Last Wednesday, I spoke to Justice McDaniel '12 on the phone about his band Zanois. Composed of McDaniel, his younger brother Zane, his father and Zane's friend Kyle O'Dowd, Zanois offers an eclectic mix of pop and '70s guitar rock as well as an indie aesthetic. The Manchester, N.H.-based band recently released its first full-length album on iTunes, titled The Benevolent Beast. Zanois is planning to make its Brandeis debut early next semester at Cholmondeley's. To hear more, check out http://www.myspace.com /zanois. JustArts: How do you pronounce your band name? I was pronouncing it "Za-Nwa" but then somebody told me it was actually "Za-Noise."

Justice McDaniel: I think the correct pronunciation is "Zay-Noise." We do get a lot of "Za-Nwa"s. Well, my little brother's name is Zane, and we make noise, so Zanois.

JA: Who are the members of Zanois?

JM: So, my little brother Zane plays keyboard and sings. His friend Kyle plays bass and occasionally either backup or lead vocal.

JA: How old are they?

JM: Zane is 15 right now. Kyle is 17. On the other end of the spectrum, my dad is normal dad-age.

JA: Did you start this band in your hometown then, in high school?

JM: Actually, a lot of the songs we play are songs Zane wrote and recorded originally by himself. One day, Neil Cicierega of Lemon Demon said, "Hey, come to a show of ours in Kingston." Zane asked Dad and me to play drums and guitar for a backup band. We learned about nine songs for that. Then I went off to school, and they tried to get Kyle and another guy to do it, but I guess they never got a chance to practice. So, two weeks before the gig that they were preparing for they called me and said, "We really need you again!", and we've been playing together ever since.

JA: And where are you from?

JM: We are from Manchester, N.H.

JA: Has the band been named under other incarnations? I noticed your Yahoo address is heavy_metal_lemon. Was that another band?

JM: That was my band in high school. There have been other band names. Originally, the first name was Z.A.N.E., which stood for "Zane And No one Else."

JA: Under what genre would you classify your music?

JM: Oof. It really depends on the song. Some of it is '70s rock mixed with indieish stuff; I guess that's the overall feel.

JA: Do you think it conveys a certain kind of image at all? Or do you imagine playing to a specific audience at all?

JM: Not really. There are different songs that appeal to different people, whether they're our families or our friends.

JA: Is this band primarily for you and your friends, or do you imagine a wider audience for it?

JM: We'd really hope for a wider audience. It's pretty poppy stuff.

JA: So do you think that adds to the appeal?

JM: Yeah, I think they're really catchy songs, so people will be like, "Hey, I recognize that!" Actually, our first full-length album just came out on iTunes.

JA: Can you tell us what the album is called?

JM: The album is called The Benevolent Beast.

JA: And it just recently came out, you said?

JM: Yeah. We've been working on it since the beginning of summer, as far as recording goes, but we just finished it up earlier this month.

JA: What songs are on it-mostly new stuff or recording of older stuff?

JM: It's all new recordings. Eleven songs. I'd say ... about half of them are about the Apollo 11 mission.

JA: So you'd say that's the thematic center of your album?

JM: Well, these songs came from an album Zane made by himself two years back, all about the Apollo 11 mission.

JA: And the other half is newer stuff you've done recently?

JM: Yeah, one of the songs is something Dad wrote, and there are a few others that we've added.

JA: What are your favorites?

JM: My favorites are any of the ones where I get to do a long guitar solo. I really like "Chatter Teeth"-it's good; it's like elevator music mixed with straight up rock. It's really cool. And then I like "Schizophrenic Lullaby" and "Mercury Fetus."

JA: Does Zanois do any covers, or is it usually just originals?

JM: When we play live we always do a good chunk of covers.

JA: What songs do you cover? What kind of music do you draw from when you do covers?

JM: We cover pretty much anything. We cover anything from Katy Perry to Genesis to KC and the Sunshine Band and Beck. Oh, and we do a song from Jesus Christ Superstar. A smattering of stuff.

JA: Do you have any songs that you really like to perform live?

JM: They're all pretty fun to play live. It's just fun to play live. That's why we do it. And to have other people hear it, too.

JA: Is that your driving motivation, then, to be able to perform for other people?

JM: It's just fun to play music for people. If they enjoy it a lot, that's great too.

JA: So at Brandeis do you do music-related stuff besides the band?

JM: My roommate, Adam, is really musical. Right now we're working on an ambient album using only Casio keyboards. And once a week we do this thing called Solar Fetus where we invite a bunch of people to our room, and usually only about half of the people show up, and they only know a key and sometimes a theme, and everyone starts playing and we'll record.

JA: Oh, are you part of the improv ensemble?

JM: No, people tell me, "You should go join this thing." I haven't gotten the chance to check it out yet, though.

JA: Is there anything about the album you'd like to mention? Or are you looking for shows and gigs?

JM: Yeah, we're always looking for gigs. The Greater Boston area is always great; if it's a bit further away and there are a couple gigs in the area, that's also worth it. Also, we're going to be playing at Brandeis in late January or early February.

JA: Are you going to be playing at Chum's?

JM: Yeah.

JA: I'll definitely tell people to keep an eye out.