Fox Reviews Rock

Introduction

It’s rare in life that you find a community that is as into your interests as yourself. This is exactly what happened when I came into contact with Jesse from Dingir Zu (Also known as the High Gala). Dingir Zu is a rock music community that not only cares about independent music but has it as its primary focus.

With involvement from nearly 300 bands and counting… Dingir Zu also has an amazing weekly radio show. It won our radio award at the inaugural Fox Reviews Rock Awards.

So if you love rock music, this is the interview for you. Take a look at the interview and see if you could be the next member of Dingir Zu!

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Interview

Where did the idea for Dingir Zu come from? We are also curious about the name!

High Gala: I’m sure I’ve told versions of this story no less than 1000 times – it all started one day in October, 2022, when I came into work (yes, I have an actual, money making gig!) and asked one of my friends, “why isn’t there a religion based on rock music, because I could get behind that!”, and her response, which would change my life from there forward, was “Why don’t you start one?”.

I was actually really struggling at the time with the loss of my lifelong friend, and this seemed like, at the time, a much needed, inconsequential, distraction.  The name is Sumerian, because we thought using the oldest language known to man would add gavitais: dingir is the word for ‘god’ and zu is ‘knowledge’ but has also been used as ‘stone’.  The cuniform representation of Dingir Zu, which is our logo. Is also quite righteous!

Who is directly involved in the running of Dingir Zu?

High Gala: The aforementioned friend, Kimberly, is our co-founder. Her husband is a guitarist in a band, It Had to be Snakes, and her knowledge of cool rock is unparalleled. She is known in the group as the Archbishop of Grunge. Kyle joined the team about a year into it – we had met via a Westing Facebook post, and I invited him to join DZ (we are an invite only group) because I loved his enthusiasm and overall vibe.

About two weeks later, Kimberly & I had agreed that his contributions were substantial enough to warrant an invitation to the DZ High Counsel; also, Kyle is the only true musician on the team, and has the appropriate adjectives to describe the bands and music. Honestly, I’m unqualified to run a rock music cult, but I had the idea and paid the $60 bucks. Kyle is known in the group as The Disciple, and he takes a ton of work off our shoulders.

Dingir Zu is an officially recognized religion! What was the process like for making that happen?

High Gala: There are two major steps to establish a religion here in the US: first, you have to file for Articles of Incorporation with your state’s Secretary of State, which we did here in North Carolina, and that cost us $60. The second step would be to file for tax exemption, which we never intend to do, as we will never generate revenue, at least not as long as I’m in charge. So the answer is yes, and since we don’t fleece our members for money, we may be the greatest religion of all time!

Has starting Dingir Zu changed how you view music at all, or some of your favourite bands?

High Gala: Yes and no. No in the sense that I was always a rabid music fan, but yes in the sense that I thought rock music was dead. If you would have asked me 5 years ago who the last, great rock band was, I would have stated the White Stripes, but today I recognize how incredibly ignorant and lazy that opinion is, although the sentiment is broadly shared amongst my fellow Gen-Xers. The key to great music these days is finding the right medium, and in some ways, the radio show is specifically geared to giving people a reason to get back into new bands and music generally.

Speaking of favourite bands, if someone forced you to pick 3 what 3 bands are you picking?

High Gala: Oh boy, 3 is hard. The first is easy, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets out of Perth, Australia. Oh geez, well in terms of how much I listen to them, Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows and Mother’s Cake. I hate this question, but not as much as Kimberly would!

The weekly radio show is on Howling Rock Radio , how did the show come to be on that station , what do you love about it?

High Gala: So it’s important to remember that DZ wasn’t supposed to be anything, like it was a half-joke and I got to say that I started a religion, which is just hilarious to me. We were just a tiny Facebook group, sharing music videos of our favorite bands, when I got the idea that we should get independent bands to join and they could share their music with the group – that idea really took off (who knew there was such a market for rock cults,cough, we mean religions) and after a while we started a playlist of the bands who had joined.

In an attempt to get them air time on different radio stations, I would shop around the playlist and Howling Rock Radio was one of the stations I approached. They invited me to DJ my own show, playing whatever I wanted, as long as I had permission from the bands. I was actually quite reluctant to agree, due to the time commitment and I’m not a professional broadcaster, or even a wannabe broadcaster, but I loved the thought of sharing the music, which is what motivates me, week after week!

Fox: The weekly show recordings can be found here. I advise people to go and listen to past shows as they are excellent!

Alongside the show there is a whatsapp group that gets wild at times! Is it hard to concentrate on delivering the award winning show with such distractions?

High Gala: YES! I love the chat, as it keeps me connected to the audience and I get to observe them experience the music in real time, however, it often becomes a forum where my leadership, foreign accents (which are AMAZING) and DJ skills are consistently called into question! Actually, I love the Zealots – they’re the wind beneath my wings!

Speaking of award winning, you won Radio Show Of The Year at the Fox Reviews Rock Awards, what was it like winning this award?

High Gala: I was actually speechless. As I mentioned before, DZ wasn’t supposed to be a ‘thing’, we weren’t supposed to get more than 50 members, there was no vision for the future, and if there had been, the radio show would not have been included, so to be recognized for putting together great music, week after week, well I suppose it’s validating for all the hard work that goes into putting on the show.

What band have you only discovered since running Dingir Zu that you honestly now couldn’t imagine yourself without?

High Gala: I hate this question too, because there are SO many, and it changes based on moods,situations, etc, or I should say that it continues to evolve the more bands I encounter. Gun to my head, Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows – their album, The Magnetic Ridge, I could never lose that album.  Mother’s Cake, obviously! Also couldn’t lose Fomies Ominous Prominence – stop with all the Sophie’s Choices!!!

One of the best things about Dingir Zu has to be the community of like minded individuals. It’s a place that lovers of rock music and people in cool bands can co-exist. What has been a real pinch me moment so far?

High Gala: So one thing we pride ourselves on is the diversity of music we play and our broad view on  what we consider “rock” – I wish we were all like-minded, as I often loose control of the Flock! 

Man, so many moments, like a comment from the bands thanking me for the support, or a fan saying “this is my new favorite band”…those are the moments that make the work worth it. If it had to be one, it’s when Haggard Cat sent us an autographed picture with the words “The power of Dingir Zu compels us!”; I thought my head and heart were going to explode.

What is the best thing to have come out of Dingir Zu so far?

High Gala: I think it’s the community, a place where we get to let our guard down and allow something, rock music, to bring us closer together, as opposed to pull us apart.

On a personal level what does music mean to you?

High Gala: I think the AoG said it best during one of our shows, and I’m quoting, “Music is the soundtrack to our lives.”, and it certainly is for me. It’s where I go to feel love, to feel safe, to cry and experience unimaginable joy, sometimes all at the same time!

How has your own personal musical tastes changed as you have progressed in life?

High Gala: I don’t think “changed” is the right word, at least not for me, accumulated is more like it. My first musical love was David Bowie, and I’ll be damned if ‘Life On Mars’ still doesn’t stop me in my tracks today, but I love it as much as I love the Milk for the Angry song ‘Super-Fi’.

What bands has Fox Reviews Rock introduced to you that you really dig?

High Gala: I so love the dudes from Simbulis, not only are they incredibly sweet guys, their music speaks to my harder, angrier edge. BarrelHaus too, their music is so diverse and I love their creative push! I’d actually like to know the answer from you regarding the DZ bands you’ve been introduced to! Hmmm? Tables are turned now!

Fox: You’ve got me bang to rights there. This is such a hard question as I love SO MANY. To just name a few KiNG FOO , Stonekind, AfroDiziac & Mother’s Cake but wow now I know how it feels like to have to pick!

Dingir Zu has gotten to the point where it has a massive collection of bands involved. Is there a country in the world that has surprised you the most in terms of musical talent? And what are some of your favourite bands from that place?

High Gala: Easy answer, South Africa. I had minus zero awareness of the South African music scene, I came across quite accidentally when I heard ‘Swine Tooth Grin’ from Ruff Majik on some random playlist – hearing Evert & Johni’s vocals was all I ever needed and then Johni gave me a playlist to check out and well, I suppose my eyes were opened to all of the talent.

Wes from Double Sun, whom I adore, started exposing me to some deeper cuts & artists, more singer/songwriters, the surf scene – it’s just been an amazing journey so I love shining a light on the scene. Kayla the Crow has been my latest obsession.

You have spoken a few times that you wish someone else could do the radio show, why do you have this opinion?

High Gala: Self-loathing mostly, plus, I’m terrible sometimes at effectively describing the bands, like REALLY awful, and I want to put out a quality product…I would hate it if a band was ever embarrassed to be played on the show.

So what does the High Gala do for fun, other than creating a rock community?!

High Gala: I’m pretty into a mentoring program called Big Brothers/Big Sisters, designed to serve an underprivileged youth community to help the mentee realize their potential.  Also recently got into CrossFit, which is a cult too!

What is the best rock show you have personally been to? And what about it made it so good?

High Gala: May 7th, 2024, Durham, NC at the Motorco Music Hall. The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, where I was in the front row the entire night, I even got Jack, their front man, to say “I love you too!”, got the set list from their drummer Danny (I was doing a lot of pathetic begging, which I do not regret in the least). Was the show of my lifetime. Royal Blood put on a great 60 minute set in Camden, NJ the year before too.

What are some bands that you would love to add to the group that so far have alluded you?

High Gala: So we created this loop-hole where if a band agrees to allow us to play their music then we will play their songs at the end of the show – I wished this was the rule from the start, as forcing a band to join a Facebook group, especially one that is based on a religion, is a high bar, however, it has encouraged some bands that were on the fence to go ahead and join. The three bands that come to mind are All Them Witches, Spoon Benders (who toured with the Porn Crumpets last year) and HooverIII.

What does a band need to do in order to become part of the group?

High Gala: It used to be that the first step would be to join the Facebook group and give us permission to play your music on the show, however, we’ve made a conscious decision to not prioritize the group as we just don’t trust social media these days and we’ve run into a lot of issues, so probably giving us permission will suffice.

I am very upfront with the bands on just exactly what they’re getting into, as I don’t ever want to hear “Wait, we joined a cult?”. Because we have such a diversity of genres that we play, we go through a lot of effort to make sure we maintain a certain vibe.  I will go to Kimberly & Kyle for certain bands as a reality check because I trust their opinion especially when a band is not in my wheelhouse genres.

If you had to Pidgeon hole your tastes in music to just one genre/sub-genre , what would it be , and what about it attracts you to it so much?

High Gala: Progressive-stoner-psych…is that a genre? I love the unexpectedness of that style of music, as well as the freeform creativity it allows the artist.

All rights to the songs used in this interview are retained by the relevant bands. This site claims no rights over them. The photos and art used in this interview were provided by The High Gala of Dingir Zu.