Raul Anthony
May 3, 2025
Zak Perry & The Beautiful Things Return to the Studio
By Raul Anthony
The amps are glowing, the (virtual) tape is rolling, and something loud is taking shape inside the walls of Vern Vennard’s NovAria Studios in Houston, Texas.
On the heels of the most recent and lauded release Miles To Go, Zak Perry & The Beautiful Things are back in the studio—rekindling the magic with longtime producer Vellmore Zeelodus and a storm of new material.
It all kicked off in May when Zak Perry and guitarist/co-founder Vern Vennard flew in drummer Julien Mahieux from France to begin basic tracking. The second Julien cracked his sticks down on the opening take, it was clear—this wasn’t just another record. “Julien’s back in Houston, and you can feel it in your chest,” said Vern. “The groove just locked in. We worked on the Seb project together last October, and reconnecting now…it’s like he never left. The room just wakes up when he plays.”
With the core trio back in action and the energy high, the band hit a problem—but the kind every artist dreams of. “Vern and I sat down for pre-production thinking we had maybe one album’s worth of good songs,” Zak said. “But every time we tried to cut something, we just couldn’t. They were all keepers. So now we’re looking at a double album—or maybe two separate albums released back-to-back. Either way, we’ve got a monster on our hands.”
An entire album ’s worth of tracks have already been sent across the Atlantic to new guitarist Ralph Schraven, who’s helming remote sessions in Europe with bassist Gerben Koolen and vocalist Monika Schraven laying down parts from their side of the world. Across time zones and oceans, the Beautiful Things machine keeps rolling.
“This is more than a band,” Vern added. “Zak and I have built this thing brick by brick for damn near 30 years. And we’re still here, still grinding, still chasing something real.”
So what does the new music sound like? That’s still under wraps. But with this crew behind the wheel—and the engine running hot—you can bet it’s going to hit hard.
Stay tuned. This is only the beginning.