Though the news has been circulating since Friday when the terrible accident took place, its taken me a couple of days to formulate thoughts and accept this one and I must admit that its pretty hard to do. It hits close to my creative heart but it is true – bassist David Z. (Zablidowsky) was killed in a horrific crash early Friday afternoon while the bands RV was roadside repairing a flat while on an Adrenaline Mob tour. The news and need to properly memorialize David finds me quoting the late great Chris Cornell from a Temple Of Dog track where he sang “I never wanted to write these words down for you…..” and as someone who has not only appreciated the talents of Dave Z since beginning his own media adventure I was proud to also consider him a friend. Continue reading David Z. of Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ZO2 – Adrenaline Mob Has Died (1979-2017)→
Artist: ZO2 Title: “Z-Rock: Season 2” Label: Anchor Bay Release Date: 6/8/2010 Genre: Comedy/Rock Reality Rating: 3/5
Picking up from what appeared to be only a few months later than when our first season of “Z-Rock” ended, we find the fabulous Z Brothers getting back together and trying their hand at Rock and Roll stardom for the second time. A lot had transpired during the first season as well and while the band came close to a deal it never ended up panning out. Such is the life of a Rock and Roll band and all you can do is pick up the pieces along with your instruments and press on as best as possible. With Season Two we find the premise remaining largely the same as their manager Dina (played by Lynn Koplitz) and Neil (played by Jay Oakerson). There is a little of everything that one expects in a show like this and it felt like they were going for the laughs a little more this time around and moving farther away from the “reality” aspect. I felt this way after a couple of the more ridiculous situations that the band found themselves in such as the wrestling episode and the political rally episode. Yes these things could actually happen but there was much more on the slapstick side but I guess that is alright since I had already mentioned that I viewed this as a more mature, modern day type of “The Monkees”. Across the season the band encounters Steel Panther, Chris Jericho and Mini-KISS while Dave Navarro, John Popper, Dee Snider, and Joan Rivers make returns and continue to play their real life selves. I think that I would have preferred the real KISS considering ZO2 opened for them in real life. Continue reading “Z-Rock: Season 2” by ZO2→
Artist: ZO2 Venue: J&R Music World (New Yotk, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 4/17/2010 Label: In Tune Music
Now that your taxes were paid you could sit back and relax and see what money you had left to use for that wonderful musical holiday that they call “Record Store Day”. At this stage of the game in music purchasing I am guessing that it should be called either “CD Day” or “MP3 Day” when you think about it. Of course there are vinyl releases coming out every now and again these days but they are no longer the ruler of the musical roost when compared to the dominant mediums. The fun today would take place at J&R Music World where we have covered a number of in-store appearances and intimate performances in the past and among the many that were taking part in the day would be Folk legend Judy Collins and Brooklyn’s own ZO2. Continue reading ZO2 In-Store Appearance @ J&R Music World (4/17/2010)→
Artist: Z02 Title: “Z-Rock: Season 1” Label: Anchor Bay Release Date: 6/9/2009 Genre: Comedy/Rock Reality Rating: 3/5
If you are from NYC and you hit a lot of shows then I think that there is a good chance that you are aware of one of our local music sensations with the band ZO2. The guys are always entertaining with their brand of KISS meets Aerosmith tinged Hard Rock and their very catchy original tunes are laced with wonderful harmonies. However, this review is not about the band’s music or live show but about the recently aired scripted reality comedy that was a weekly feature on the IFC channel at the tail end of 2008. The show stars the brothers Z (who are also known by Paulie and David Zablidowsky and are brothers in real life to boot) along with their drummer and longtime friend Joey Cassata. The premise of the program shows the bands struggles as a group that is trying to make it big by meeting the right people, playing their shows and keeping a busy regimen during the daylight hours doing other jobs that allow them to fund the musical enterprise. Of course the daytime job is that of being a band that performs at children’s parties so the chaos ensues as they walk the fine line between decency and Rock and Roll decadence. As you can probably tell already that is a very fine line for sure. Continue reading “Z-Rock: Season 1” by ZO2→
I met the guys in ZO2 a few years ago when they had opened for KISS and as I have mentioned in past reviews had already known of their members previously from their work with either KISS tribute bands and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I really enjoy their sound as it’s a solid and grooving Hard Rock that we don’t always get a lot of exposure to these days and the time is right for such a vibe in the Rock world to return in full force. The guys have been very busy over the last year as they had been the stars of their own scripted reality program called “Z-Rock”. The show is a comedy series on IFC (or the Independent Film Channel) and on this show we follow the guys who are on their own quest for Rock stardom at night while performing at kids parties during the day as the “Z-Brothers”. “Z-Rock” follows the bands misadventures and the colorful characters that they encounter along the way. The cast includes the real life Z Brothers David and Paulie, Joey Cassata, comedians Lynn Koplitz, Jay Okerson and the one and only Joan Rivers. It’s a show that you either loved or hated as a fan of the band and that is where we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that if you loved the show you will be happy to know that it is returning for a second season and the bad news is that if you hated it, well, it is returning for a second season.
PiercingMetal had the chance to be at the 2nd Season Premiere gala that was being held at Webster Hall this evening and while this was open to the public, there was a lot of confusion about how one could actually obtain tickets. Some told me that a contest was being held so they could get in and this was achieved by emailing the band and telling them why they should be in the venue, and then others told me that it was open to the general public for the small sum of $10 while a third group said that the whole shebang was free. Either way, the doors were open for 8pm and the first episode was going to be aired and then followed by a performance of the band and as we made our way inside the club there was already a nice group of people in place for the event. They started it off with a bloopers reel that was rather good and showed us a number of shenanigans that occurred as the guys filmed the second season of the show. The clips featured the likes of Steel Panther, Dee Snider, John Popper from Blues Traveler and even Mini-KISS. I am generally on the fence when it comes to blooper reels but this was one that amused me and it was a good lead in to the second season premiere of the show. All photos in this article were done by Peter Parrella (copyright 2009) so please don’t use them without contacting us first.
