Excerpt from Small-Time Rockers on a Roll

Excerpt from “Small-time rockers on a roll (new rock groups).” Michael Goldberg, Eliza Wing and Peter Standish. Rolling Stone, Sept. 26, 1985(4).

Zeitgeist, a word that means “the spirit of an age”, is quite an ambitious name for a rock band. Zeitgeist guitarist-vocalist John Croslin defends the choice but knows there are problems with it: “People can’t pronounce it. But the main problem is that people think we’re stuffy or an art band, which we are not.”

Based in Austin, Texas, Zeitgeist plays smooth, country-flavored folk rock that derives a slight edge from punk. The sound is uncompromisingly original. After releasing one single in 1984, the band bought a station wagon and headed east to Atlanta, Georgia, where they met DB Records head Danny Beard. Less than a year later, DB released Zeitgeist’s debut LP, Translate Slowly.

After a three-month tour this fall, the band plans to record a second album. Zeitgeist will probably sign with one of the major labels now courting them, but Croslin admits that he’s torn. “Independent record labels,” he explains, “don’t tell you to cut your hair different or to wear neato New Wave earrings.”