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<\/p>\nAs the great philosopher Ringo Starr once said, time takes time. And nothing illustrates that aphorism more succinctly than the arc of Bay Area band Please Do Not Fight. Launched by singer-songwriter Zen Zenith, the group debuted with 2007\u2019s full-length Leave it All Behind<\/i>. But even that first release was the product of an extended, four-year period of creation.<\/p>\n
Some critics enthusiastically likened the group\u2019s sound to Death Cab for Cutie, making note of Zenith\u2019s self-aware, sometimes angsty lyrics set against tuneful indie-rock arrangements. The band was on a roll: they released a well-received six-song EP, MOVE<\/i>, in 2009, and followed up two years later with another EP, a teasingly-titled release called pastpresentfuture part 1<\/i>.<\/p>\n
And then, nothing.<\/p>\n
Save for a pair of one-off singles in 2011 and 2012, not another word was heard from the group. Though Please Do Not Fight seemed to have all the right ingredients \u2013 creative momentum, a dedicated following and positive critical notices \u2013 Zenith admits that the group broke up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was about needing to take a break,\u201d they explain, \u201cand needing to untangle ego, deconstruct the people-pleaser thing.\u201d Zenith had approached their group as a full-time endeavor, but that eventually brought about a kind of burnout.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to 2024, and Please Do Not Fight has unexpectedly resurfaced, marking that return with a belated sequel to the band\u2019s EP of a dozen years ago. Pastpresentfuture part 2<\/i> doesn’t exactly pick up right where the group left off; it\u2019s more of a statement of purpose, a \u201cHere\u2019s where we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n
And things have changed. \u201cThe music industry is a completely different place,\u201d Zenith says. \u201cThe Bay Area music scene is in a different place. And so much that has changed for us all, personally, too: I have a \u2018muggle\u2019 day job.\u201d And Zenith came out as queer five years ago, a fact that informs their songwriting, albeit in oblique ways.<\/p>\n
The various members of Please Do Not Fight \u2013 a fluid group with Zenith and longtime collaborator Erin Keely at its core \u2013 are scattered around the country now. Zenith still lives in the Bay Area, but Keely is in Vancouver. \u201cAnd many of the other members live in Los Angeles,\u201d Zenith says.<\/p>\n
While Zenith is the band\u2019s songwriter, Please Do Not Fight remains a group effort. Two members of Oakland band The Matches \u2013 bassist Justin San Souci and producer Jonathan Devoto \u2013 are part of PDNF\u2019s current configuration. They join with some of the musicians from the group\u2019s old days. Zenith says that they would have liked to have had other past members involved as well. \u201cBut they\u2019re off on other careers now, being rock stars in other ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of being a rock star was central to Zenith\u2019s approach in the first phase of the Please Do Not Fight story, but it doesn\u2019t figure into current plans. Zenith says that ending a decade-plus away from music allows re-connection with what excites them about playing music. \u201cI\u2019ve really missed all the playfulness, magic and connection that music brings to my life,\u201d they say. \u201cNow I can engage with the music rather than getting wrapped up in trying to be a rock star.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back at the lyrics they wrote before coming out, Zenith takes a balanced view. \u201cI have to be patient and understanding that they were doing the best with what they had,\u201d Zenith says. \u201cI think a lot of it was steering clear of the topic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pausing a moment to reflect, Zenith amends that observation. \u201cIt\u2019s funny: when I look back, there are ways that I was unconsciously incorporating my queer experience into lyrics and the music.\u201d With a chuckle, Zenith recalls, \u201cThere are a ton of photos of me from back in the day, rocking a rainbow guitar strap. So it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s<\/i> what that was all about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Zenith believes there\u2019s a through-line that connects the 2024 iteration of the group with its (if you will) former self. \u201cI think that we very much pick up on some of the themes from pastpresentfuture part 1<\/i>,\u201d they say, noting that the 2011 release dealt in nostalgia. \u201cThe songs on this new record feel much more rooted in the present.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tracks like \u201cToo Tough\u201d display that quality, with lyrics that both define a problem (\u201cI\u2019m bein\u2019 too tough on myself and won\u2019t let up\u201d) and display an awareness of the solution (\u201clearn to love things as they are and accept them\u201d).<\/p>\n
Past, present\u2026 future<\/i>? Might there someday be a third entry in the EP series, completing a Please Do Not Fight trilogy? And will listeners have to wait another ten years or more?<\/p>\n
Time takes time, so the answer isn\u2019t clear. Zenith says that the new EP \u201cfeels like closure. It feels weird to have released a part 1<\/i> and then broken up, so it feels very cathartic to come back and say, \u2018Here’s part 2<\/i>. We\u2019re 13 years late, but here it is!\u2019\u201d What remains to be seen, Zenith says, is what the future holds. \u201cIt\u2019s open for us to decide what comes next,\u201d Zenith says. \u201cI don\u2019t really know what that looks like yet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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