The Zeros are an American punk rock

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, formed in 1976 in

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popu ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The band was originally composed of Javier Escovedo (younger brother of

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

, older brother of Mario Escovedo of The Dragons) on vocals/guitar and Robert Lopez (later known as El Vez) on guitar, who were both attending

Chula Vista High School Chula Vista High School (CVHS) is a public high school located in Chula Vista, California. Founded in 1947, it is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District. History Chula Vista first opened in the summer of 1947, operating out of a tempor ...

; Hector Penalosa, (bass), and Baba Chenelle, (drums), who attended Sweetwater High School. Sometimes compared to

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

, the band was considered a pioneer of punk rock on the West Coast.

Biography

In 1977, The Zeros played their first major gig in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

at the Orpheum. Opening the show was the first performance by The Germs, followed by The Zeros and then

The Weirdos The Weirdos are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1975, split-up in 1981, re-grouped in 1986 and have remained semi-active ever since. Critic Mark Deming calls them "quite simply, one of the best and brigh ...

. The gig was promoted by

Peter Case Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Biography Early career Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...

of The Nerves, who later served as the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of The Breakaways and

The Plimsouls The Plimsouls are an American rock band known for their hit single "A Million Miles Away" which was featured in the movie ''Valley Girl''. History The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length albums and an ...

. The Zeros' first single release, "Wimp" b/w "Don't Push Me Around", was released in 1977 on Bomp! Records. In 1978, Penalosa left the band briefly to live and play in Los Angeles, and was replaced by Guy Lopez, Robert Lopez's brother. Soon after, Robert left to live in Los Angeles as well, and his brother quit the Zeros. Penalosa rejoined the band and they continued as a trio, and eventually relocated to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. In March 1979, UK music magazine '' NME'' reported that "punk riots had come to the U.S., when Los Angeles police broke up a Zeros' gig at Elks Hall." In 1980, the band recorded a new single, including the songs "They Say That (Everything's Alright)," "Girl on the Block" and "Getting Nowhere Fast." After more touring that led to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the band fizzled out. The band is infamous for playing an entire set consisting of eight replays of "Beat Your Heart Out" in San Francisco. In 1995, the band resurfaced with a new album, ''Knockin' Me Dead''. More recently, the Zeros reunited to tour in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in early 2007. All four members reunited again for a short West Coast tour that began in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in June 2009. In October 2010, The Zeros embarked on a short tour of the East Coast.

Cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of songs by The Zeros have been released by amongst others

The Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...

Mono Men The Mono Men were an American garage punk band, based in Bellingham, Washington. Their sound contained elements of grunge (distortion-heavy guitars, sneering vocals), but the Mono Men filtered these through a mimicry of 1960s Washington proto-pu ...

The Nomads (Swedish band) The Nomads are a Swedish garage punk band founded in 1981 by Hans Östlund, Nick Vahlberg, Joakim Tärnström, and Ed Johnson. Today, Östlund and Vahlberg are the only members left of the original line-up. The band plays music influenced by th ...

("Wimp"), Brazilian band Periferia S.A. (Reality),

Wednesday Week "Wednesday Week" is the seventh single released by the Undertones. The song was written in December 1979 by the band's rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, John O' Neill, during a Christmas break the band had taken while recording their ...

("They Say That Everything's Alright"),

The Muffs The Muffs were an American pop punk band based in Southern California, formed in 1991. Led by singer and guitarist Kim Shattuck, the band released four full-length studio albums in the 1990s, as well as numerous singles including "Lucky Guy" a ...

("Beat Your Heart Out"), and the Swedish band Sator ("Black and White").

Discography

Singles *1977 - "Wimp" b/w "Don't Push Me Around" - Bomp! Records *1978 - "Beat Your Heart Out" b/w "Wild Weekend" - Bomp! *1980 - "Getting Nowhere Fast" b/w "They Say That (Everything's Alright)" - Test Tube Records *1992 - "I Don't Wanna" b/w "Li'l Latin Lupe Lu" -

Sympathy for the Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' ...

*1992 - "Bottoms Up" b/w "Sneakin' Out" - Rockville *1994 - "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" b/w "Knockin' Me Dead" (acoustic) - Munster Records *1995 - "Yo No Quiero" b/w "Siamese Tease" - Munster Records *1995 - "Black 'n' White" b/w "Pushin' Too Hard" - Planet of Noise Records *1998 - "You, Me, Us" b/w "Talkin'" - Penniman *2010 - "Mainstreet Brat" b/w "Handgrenade Heart" - Last Laugh Records EP's *1989 - "The Zeros" - Munster Records - 4 tracks 7" vinyl Albums *1991 - "Don't Push Me Around" - Bomp! - collection of rare and live tracks *1994 - "Knocking Me Dead" - Rockville - also released in Spain / Munster Records *1995 - "Over the Sun" - Imposible - live recording *1999 - "Right Now!" - Bomp! also released in Spain / Houston Party, Germany / Empty Records Compilation appearances *1993 - "Don't Push Me Around" - ''We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79)'' ( Rhino)

References

External links

The Modpopunk Archives
*Chris Ziegler
"The Zeros: One of my Proudest Moments Ever"
'' L.A. Record'', July 16, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeros, The Punk rock groups from California Musical groups from San Diego Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in California Musical quartets

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links