Artist: Zebra
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Jimmy Kunes
Date: 12/27/2009
Label: Mayhem Records
To many music fans the name of the band Zebra remains a mystery and I feel bad for them based on just how much enjoyment I have gotten from their material and live shows over the years. Originally formed in New Orleans way back in 1975, the band eventually moved to New York and ruled the club circuit of Long Island before releasing their self-titled debut on Atlantic Records. The three piece unit no longer plays together as often as they used to but when shows do take place you can count on them being a rousing affair that finds latecomers often being turned away depending on what venue the show is happening at. Tonight Zebra would return to B.B. King Blues Club and bring along as a special guest opener Jimmy Kunes who many Classic Rock fans might remember as the singer for Cactus these days. This would be my last show for the year and what an amazing run of events it had been when I sat and reflected on it. Here is how the evening played out in case you missed it.
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Randy Jackson is the powerhouse voice and guitar behind the band Zebra and for the past three decades has entertained fans with their incredible brand of Hard Rock. Every so often we find the musician doing an acoustic set of material at a venue near you but this time he would be performing at J&R Music World’s music instrument store and offer fans and customers the chance to enjoy him in very close quarters and for free. We couldn’t resist the chance to take part in this.
Artist: Randy Jackson (Zebra)
Venue: J&R Music World (New York, NY)
Opener: n/a
Date: 8/29/2009
Label:
As the summer moved steadily to a close I had to say that New York City was being treated to an incredibly diverse amount of Metal and Hard Rock shows and more than I can remember the previous years offering us. The summer itself had been a productive one in terms of what it had delivered to the fans and over the past two weeks alone we found Marduk, Otep, Mushroomhead, Night Ranger, Heaven and Hell and even former Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss who happened to play a rousing set of music until the wee hours of this very morning with NWOBHM’s Raven as direct support. It appeared that the only thing heavier than the music would be the dreadful level of humidity that had been hitting us over the recent weeks. Today’s fun would definitely be something special in nature and find guitarist/singer Randy Jackson from Zebra delivering an acoustic set of tunes in the new J&R Music World music instrument store. I really love that J&R Music World does these kinds of things and feel they totally understand the music fans that are out there and in the recent past we have been present for in-store signings by the likes of Halford and Twisted Sister and in store gigs from Shadow’s Fall so it would be cool to enjoy the difference of an acoustic set by Randy.
Continue reading Zebra’s Randy Jackson @ J&R Music World (8/29/2009) →
Zebra would be appearing at New York’s legendary venue for what I believed to be their first time in the place. I’ve enjoyed their music for decades and wanted to make sure that we brought the news about the gig to the readers. To read and see more about this show, just scroll past the logo below.
Artist: Zebra
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: J-Rad
Date: 6/28/2007
Label: Mayhem Records
While they might have begun their career in New Orleans, LA – Zebra became an official New York band as far as Long Island was concerned when they relocated there so many years ago. At the time they were primarily an original band that also played some killer Led Zeppelin tunes and it was before they had secured their record deal. In those early days, the Long Island music scene was a hotbed of activity and had launched bands like the Good Rats and most notably Twisted Sister. There are others that are too numerous to name but it makes for some great investigation and needless to say Zebra was quickly one of the favorites out of all the Long Island scene groups. Blockbuster performances in sold out rooms and an ever expanding fan base led to the bands signing to Atlantic Records and their self-titled debut was a terrific display of Hard Rock with a slightly Progressive edge. The bands Zep influences were very apparent around the album and as a touring entity they continually played to packed houses. Music fans could do no wrong with Zebra. After thirty plus years of performing the band has never compromised their sound or lost touch with their diehard group of fans. When you see a Zebra show, everyone around you is a fan who knows their stories and career and every single note of their music. Tonight, the venerated B.B. King Blues Club would host the band for an evening of music and it would be my first time seeing the band in this venue, and also the first time I had been to one of their gigs in far too long. The last time I caught them would be at the now closed Downtown in Farmingdale, NY.
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Artist: Zebra
Title: “IV”
Label: Mayhem Records
Release Date: 6/28/2003
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8/10
The Zebra CD “IV” was a long time in the making and the last time they recorded new music together was about 10 years ago. I was happy to see this released because I had been a long time supporter of the music and years ago this was one of my favorite area bands. With Zebra originally being from not so far Long Island the band used to play L’Amour all the time when it was the place to be. The group was originally a Led Zeppelin focused band until they got signed and released their self-titled album on Atlantic Records. The debut is something worth finding if you have some retailers that cater to more than just the Pop trappings of the day. The new CD is the bands fourth and it is a continuation from where they left off with several standout tracks such as “Arabian Nights” which has a very Zeppelin feel and that sort of groove that they were most known for. The three-member group of Randy Jackson (guitar/vocals), Felix Hanneman (bass/keyboards) and Guy Gelso (drums) are some of the most talented individuals around and this is proved to this day by the dedicated fans that still support them. Anyone who has seen or heard Randy Jackson especially will be amazed at how his voice as only gotten better over the years and not suffered a note as some other bands have. Other tracks that have a large impact on the release are “Angels Calling”, “Who Am I” and “So I Dance” each a solid song musically and lyrically. This was always a good band and it is a shame that they never established a larger amount of support beyond the cult status. Looking back, at least these supporters are the true fans and in the end that is all that counts.
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Where Heavy Music & Pop Culture Collide
