THE ZEROS Knockin' Me Dead
CD 1994
Baby's Gotta Have Her Way* / Wimp / Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White* / Stop-N-Think / Knockin' Me Dead* / Beat Your Heart Out**° / Lay Off, She's Mine / She's So Wild / Left To Right°° / Wanna Go / Shannon Said** / Looking For Some Fun / Roadrunner / I Don't Wanna / I Don't Know.
Produced By Bill Bartell & The Zeros.
The Zeros: Baba Chenelle:
drums, harmonica, percussion / Javier Escovedo:
lead guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals / Robert Lopez:
rhythm guitar, lead vocals on** / Hector Peñalosa:
bass, lead vocals on°° + Jeff & Steven McDonald:
backing vocals on* / Kim Shattuck:
backing vocals on°.
Often referred to as "the Mexican Ramones," the Zeros (guitarist and singer Javier Escovedo, second guitarist Robert Lopez, bassist Hector Peñalosa, and drummer Baba Chenelle) were just one of many contributors to the L.A. punk explosion in the late '70s. Although they never received the acclaim of such L.A. peers as Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, or X, the Zeros made admirers out of such renowned artists as Tom Waits, Patti Smith, and the Damned, played numerous West Coast shows with the likes of Dils, Avengers, X, Plugz, Nerves, and Wipers, and even gave the Germs their very first live gig -- opening for them in 1977. The group was first formed in 1976, and were initially known as "the Main Street Brats" -- but by the time of their first show, they had settled on the name the Zeros. Although the quartet broke up in 1981, the Zeros have re-formed sporadically for live shows (such as a 1991 benefit show for ailing punk rocker/writer Craig Lee, and a few years later, Bomp Records' 25th anniversary party), and a full album -- 1999's Right Now! In addition, several of the Zeros' compositions have been covered by other bands around the world, including Spain's La Secta ("Wild Weekend"), Australia's Hoodoo Gurus, Sweden's the Nomads ("Wimp"), and Hollywood's the Muffs ("Beat Your Heart Out").
The Zeros, aka "the Mexican Ramones," formed in Chula Vista in 1976, debuting at a dance in Rosarito, Mexico. Their first major gig was the following year in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theater. That show was opened by the Germs, and the Weirdos headlined. The Zeros' first record was a vinyl single, "Wimp," b/w "Don't Push Me Around," released by Bomp Records in 1977. They would go on to play at such renowned venues as The Masque, Whisky Au Go-Go, and the Starwood in L.A.; San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens, Deaf Club, and Temple Beautiful; and CBGB and Max's Kansas City in New York.
They broke up in late 1980. Lopez had already quit to join the band Catholic Discipline, and the rest of the band's move to San Francisco failed to reignite the group. Various partial reunions took place, including 1992 recording sessions. The Zeros' guitarist/singer Robert Lopez would later gain fame as "El Vez, the Mexican Elvis." Many El Vez bios, as well as several online articles and bios about the Zeros, claim he and the band are from L.A.
Lopez added to the confusion with his "East L.A. is my hometown" stage banter that sets up "En El Barrio," a Chicano-ized rewrite of Presley's "In the Ghetto." One doctored song where Lopez as El Vez gets autobiographically real, however, was highlighted throughout his "Merry Mex-Mas" national tour that concluded at the Casbah in late 2006: "I'm dreaming of a Brown Christmas / Just like my ones in San Diego / Where cousins and familia are tight / And thank God our Christmases ain't white...."
In 2007, Squiddo frontwoman Maren Parusel formed an all-girl Zeros tribute band, Wild Weekend, with singer Kelly Alvarez, Melissa (drums) and Kaitlin (bassist for the Atoms). The band was later male-infiltrated, and then they split as Parusel launched a solo career.
The Zeros' songs have also been covered by Los Angeles bands Wednesday Week ("They Say That Everything's Alright"), the Muffs ("Beat Your Heart Out"), Hoodoo Gurus, Mudhoney, and Sator, whose cover of "Black and White" went to number two on the Swedish charts.
The Zeros themselves were known for offbeat covers, including a B-side featuring the Righteous Brothers tune "Little Latin Lupe Lu" (best known as a Mitch Ryder track).
Post-Zeros, Javier Escovedo and his brother Alejandro co-fronted the Texas-based ’80s band he True Believers, whose eponymous debut album was produced by legendary Memphis session player and producer Jim Dickinson, who passed away in August 2009. “He just had a good warm vibe about him but also a tough, seen-it-all vibe, too,” recalls Javier Escovedo.
“He played piano on a few songs, [but] we were known as this big three-guitar army…so he didn’t want to mess with that too much.… I dug him.… I had always hoped we could work together again. [And] he got one of our songs onto the Blue City movie soundtrack. It’s mainly…Ry Cooder songs except for a Johnny Cash song and a Javier Escovedo song [True Believers’ “Marianne”]. Very cool. And he made it happen.”
Until 2009, Zeros bassist/singer Hector Penalosa (Squiddo) declined to take part in most Zeros' reunions. In a Reader interview, he accused guitarist Javier Escovedo of "stepping over people...just because he can get money out of it, because some people will pay good money for the Zeros."
Penalosa said he took part in some 1999 Zeros' recordings, but that only Javier Escovedo got paid. "[Other band members] didn't get diddly-squat," according to Penalosa.
In response to Penalosa's accusation, Escovedo said at the time "It's a set of circumstances that I can't talk about.... A certain amount of money that was expected was not earned, didn't come into the band."
As of 2009, Hector Penalosa plays with Squiddo, while Robert Lopez performs still as "El Vez, the Mexican Elvis." One-time Zeros bassist Guy Lopez died October 2, 2007, at the age of 42 - he'd also played with the Upbeats.
In Summer 2009, four former Zeros reunited for several west coast concerts; Hector Penalosa, Baba Chenelle, Javier Escovedo, and Robert "El Vez" Lopez. European dates were subsequently booked.
In September 2009, the band picked up a Lifetime Achievement nod at the San Diego Music Awards. For the ceremony, they were joined onstage by Wayne Kramer of MC5 for a rendition of "Ramblin' Rose," and video testimonials to them included good words from Joan Jett and John Doe of X.
The UK's Domino Records included two songs by The Zeros on a Jon Savage Compilation of the Best of American Punk Rock, and Brooklyn based Last Laugh Records released two singles by the Zeros in 2012.
As of 2012, the band is signed to Panache Booking. That summer, armed with an arsenal of covers and a few dozen classics, the Zeros embarked on a series of dates with frontman Javier Escovedo’s younger brother Mario (the Dragons) on second guitar (replacing original guitarist Robert Lopez, who performs an ongoing theater gig in Seattle as El Vez, the Mexican Elvis).
On their return to San Diego, they announced that they’re recording a new full-length of covers, including cuts from the Velvet Underground, Bo Diddley, and the Standells, along with some new and old originals.
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