The Tapples Tackle Life’s Milestones in Upcoming Album

August 26, 2024
• The high school band explores growing up and moving on in their sophomore album to be released at the end of the month.

Since forming more than a decade ago, The Tapples have experienced a number of changes over the years. The Needham band has evolved from an elementary school talent show act to a full-fledged high school rock group, performing around the region and writing their own music. They’ve welcomed new band members and bid goodbye to old ones. And now, their lead singer is states away, about to start his freshman year of college.

Even still, the prospects of change didn’t stop the band’s groove, but instead, further crystallized it.

The Tapples’ upcoming second album, “Turning Points,” chronicles life’s transitions, from toxic relationships to grief to moving away from home. The band spent their summer in their basement home studio, recording and producing the six-song tracklist. The album will come out Friday, Aug. 30.

When the album drops, vocalist and lead guitarist Riley Zakarian will likely be in his dorm room at the University of Miami, where he’s studying music engineering. Before move-in, he spent his summer with his three bandmates, bringing to life the songs they’d written months before.

After graduating in June from Needham High School, Riley Zakarian recounted his lasting local memories in “one world for another,” the album closer they recorded in one day.

“It’s about going on Dunkin rides with my friends, which was very Bostonian to me to say, but it’s things like that… Little memories like that I put in for Needham generally,” he said. “It’s about moving on to college and how you have to do it, so there’s nothing you can do besides just enjoy the ride while you go through it.”

The cover of the album — a photo of the Needham Fourth of July fireworks — also nods to their local roots, as does their first album, “Where You’ve Been,” which displays Needham street signs.

The latest album includes two songs the band already performed at Boston’s Last Band Standing competition in March: the slowed-down, John Mayer-esque “Ghosted” and bluesy “14 Days,” about a short-lived romance.

Over the last couple months, The Tapples recorded the album “Beatles style,” laying down all their instruments before the bass guitar. With NHS senior Liam King on drums and senior Ashton Kim on keys, that left Riley’s brother Avery, an incoming sophomore, to record bass guitar last.

The two brothers spent time collaborating this summer, listening back to their tracks after Riley Zakarian mixed and drafted them and talking through ideas. Influenced by a passion for jazz, Avery Zakarian said there’s another practical reason behind their recording process.

“One of the most important parts about all these jazz musicians, the recurring concept, is that they always look for space in a song,” Avery Zakarian said, “which also is a great reason why you record the bass last, because oftentimes you have parts of a song that are really crowded, and in that case, the bass should be laying just a steady line, something to hold the song together.”

The band employed some musical tricks to elevate their sound this time around. Even though setting up the drums, by King’s account, “is probably by far the biggest hassle for anyone in the band,” it pays off. They experimented with the microphones, placing them further away to create the illusion the listener is in the same room as the snare drum, King said.

From country to pop to soulful, the songs’ sounds influenced the recording process, King said.

“We put a towel on the snare drum for some songs versus others to create some differences,” King said. “It’s fair to say we played around a little bit more with the sound on this album than we have before. I like that aspect of it. I feel like it’s really fun to be able to do that.”

On “Turning Points,” the group will revamp their 2021 acoustic single “Sail On,” which is dedicated to a friend of the Zakarians’ father who passed away from cancer. The song pays homage to his love of sailing and childhood on Cape Cod.

With excitement building for the album release, Kim said he’s looking forward to being part of his first album alongside his fellow NHS Jazz Band members. As the newest member of the group, Kim wrote his own piano parts for “14 Days.”

“I think it’s really cool to be in an album,” Kim said. “It’s a first experience. I like it.”

While the group is in transition, Riley Zakarian stressed it’s not the end of The Tapples. When asked who might replace him as lead singer, Kim nominated King, who deferred to Avery. The three remaining members are eyeing future performances with the jazz band, including their November concert and WinterFest. The entire band recently performed together at the Pleasant Park Yacht Club in June but plan to come back when Riley makes trips home from school.

This fall also marks a critical point for King and Kim, who will enter their senior year and consider their future after NHS. They’re both thinking about incorporating music in their college programs.

Down in Florida, Riley Zakarian stuffed his dorm with so much music equipment it necessitated a storage locker. His parents plan to bring a third guitar with them for family weekend, joining two amps, a pedal board, extra strings and more. When the album’s out, he hopes to share it with the campus and connect with new people through music.

But despite the distance, “The Tapples are never gonna go away,” he said. The Needham contingent made plans to write music for their jazz performances and jam in the studio, where it all began.

“The basement’s still the basement,” Riley Zakarian said.