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The Toronto-based band Zeus is one of Arts & Crafts’ newest gems. The four-piece group originally backed another Toronto powerhouse, James Collett. Zeus’s recently released debut album Say Us was warmly welcomed within the indie music community. Carlin Nicholson gave us a few minutes to chat about his band, country, and recent happenings.

Don’t you think naming your band after the King of the Gods is a little garish? Where did the name come from?

Who is gar? I have a friend that has a cousin Gar… he was a middle-aged shut-in who wrote songs about war casualties. Our name comes from a play on words… sounds like juice!/sounds like juices!/sounds like Zeus’ juices/sounds like Zeus = Zeus.

Canadians, eh? What would you say to some people who call Canada, “America’s Hat”?

I’ve never met anyone who said that… does that make America Canada’s diaper?

What can people expect from the new album Say Us, your first LP?

Everything they didn’t get on the EP, literally. We picked the songs for the Sounds Like Zeus EP from the Say Us record. So in a way it is the rest of the picture.

The new video for “Marching Through Your Head” features some pretty nifty animation. How involved were you in the development and production of the music video?

Not very. It was our concept in the beginning and after we brought it to Adam Marenko, he drew up a treatment and took it from there. There was one day of band shooting. He was very private as to what he would let us see. He wanted it to be done and ready before anyone saw anything… understandable. He’s a magic man.

We haven’t played many yet to pick from… Hillside will be cool when it comes around; I’ve always liked that event. Halifax Pop was a great time this year.

If you had to choose one venue to play for the rest of your lives, what would it be and why?

I would get our own private studio approved as a recognized venue and play there. Why? So we could make endless crazy live records that sound just like the studio.

Take me through your songwriting process. Where does your inspiration come from?

Like any songwriter it never comes from any one place. We have 3 different songwriters in Zeus so It makes for a mixed bag… but strangely still a lot of these tunes end up being about girls… love vs. pain vs. pleasure.

What song makes you the most proud of Zeus? What is your favorite song to play live?

That’s hard to say. I’m proud of the record as a whole, producing and engineering and writing gets you so close to all elements of the process that you begin to love parts of things and sounds in certain spots. The whole thing was spontaneous and each song recording was a different scene. So I end up thinking back fondly on the hangs and the friends vibe that we stirred to make this.

What do you consider to be the best part about being in a band?

It’s the thick brozone layer that you can make if you’re clear and honest with each other. On top of that, for most artists, songwriting is a very necessary conduit for spilling emotion and in essence staying clear to yourself and in turn those around you… this band is great for that.

Your label, Arts & Crafts, is doing quite well for itself with artists such as Grammy-winning Phoenix, Feist and Broken Social Scene. Who is currently your favorite artist signed by A&C?

I personally really like the new Gentlemen Reg stuff. Also Hidden Cameras and of course, Jason Collett’s latest.

If you were in charge of nominating artists for the Grammys, who would your nominees for Album of the Year be?

I’m so out of touch with it… I’d probably get into a Delorean time machine and get Peter Elkas’ “Party Of One” album its due.

In the spirit of the last season of LOST, which member of the band would best be suited for survival on a deserted island? Who would be the least suited?

Sorry  – never watched it. Don’t have cable.

If there were one person, dead or alive, that you could all collectively punch in the face, who would it be?

I don’t know about the other dudes. Mine would probably be one collective punch in equal force distributed amongst each member of Great Big Sea.

Looking towards the future, where do you hope to be as a band in 5 years?

Doing what we are now on a grander scale. 5 more records under our belt.

The story of how artists got their first instrument is always interesting. What are your stories?

My brother taught me how to play some AC/DC riffs on a Sears “Terminator”. It had a rad speaker in it with an on/off switch that ran on a 9 volt. Man what a beauty. I took it apart to “fix” it or “clean” it once and my mom threw away all the pieces… so we bought a Telecaster.

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To find out more about this artist, check their MySpace page.