Many people on the internets take issue with legendary bands that have undergone lineup changes for not having all original members. And yeah, the Zeros only have two original members these days: Javier and Baba. But you know what? They keep it in the family. All legit, as far as I’m concerned. And even if it was just a Zeros cover band, I’d still see them because I want to see the music I love being played loudly in a live environment. So with Javier on guitar and vocals, and Baba on drums, Victor, Hector’s brother, is sharing vocals and playing bass. And Jesse Rodriguez is on second guitar. And also some vocals!
I’ve known Victor for maybe 25 years now. We’re always hanging out at shows or parties and talking about KISS. And Jesse? I’ve known him since the day he was born! Ok, maybe not literally the day he was born, but certainly within 3 months of him being born. So while I’ve seen quite a few iterations of the Zeros previously, I really wanted to see this one because of Jesse. His father, Steve Rodriguez, was in the Dragons and was such a great guy. Steve passed away unexpectedly almost 9 years ago and poor Jesse got the short end of the stick in life growing up without his father who watched over him and took such good care of him. Rather than use that loss as an excuse to be reckless as most kids would (I certainly did when my mom died when I was almost at the age Jesse is now!), he used the good examples that Steve taught him to persevere and has turned into such a great kid! I ran into him when I was going to the bathroom and was about to introduce myself to him and he goes “TED!”. I had no idea he remembered me since it’s been a few years since I’ve seen him (kids grow up so fast!). I told him so and he goes “Of course I remember you! Why would I not?!” and I’m like “I just said that because I’m so insecure!” He goes “I am too!” We had a laugh and I helped him carry in some equipment. It was great catching up with him and I’m so happy to see him playing with the Zeros.
The Zeros were great, of course. How could they be anything but great? I could say they played “all their hits”, but they have so many there just isn’t enough time for all of them. And as much fun as the show was, I was so proud to see Jesse do so well. And I know he’s making his father proud too!
The Zeros are working on a new full length album which hopefully will be out later this year!
Meanwhile, here’s some pictures from the show to hold you over until then:
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