I spoke to The Burgers, an up-and-coming band from Glasgow, whose music can be described as simple, direct, bright and catchy.
The Burgers is Zac Burger’s solo project, supported by two good friends, Nathan on bass and Ciaran on the drums. The pair respect Zac’s musical expression and have a lot of fun playing together.
According to them, the band’s name doesn’t have a special meaning. Zac didn’t know what name to choose, but didn’t want one too complicated. He wanted something straightforward.
Zac has stated that someone once told him that none of their albums sound like they were written by the same person. The Burgers haven’t had a clear style since their inception. They’ve made a punk album, a folk punk album, as well as an indie/lo-fi EP. The new album, ‘Kick Fights to Lose‘, keeps the classic punk style.
When asked how he got into music, Zac said, “I started by learning the guitar, but I’m quite dumb. After years of learning, I could only play simple chords, couldn’t read notation, and couldn’t play complex solos or riffs. I also self-studied music theory, but it didn’t help me write songs.
Eventually, I found my direction—I’m a songwriting rhythm guitarist. So I stopped forcing myself to practice guitar. I just started strumming simple chord progressions and whistling out melodies. Later, I realised songwriting was actually that simple. I wrote three songs from my first album in just two months!”
Zac believes that socialising is the most useful skill in the music industry, “Whether you get opportunities that have nothing to do with how good your music is, it all depends on how many people you know. This is not my original quote, it was told to me by people in the scene, but I’ve definitely experienced it myself.
“However, this is a skill I don’t have and don’t care to have. Getting gigs is the hardest part, because I don’t want to compromise with that “friend-politic” style of networking. No promoter wants to give us a chance.
Image Credit: Zac Burger
“So, I simply started my DIY show project ‘Outcast Unscene’ and began organising my own gigs.”
The Outcast Unscene project was created to support artists with ADHD, autism and anyone who has been excluded from the DIY/ punk scene. More information about this project will be published soon. You can stay up to date with the idea by keeping up with their social media.
I asked Zac who his dream musician to work with was, “Laz McCluskey from Bubblegum Lemonade. My dying wish is to write a song for someone that captures the feeling of Bubblegum Lemonade. I’ve already written a melody, but unfortunately, I don’t know how to arrange it.
“I really want to ask Laz to complete the song with me, but I haven’t dared to ask because I’m afraid of being rejected.”
I felt privileged as Zac shared with me what inspired the song ‘Are You Really Listening To Music’.
The melody had been in his head for a long time, but he hadn’t written any lyrics and wasn’t planning on using it in their new album. Earlier this year, however, he posted some thoughts on social media about unhealthy dynamics in the punk scene and how outsiders are oppressed.
A Dundonian hardcore punk band (who will remain unnamed) seem to have taken this personally and are alleged to have Zac blacklisted in their community, leading to some claiming this band’s public political leanings are nothing more than a gimmick.
Zac wrote his response to them in the form of a song in only a single afternoon.
The Burgers had a secret album debut on May 11th in Glasgow and held the official album launch on May 23rd in Edinburgh. Attendees were privy to DIY Zines inspired by their album as well as limited CD copies.
You can listen to The Burger’s new album, ‘Kick Fights to Lose’ on Spotify, Bandcamp or YouTube.
Follow along with the band via their Instagram, @theburgersmusic.
Featured Image Credit: Zac Burger
The Mourning Paper 