There are few moments in rock 'n' roll as iconic as the opening drum-and-breath line in "Time of the Season." Yet unlike many of their British Invasion co-horts (like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Moody Blues), The Zombies never reached the same level of success. Maybe it was that while these other hitmakers were mining American music and repackaging it for us, The Zombies were creating a new sound -- jazzier, darker and quite often more dynamic. Whatever the case, their insistent vision is what kept them fan and artist favorites over the past 50 years, sparking some inspired covers by diverse yet similarly adventurous artists like Elliott Smith, Belle & Sebastian, Dinosaur Jr, of Montreal, Panda Bear, Tom Petty, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, and even a recent duet of Neko Case and Nick Cave, among many others. As soon as we discovered that not only had Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent reunited The Zombies (and were playing with a full band) but that they were also playing SXSW this year, we had to book them for our live broadcast from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in Austin. Here they are, decades later but sounding so much the same, proving the season never ended for fans to keep loving The Zombies:
Full Performance:
We like to believe Sam Beam is one of our own. Though he hails about as far away as you can get, from South Carolina and later Florida, the first three Iron & Wine albums were released on Seattle's celebrated label Sub Pop. And of course, KEXP was one of the first radio stations to get behind …
Just as their name is a consonant away from that of an iconic British candy, Palma Violets's sound is just shades removed from the late 70's UK punk bands like The Clash and those who followed years later like The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys. The young rock quartet has already caused a scene in t…
At 60 years old, Robyn Hitchcock has experienced a longevity that would be the cause for many musicians' envy. He began his career as a member of several small, local London bands until 1976 when he founded the psychedelic folk rock group The Soft Boys. In 1981 (about a year after The Soft Boys bro…
