It Didn't Come Easy...

Friday night was somewhat of a disaster.  The guys had a great time hanging out but Adam couldn't get used to Jay's electronic Roland kit when recording the drum tracks for "Don't Come Easy" so they scratched it all.  Jay will now be doing the drum tracks for the demo mainly because he knows the song and where to place all the accents.  Adam's a trooper and took it all in stride.

Tuesday night Angelo will be laying down some very rough guitar and bass tracks so that Ozzie and John will be able to listen to it and learn it.  It's a great tune that will once again see life as a part of the ever growing ZM set list.  More to come...

Recording...

Angelo is getting ready to squeak out some guitar tracks...

It Don't Come Easy...

Angelo and Jay got together again at Abbey Load Studios to arrange a demo version of another old song Wet Rebecca song written by Angelo way back when.  "Don't Come Easy" is a raucous rock tune that the band will soon be rehearsing and adding to their set.  Adam will be by tomorrow to help flesh out the demo.  THIS is a song to watch out for...

Somethin' Bout You

This is a demo version of "Somethin' Bout You."  We opened with this song on December 3rd and it's a possible B-side for our upcoming album.  This is an old Wet Rebecca song that Angelo had written along with Jeff Czaja and Jay many years ago but never really recorded.  It's a bit slower than intended but for demoing purposes it works just fine. This was recorded at Abbey Load Studios and exclusively features Angelo on guitar and bass with Jay on drums and vocals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYjru6ZjLCs&feature=player_embedded

Art Stock Tribute May 7th, 2011

The band has been confirmed to appear at the Art Stock Tribute show on May 7th, 2011 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ.  More details are on the way.  Art Stock was the guy who ran the Playpen Lounge in Sayreville and the Birch Hill nightclub in Old Bridge.  Both places were legendary for their music and debauchery.  Art himself was a character, playing his fiddle while his own personal Rome burned to the ground.  He passed some time ago.
Needless to say, both places he owned provided the scene with enough local and national rock acts you could choke a wooly mammoth with and they are both sorely missed today.  Some of us spent many a night at the Playpen on Wednesday nights trolling for girls and getting drunk.  I remember a wasted Zakk Wylde at the Hill and stepping on my toes just after he signed on with Ozzy and "No Rest For The Wicked" was just released.  Saw a great Supersuckers show there, too.  Ozzie, Adam and Jay even had a weekly gig at the Playpen with their old band Hit n' Run.
If it wasn't for Art, none of us bands would have had a place to play let alone get in trouble.  See you guys on May 7th, if not before!!!

Upcoming Show...???

It now appears that ZM may have another show coming up next year at The Stone Pony is Asbury Park, NJ on May 7th.  No details yet but it appears to be a long lineup of hard rock bands we've played with or had known in the past.


The following are confirmed to perform:
The Discontent
Chambermaids
Ray West from Spread Eagle
Rocco Fury from American Angel
Zodiac Mary (We've accepted but haven't been confirmed)


Awaiting confirmation:
Xenon
Bad Biscuit
Push
Edgar Cayce


This may be a blast.  However, once we finish our CD we will be doing a record release to be announced and possibly some other gigs prior to the Stone Pony gig.
Stay tuned...

Back to Work...

On Saturday Angelo goes back in to finish off some more guitar tracks with John also possibly showing up.  Adam will also be there to add some rhythmic color to several tracks.  More cowbell?  It'll definitely be fun.  We are looking forward to finishing this album and doing some more shows.

Keeping it in the Family...

This is our original bass player Rich Evans new band Dicky Moe and his new CD "Yo!"  

Check it out at:
http://www.reverbnation.com/dickymoe
The man has been busy, busy, busy playing all over Seattle with lots of different bands and projects. We wish him well and hope to see him again really soon!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dicky-Moe/103233493065589

Track Listing...

Here are the tracks being recorded for the CD:
Shine
Happy
Physical Distraction
Die of Disease
Severed
Gravewater
Hate Machine
I Love Me
Mourn 4U
Conspiracy


We have a couple more that we may release as B-side's or extras somewhere along the way:
Sister Salvation
Somethin' Bout You

Just Another ZM Tidbit...

Zodiac Mary was the last gasp of a lost musical cause.  The last gasp of what was once considered to be the golden age of big-haired 90’s hard rock.  ZM rode the cusp of what was hair, punk rock, garage and grunge, never fitting easily into any one genre although metal seemed to be the likeliest choice but ask the band, they're as far from metal as they could be.  The Rock and Roll era of the late eighties and early nineties was one of image first and music second and since they were essentially ugly, they could never find a comfortable place among their peers so the focus was on crafting songs to showcase the ugly side of the era.  That plus an incredible amount of really bad attitude set them apart from their contemporaries who were as eagar to please as puppies. 

Kicking around a scene where every band on the musical landscape wanted to be Bon Jovi or, to a lesser degree, Skid Row, ZM set out to destroy the revered New Jersey Bon Jovi mystique and tear apart the high-minded and stuck up Jersey Shore scene that threatened real rock and roll with extinction. It wasn’t easy.  

 The first time ZM took to the stage in all their leather and flannel glory, was at a tiny club  in Asbury Park, deep in enemy territory, in November 1992.  Even though they didn’t suck, their non-chalance and nature of being unimpressed by what they were doing came across fully and not to their advantage.  The big-haired shore idiots with their golden curls and cheerleader groupies wearing ripped Bon Jovi  and Firehouse t-shirts didn’t get it either.  No one got it.  No one had heard this kind of racket since the Sex Pistols disintegrated all over the South on their 1978 tour of America.  There was no hairspray and there were no sweet harmonies or I love you girl lyrics.  There were no synthesizers or guitar hero posturing.  They were the real deal, shoving their Les Pauls and Marshalls in your face.  Every club manager, sound tech and band they came in contact with left with a very bad taste in their collective mouths when ZM invaded their turf.  ZM was not for the faint of heart.  They were loud and bombastic and while no other band on the scene sounded like them, appreciation for their brand of noise was unheard of in mainstream Jersey.  No one would even piss on them they appeared so unapproachable.  How could they be when Angelo would tell a member of a band they played with one night that they sucked to his face?  He would then turn away and continue pissing while the poor guy would leave nearly brokenhearted.  He must have seen the truth in what Angelo said because he quit that band soon afterward.  They rubbed people the wrong way and it got them more trouble than it was worth.  A show at Club Bene was short of a disaster when Jay had to be smuggled out because of a slight misunderstanding with some bouncers who wanted to hurt him badly.  Another show had the guys playing at lunchtime because they sold absolutely no tickets.  They couldn't be bothered.  Then their rehearsal studio got raided by the narc's and that was the turning point to the whole story. 

ZM only lasted a short while but those who remember, recall the mayhem, the promise, the chaos and the spirit of what rock and roll used to be.  Bands like Bon Jovi may play at being rock and roll but they wouldn't know real rock and roll if it came and bit them on their spandex.  Real rock and roll tends to outlast the derivative and false.  ZM was real rock and roll.  Thankfully, they've reconvened to bring back that almost joyous sense of angst and attitude back to a dead scene mired in mediocrity and Nickelback.  They want to revive that gasping monster and if anger is a traditional hallmark of what rock and roll used to be then ZM is the living embodiment of that very anger.  Go see them if you have the balls, if not piss-off.   They probably didn't want you there anyway.

ReverbNation...etc.

Zodiac Mary will shortly be posting a few songs on ReverbNation as a means of getting new music out on the street.  We are currently recording and will be handpicking a few songs for early release.  Stay tuned...

Live ZM

Well, ZM is back.  We just did our first show in 17 years on December 3rd, 2010 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ.   This was the first real professional show we've ever really done.  It was an unbelievable experience.  Sold all tickets and would have sold more and even handed out Zodiac Mary t-shirts.  It was a gig well played and the response was much better than hoped for.

Now we go back in to finish recording our debut CD for release hopefully in March 2011 and hopefully gearing up for some more shows along with writing some new material.  It's really great to be back and it's gonna be a real gas from here on in.