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On latest studio album “Still Got That Hunger,” a wistful ode to the Big Apple and America (“New York”) references some Brooklyn rock ‘n’ roll revue gigs the quintet did alongside Patti LaBelle in 1964 (the year of top 10 Zombies singles “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”). The lyrics also describe how she took them to an Aretha Franklin concert.
“All the early Aretha stuff, like “Runnin’ Out of Fools” before the Atlantic Records period, had loads of soul in it that we loved,” recalled Rod Argent, during a phone interview from his Hampshire, England home.
With Franklin’s recent passing, the keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter said a Dinah Washington cover the Queen of Soul recorded - and The Zombies performed in the old days – is among the rarities that might be added to the group’s tour setlist. Saturday’s show launches the 2018-19 entertainment season at Lewis Family Playhouse.
Argent said he’s always been a major Motown and R&B enthusiast, thanks in part to The Beatles, who “turned a whole generation of musicians onto black music in many forms in the U.K.” and “that all filtrated through to us.”
As a result, Zombies concerts often include their takes on Bo Diddley, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Solomon Burke or Jimmy Ruffin tunes, not to mention “Hold Your Head Up,” a No. 5 hit in 1975 by Argent’s former eponymously-named band.
The Southern California dates encompass a wide range of venues and is the longest run the band – which also includes lead singer/fellow founding member Colin Blunstone, longtime drummer Steve Rodford, guitarist Tom Toomey and bassist Soren Koch - has done here in a while.
An unusual opening slot for Arcade Fire at the Greek came about at the former’s request. Admiration from another younger alt-rock act extended to Portugal. The Man, which asked The Zombies for a meetup earlier this summer while headlining The O2 Forum in London. Argent confessed to liking the Alaska band’s worldwide ’17 smash “Feel it Still.”
“It’s very flattering when people from this (crop) of very successful people are so keen on meeting us.”
Last year, Varese Sarabande Records released a fine 50th Anniversary edition of The Zombies’ landmark 1968 album “Odessey and Oracle,” featuring the classic American chart-topping single “Time of the Season.” It included stereo, mono and remixes as bonus tracks and an excellent essay. The label also just issued a new “Greatest Hits.”
Additionally, fans can pick up “The Odessey: The Zombies in Words and Images,” a lavish 2017 coffee book chock full of handwritten lyrics, rare photos, original artwork and an oral band history. Brian Wilson, Susanna Hoffs, Carlos Santana, Graham Nash, Paul Weller, fun., Cage the Elephant and Beach House all provide glowing testimonials.
The late Tom Petty wrote the forward and recalled when he first heard “She’s Not There,” calling it “so ethereal and so spooky…I thought, ‘that is exactly what a zombie group would sound like” (Petty’s cover of The Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again” was on 2009’s “The Live Anthology”).
“It was lovely to (see) these people that we adore felt we did have something original to say,” Argent said.
Thinking back to The Zombies’ appearance at Stagecoach 2017 in Indio, Argent, 73, admitted it is fulfilling to play festivals because they can reach “a completely different” age group that “maybe haven’t seen us before” and relate to them. “That wasn’t anything we’d have ever imagined when we made the original recordings. It’s a huge privilege because it makes you feel so young.”
Other classic rockers from the 1960s and ‘70s still hit the road on a regular basis and a “fountain of youth” effect probably has something to do with it.
“When you’re on stage for two hours, I can honestly swear to you it doesn’t feel any different to when we were 18 years old,” affirmed Argent. “I don’t think there are many other professions in the world where you can say that.”
Additionally, fans can pick up “The Odessey: The Zombies in Words and Images,” a lavish 2017 coffee book chock full of handwritten lyrics, rare photos, original artwork and an oral band history. Brian Wilson, Susanna Hoffs, Carlos Santana, Graham Nash, Paul Weller, fun., Cage the Elephant and Beach House all provide glowing testimonials.
The late Tom Petty wrote the forward and recalled when he first heard “She’s Not There,” calling it “so ethereal and so spooky…I thought, ‘that is exactly what a zombie group would sound like” (Petty’s cover of The Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again” was on 2009’s “The Live Anthology”).
“It was lovely to (see) these people that we adore felt we did have something original to say,” Argent said.
Thinking back to The Zombies’ appearance at Stagecoach 2017 in Indio, Argent, 73, admitted it is fulfilling to play festivals because they can reach “a completely different” age group that “maybe haven’t seen us before” and relate to them. “That wasn’t anything we’d have ever imagined when we made the original recordings. It’s a huge privilege because it makes you feel so young.”
Other classic rockers from the 1960s and ‘70s still hit the road on a regular basis and a “fountain of youth” effect probably has something to do with it.
“When you’re on stage for two hours, I can honestly swear to you it doesn’t feel any different to when we were 18 years old,” affirmed Argent. “I don’t think there are many other professions in the world where you can say that.”
Upcoming shows:
West Hollywood: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11, Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., $45 Tuesday, troubadour.com.
Del Mar: 4:05 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, Kaaboo Del Mar, Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., $149 single-day general admission pass, 855-798-5995, kaaboodelmar.com.
Rancho Cucamonga: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, Lewis Family Playhouse, Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, $50, 909-477-2752, lewisfamilyplayhouse.com. Pre-show party, 6 p.m. $5.
Los Angeles: (Opening for Arcade Fire), 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., sold out, 844-524-7335, lagreektheatre.com; ticketmaster.com.
Palm Springs: (Acoustic set and interview for The Trap Set podcast), 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, Ace Hotel & Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, $30, 760-325-9900, eventbrite.com; acehotel.com/palmsprings.
My interview originally appeared in several Southern California News Group papers, such as the Orange County Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise, LA Daily News and others.
West Hollywood: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11, Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., $45 Tuesday, troubadour.com.
Del Mar: 4:05 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, Kaaboo Del Mar, Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., $149 single-day general admission pass, 855-798-5995, kaaboodelmar.com.
Rancho Cucamonga: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, Lewis Family Playhouse, Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, $50, 909-477-2752, lewisfamilyplayhouse.com. Pre-show party, 6 p.m. $5.
Los Angeles: (Opening for Arcade Fire), 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., sold out, 844-524-7335, lagreektheatre.com; ticketmaster.com.
Palm Springs: (Acoustic set and interview for The Trap Set podcast), 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, Ace Hotel & Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, $30, 760-325-9900, eventbrite.com; acehotel.com/palmsprings.
My interview originally appeared in several Southern California News Group papers, such as the Orange County Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise, LA Daily News and others.
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