Interview: Zorbas Trio (Callista, John and Demetra)
By: Rob Smittix
RRX: Our Special guests here in the studio today are The Zorbas Trio. If you could all just introduce yourselves please and say what you do in the band.
CZ: I’m the eldest of the trio, I am Callista. I am the singer and I am the guitarist.
DZ: Okay, I am Demetra, I am the singer and the bass player.
JZ: And I am John I’m the youngest and I am…
RRX: …the tallest!
(All Laugh)
JZ: I am the keyboardist and kick drum player.
RRX: Definitely digging your music.
All Together: Thank You
RRX: You are going to be a part of White Lake Studios, Upstate Unplugged Concert Series.
JZ: We’re so excited, for that gig.
CZ: It’s going to be such an intimate experience.
JZ: That studio’s beautiful.
CZ: Oh my God, if you have never been in that studio, you have to go! It is such a vibe there.
JZ: It’s very cabin-like.
CZ: It’s like your in the middle of the woods in a cabin. We can’t wait to play our songs.
JZ: We have some new originals that we’re gonna be playing there and some unreleased stuff.
RRX: I know it’s always the last Thursday of the month for Upstate Unplugged.
CZ: Yeah, it’s September 24th.
JZ: We always rely on Callista to remember dates.
DZ: Yeah.
CZ: It’s going to be very fun!
DZ: Thank you David (Bourgeois) for letting us play.
RRX: Here’s the thing about David, he brings amazing talent in. We’ve been the official media partner of Upstate Unplugged for a while now and several of shows that I’ve seen there were bands with siblings. We didn’t mention that but you are actual siblings.
All Together: YES!
DZ: A lot of people don’t see that though, like… you guys are siblings? You look nothing alike. I mean… some people can see it, I don’t know.
CZ: Some people actually think that we’re either triplets.
JZ: They always think that you’re the youngest (pointing towards Callista) and I’m the oldest.
RRX: I imagine you’ve been doing this your whole lives together?
JZ: I mean… we’ve always done projects together. We all started music together very young but we weren’t a band. We didn’t necessarily play together that much.
DZ: It was a side thing for us, more or less and then it became more serious in like… 2019.
JZ: 2020.
CZ: Yeah, my sister and I played violin for a long time and he’s always played piano.
JZ: You both sang.
CZ: We actually were inspired by Broadway, Disney movies and stuff. We’d always sing with them. Elsa and Anna and everything and that was the time our Mom said why don’t you do it together? John can accompany you.
JZ: We had a gig, I think it was the first gig, in SVAN in Northville. We did a little opening thing and that’s how we first got together with singing and piano. It was originally just going to be me playing piano but I was so terrified back then. I was like I can’t just do it alone up there, so then Mom was like why don’t you guys sing too? That just made it worlds better.
CZ: That was 2019. Then more in 2020, 2021 we introduced more instruments. And most recently the kick drum, which is an electric kick drum and it really brings it together in how much of a sound it made. We were hooked and have not stopped.
RRX: Tell us something about yourselves that people might be surprised to know. We’re always talking to musicians about music but sometimes it’s like… I’m a spoon collector, you’re too young to collect spoons.
CZ: Well actually, we kind of run the Spa City Farmers Market with our parents. Our parents started Spa City Farmers Market. We have a couple of businesses. An art business and I do some crochet on the side just to get more music equipment. So I make toys to more guitars and stuff. But it’s a great place for community, putting people together, the importance of shopping local and supporting local. Same as supporting local musicians, vendors and farmers are very important. We try to promote that as much as possible.
JZ: Yeah, she has a crocheting business and Demetra paints.
DZ: Yeah, I do art.
JZ: I like to do stop motion and play video games.
RRX: What is stop motion?
JZ: You don’t know what stop motion is?
RRX: I’m too old to know.
JZ: Too old? That’s like before CGI.
RRX: Oh! You’re talking about how like… when I made a Lego video once…
JZ: Yeah! You take a picture and then move it.
RRX: Okay, I didn’t know what it was called.
JZ: Stop motion. That’s what I wanted to be before I became a musician when I was like 6 until like 7. Oh my God, no! I said the meme.
RRX: Six, Seven (hand gestures).
JZ: Our “Jack In The Box” video we incorporated some stop motion. It’s a cool artform.
CZ: It’s such a time consuming artform, I have so much respect for that. Could you imagine? I think ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ which is stop motion took 10 years.
RRX: Yeah, why wouldn’t it? You’ve got to have patience and you probably shouldn’t have a cat.
CZ: Oh, yeah you’re right!
RRX: Same thing if you’re into puzzles…
JZ: …important pieces will be lost.
CZ: Another funny thing I guess is, we have 5 dogs.
JZ: And they’re big dogs, they’re Malamutes.
CZ: Alaskan Malamutes.
RRX: Well, I hope you don’t live in a tiny apartment.
CZ: Oh, no, no, no. I don’t think they’d allow that. All the hair… I walk out to go to the store and I look like Chewbacca. I am covered in hair, head to toe because of those dogs.
RRX: That’s cool. Your music speaks for itself but we’re getting to know you as people. You all seem pretty young, to me at least.
DZ: 23
CZ: 26
JZ: 20
RRX: Oh, Damn.
JZ: What is that supposed to mean?
RRX: It means I shouldn’t have gave you that shot earlier. You should’ve warned me.
(All Laugh)
JZ: I’ll be 21 in November
CZ: He’s the tallest though. We’re the shorties over here.
RRX: I’ve had that problem being short myself.
CZ: Well, as long as you’re healthy. That’s what matters.
RRX: The thing is.. when you’re a short guy, we actually do get rejected sometimes just because of our height.
JZ: That’s a big thing now, isn’t it?
DZ: What about jockeys?
RRX: Right? I could be a jockey.
JZ: Nowadays, if you’re not 7 feet tall.
CZ: I even used to get talked down to… like you’re so short, we’re gonna be looking down at you. Whatever, I’ve grown to be like, who cares what people think?
DZ: Don’t Care.
RRX: Don’t Care!
JZ: Don’t Care!
(Don’t Care is a song by Zorbas Trio)
JZ: The fun thing about being tall though is like when you’re at the grocery store and some persons asks can you help me get this? I’m like, yeah and reach to the top shelf. Like Slender Man almost.
RRX: My wife and I have a stool in our kitchen.
DZ: You gotta do what you gotta do.
RRX: But I have actually in the past been rejected. I’ve literally heard, you’re not tall enough. I’m thinking but don’t you want more leg-room in bed?
CZ: Exactly.
RRX: (Gestures to John) You take up a lot of space!
JZ: Sleeping… that’s one thing that sucks about being tall. There’s no bed that fits my length, my feet are always hanging off the edge.
DZ: There’s pros and cons to everything.
JZ: They do have the leg surgery thing, though. It looks so dangerous.
RRX: Heightening? Shortening? Or both?
JZ: You could probably shorten too, I don’t know.
DZ: People do that? That’s crazy.
JZ: It’s like they break your leg and put metal things in…
RRX: I really hope insurance doesn’t cover that. I hope they’re paying out of pocket for this.
CZ: Who would do that?
JZ: You’d be surprised.
RRX: Get one of those and a BBL at the same time, you’d be all set! We don’t have much time left is there anything you’d like to say to the world?
CZ: Just keep being yourself.
JZ: Keep listening to music that’s not AI.
DZ: And keep it real!
JZ: And come to our show.
CZ: Upstate Unplugged, September 24th, 7:30pm Be there!
DZ: Get your tickets!
RRX: whitelakestudios.com
