Sometimes fate has a lot to do with love and forming a band. Hannah Hooper knew Christian Zucconi was the one for her the moment she laid eyes on him in New York City. “I fell madly in love with him,” Hooper told us a few months ago, “In a totally not creepy way.” Through thick and thin, the two have always focused on having as much fun as possible, whether it’s going on dates at their parent’s houses or working on art projects to supplement their music. The couple not only gives each other a lot of love, but spreads their joy to the other members of the band, which exemplifies not only the band’s name, but also the band motto: group love.
Paste: Tell us the story of how you met.
Hannah Hooper: I had lost the plot a bit—cooped up painting in my studio in Chinatown [New York City] for weeks. My friend Matt, who I shared a studio with at the time came by one night to get me out and grab a drink and see a band play. I remember walking into the club on Ludlow, the stage was lit so you couldn’t see anyone but this recklessly passionate voice filled the room—and that voice was Christian’s. I was mesmerized by him. He unleashes a vulnerability and honesty on stage that I had never seen. It was love at first sound for me.
Christian Zucconi: But you were so cute and in this painting suit and spoke to me after the show…so out of character. I knew she was someone really special and I went home to check out her work online, held my breath hoping it would be good…it blew me away.
Paste: Describe your first date.
Zucconi: I picked Hannah up in Chinatown and we drove up to Rockwood Park by my mom’s house in Ossining about 30 minutes from the city singing The Pixies at the top of our lungs. We actually ended up falling asleep under a tree in this big field. When I woke up, she was finishing this crazy drawing of me. I don’t really know how to put that day into words, but we were magnetic together. When it started getting dark I ended up taking her to my mom’s house for dinner. They hit it off like they knew one another.
Paste: How long have you been together?
Zucconi: Since we first met! Almost four years now.
Paste: What was it like when you started making music together?
Hooper: It was like “Oh shit, we have another language that we can speak.” It added a whole other dimension that we could share.
Zucconi: “Unravel” by Bjork—you catch the drift.
Paste: What is the biggest challenge of dating to a fellow artist?
Hooper and Zucconi: Making sure one of us doesn’t smoke all the weed.
Paste: What’s the greatest thing about being dating an artist?
Zucconi: Sharing a creativity, unpredictability and growth in life together that alone was mostly heavy and burdening.
Paste: Any advice you got from other couples who worked together in the same field?
Hooper: Not really advice from a friend but I just watched this Fleetwood Mac documentary on our last flight and the message I took from their journey was grow together so you don’t grow apart.
Paste: What advice would you give to a couple working together or in the same field?
Zucconi and Hooper: Get on and get it on.
Paste: Tell us about a project that you guys are working on right now.
Zucconi: We are working on something for Coachella, so we are keeping it under the radar till then. But making things in different mediums together has been inspiring. Hannah never even sang before we met and I never really painted so we bring a freedom and naivety to everything we make together.