"These guys are a current, and new fascination of mine. I sit for hours in my Tipi or cave listening to their strange, hip.., vibe." - LEE CRISMAN
(compiled from the band's website) Our heroes met at University, where they were bitter rivals. Years
later, they found themselves in New York City, beavering away in dusty
corners of the Great Media Behemoth:
J put in time at a
literary agency and studied the mystical art of making records while
slaving as a sound engineer at various hip recor
ding studios about town,
while
A avoided sunlight as a film archivist and
curator at a broadcasting museum. Both had unsatisfying tenures in
doomed rock combos where they nevertheless honed their musical skills.
Each fancied himself a songwriter in the classic pop mode and pursued
the elusive art with uncommon zeal, resting only for massive infusions
of film noir and comic books.
It was inevitable that they join forces and continue in the tradition of
their idols Ray Davies, Elvis Costello, and Brian Wilson, i.e.,
churning out gem-like compositions with maddeningly infectious tunes and
obscure lyrics while failing to deal with their crippling emotional
problems.
New album, "Ordinary People" available for download October 1, 2010 on Amazon, iTunes, and other sites!
"Zombies are big these days in pop culture, and if there were any
justice in the world the Zombies of the Stratosphere would be as well.
This NYC band follows up their excellent 2007 debut The Well-Mannered
Look with another collection of quality tunes suffused with a
mid-to-late 60s Britpop sensibility"-
Absolute Powerpop 10/18/10
More on this band @ http://www.myspace.com/zombiesofthestratosphere/
"...the originality of the music, and ZZG's attempt to reflect and
re-imagine early rock, is what really shines here. Far from the
mainstream, and certainly no where near current modern rock trends,
ZZG's Trapped in the Mirror is an interesting, innovative and
entertaining platter of retro progressive rock. Recommended.
4.0/5.0
Review: Craig Hartranft, 07.26.2010
ZZG were formed in 2007 when Guitarist Daniel Roberts and Bassist Keith
Matthews formed a band that reflected the heyday of late 60's and early
70's hard rock. "We wanted to write guitar and bass hooks that people
would still have stuck in their heads hours and hours after hearing the
music. The riffs of Deep Purple were our benchmark". After a few false
starts and lots of writing drummer Craig Birnie joined the band. Dan
took on the role of singer/guitarist but an element was still missing.
Finally Stu Mitchell joined the band bringing modern tones. Stu balanced
the old world rock feel with his own unique guitar sound. The ZZG band
sound was complete.
After refining the
first collection of songs the band went offline to record with "Trapped
in The Mirror" completed early 2010. In May 2010, ZZG joined UK
publicist Nicky Baldrian from Two Side Moon Promotions to promote
"Trapped in the Mirror" in the UK and Western Europe. The band is now
playing live regularly and is writing again. The first new songs Red
Dawn" and "California rolling" are complete with more being arranged
right now. A second album is planned for early 2011. (AS COMPLIED FROM THE BAND'S WEBSITE).