more—exclusive interview

Turn Zero is an alternative rock group from Arizona and is signed with 8020 Records. Their first single “Animal” released in November and their next single “Petty” will drop February 14th.

The band consists of vocalist Emily Grieve, guitarists John Curtis-Sanchez, Ash Hendrickson, and Branden Mosley, and drummer Ben Palmer.

All Punked Up caught up with the band to talk about their latest adventures and what is next for this rising band.

Be sure to check Turn Zero out on Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify!

Q: How did you guys meet?

Emily: I did a lot of digging around the valley and I met John a couple years back. When my guitarist left, I asked John if he wanted to join my project. Everyone else just filtered in over time.

John: When Emily says it took a while for me to join, this is after a year of me begging her to let me play guitar for her.

Q: What does the name Turn Zero mean?

Emily: The name is a reference to competitive card game tournaments. I used to play Pokémon and turn zero is whoever’s turn it is in the middle of whenever they call time.

Q: Turn Zero attended and performed at NAMM a few weeks ago. How was that experience?

Emily: NAMM was so much fun! We got to visit companies that we already have relations with and new companies that are excited to work with emerging artists. PRS was kind enough to lend us two acoustic-electric guitars that were absolutely gorgeous to play an impromptu set on the last day of NAMM. We got to play a little set at the Ultimate Ears and Blue Microphone stage—it was great!

John: NAMM was absolutely amazing. It was very cool to not only meet some of my favorite artists but also some of the brands I love and use like PRS. The impromptu show was a blast and a hit! It was so stress-free and 24/7 music for four straight days.

Ash: It was a lot of fun! Just running around and checking out the venues and companies that I actually play with. Talking to the artist rep from Fender was pretty cool. I got really friendly with the company Kahler now, which makes some of my favorite bridges ever, to the point where we might be filming some stuff now too. And I hung out with Rob Chapman who is a really big guitar Youtuber and influencer in the UK.  

Q: What did you play for your NAMM performance?

Emily: We played some originals, one was “Animal” and the other two were songs we are hoping to release later this year.

Q: Why was “Animal” the first single you released as a group?

John: I think that the song best describes us as a band. With the energy level that it presents and the tonality the song created—it really put our best foot forward and it was the song we were most proud of at the time.

Q: What lyric of yours is your favorite?

John: Oh, that’s a hard one.

Emily: This is a question for Ben [laughs]. Ben doesn’t listen to our music, it’s fine.

Ben: I just don’t pay attention [laughs].

Emily: My favorite is the “You think you’re perfect but you’re all alone” because it’s probably the most fun to sing and it’s one of those moments where you’re trying to capture both sides of a miscommunication. When we were writing it, we were trying to show exaggerated versions on either side, and I think that it really captures a lot of emotion.

John: My favorite lyric is “With the pounding of my skull and the blurring of my vision.” I just think it’s the lyric that paints the biggest picture. Especially with the line right before it “My back’s against the wall and I’m forced into submission.” It shows the struggle going through the whole song and the conversation that’s happening between the antagonist and the protagonist—lines get blurred really easily and you don’t know what someone actually means until you sit down and really think about it.

Branden: I really like “You stand your ground, and I refuse to change.” It shows stubbornness on both sides—the lines are blurred and there is no clear protagonist or antagonist. We’re both at fault and we both refuse to change in different ways for different reasons.

Q: What are you hoping your fans enjoy most about “Animal” and your upcoming music?

Emily: My goal is that if I can make somebody cry, I did my job.

John: Buckle up because our upcoming single is a whole rollercoaster of emotions.

Q: What do you guys have planned for the rest of the year?

Branden: We’re planning on putting out a multi-track EP sometime around the middle of the year. We got the Drake Bell coming up in March and after that, you’ll definitely be hearing from us

Emily: Studio goal is to get back in by the end of February, if not, the middle of March. We’re shooting to get something out early summer.

John: We have lots of emotions ready to make you cry. 

Q: What about your upcoming single “Petty” is different than your debut single?

Emily: It’s more ballad-focused but still has a lot of the heaviness that is tied to the Turn Zero. We also featured a local vocalist from another pop-punk band.

John: The way I like to see songs is to associate them with colors. “Animal” is a very red, passionate song. I think Petty is on the other side of the spectrum where it is very blue, dark—true and honest. It does get boppy and catchy, but the whole emotion and premise of the song, it just has that weight and heaviness to it that I really think projected very well in the final rendition of the song.

Q: So, you’re opening for Drake Bell in March! How did this opportunity come about for Turn Zero?

Emily: I’m friends with the gal who books at Mesa Amphitheater. She reached out to our record label to see if we would open for Drake Bell. He messaged me about it, and I called him and said “okay, what is this? Is this even real?” He said, “It’s not set yet, but we think that this is happening.” It’ll be us, Promise to Myself, and Winter Haven.

It’s one of those situations where, in the music industry, your connections are important. Yeah, you have to have the talent, but a lot of musicians miss out on networking and they miss so many opportunities.

Q: How are you guys feeling about opening for such a popular artist?

Whole band: TERRIFIED [laughs].

Emily: My uncle used to say that anxiety was just excitement that was being processed incorrectly. So, you channel your fear into adrenaline and you’re just like “We’re just going to run up on stage and have the time of our lives.” And that’s what I think will happen. Oh, and I’m banking on John breaking at least one string—it’s happened every show we’ve ever played.

If anything, that’s what makes you a good musician—someone who can recover from that in the middle of the show.

Branden: What I’m excited for is to really come out together as a band and come out of the gate really strong. This is gonna be the biggest show we’ve played thus far, so we are really excited about the opportunity.

Q: If you could ask Drake Bell one question, what would it be?

Ash: I’ve been losing sleep thinking about this [laughs]

Emily: I just want to know his workout routine, TBH.

John: What about his hair products? His hair gel? [laughs].

I would probably ask more like a social media basis. I know he has some kind of weird relationship with Taco Bell and I think it’s the funniest thing ever. I’d just ask him random questions about that and all his weird tweets.

Music-wise, he was a huge inspiration for me and why I started playing guitar. I started watching the show when I was nine or ten years old and I got my first guitar right after that. I’d just want to let him know and thank him for being such an inspiration to me at such a young age.

Branden: I’d ask him what the transition has been like to go from a TV star to a touring musician. I think it’s an interesting transition and I’d love to hear his background on it.

Emily: I think I’d ask him about his pre-show rituals.

Q: What are some individual or group pre-show rituals you do before a performance?

John: We have the worst hug you’ll ever see in your entire life [laughs].

Branden: Oh yeah, it’s a terrible hug [laughs].

Ash: It’s very comforting but it’s a very bad hug.

Emily: Remember in the 4th and 5th grade when everyone had those really cringy handshakes? We have a very cringy hug.

John: You just put your right hand up, your left hand down, and everybody hugs. And it’s awkward, but you can have as many or as little people as you like, and it will always work.

Ash: That’s how you learn who doesn’t know their right hand

Emily: Me personally, I might just go sprint until I’m out of breath and then I’ll revamp up.

Branden: I actually write down the setlist on a piece of paper and burn it. I’ve always been into weird rituals like that. I figure I could not wash the shirt or burn a piece of paper. It’s freeing for me because I have a lot of anxiety before the show so it’s my little way of reminding myself that you know the songs and the setlist. you can burn this piece of paper, leave it, and not need it, ’cause you’re going to go out there and kill it. 

Ash: Mine is usually before I go to the venue. I’m a huge nerd and I play a lot of video games and card games—just games everywhere. What I’ll do is load up Borderlands 2 and fight and kill a boss because I have played literally thousands of hours on that game. I’ll just go and kill something and go to the show.

John: If you can slay the boss, you can slay your set.

Ben: I just get to the venue early and just hang out and set a good vibe. Have a drink. I try to just get myself in the best possible mindset.

Emily: Ben’s too professional for us he just shows up without any anxiety [laughs].

Q: What are some band goals you have created for the year?

Branden: Put out an EP, tour a little bit.

Emily: Specifically, just play a show out of state. We have a show swap set up with another band in LA and we also have a connection in Vegas that offered the same thing to us.

John: We’ve been having fun with what we’re doing and just keep focusing on the small things, which have turned to leaps and bounds for us when it comes to opportunity. Our main goal is to just continue with what we’re doing and have fun in 2020.

Q: Any personal musicianship goals?

Branden: One of my goals is to write a full song for the band—to get all the tracks down, lyrics, guitar parts—because I think that would be a really fun and good experience with other members of the band and their parts.

John: My goal is a little weird because I am a music nerd. I wanted to write a song in poly key. I found some chords in that are in the two keys together as polychords and they made me cry. And I was like, “This is the emotion I need in my life”

Ben: Everyone just simultaneously went to sleep, fell on the ground and started snoring [laughs]. 

Ash: I want to work on my stage presence mostly because I am always just doing my little stage bass look. One of our other bands on the label walks around like a dinosaur and I love it—I just need to get that kind of energy because I’m still kind of a hermit. I am a turtle and I will live in my shell.

Ben: John says he wants to learn the drums to broaden his sense of musicality and I am going to be his teacher. My goal is to get more into the education side of drumming and pick up some students, as well as just improving myself—getting back to practicing an hour a day. Just keep improving.

I also had the goal to write a song for Turn Zero. Emily and John most of the writing for the group so for Branden and me to write a song would be something very different and outside of our comfort zone. We can maybe expand the direction of the band or push it further to where it’s going.