BAND OF THE MONTH

The Kings of Covers...
By RANDY SANDERS

If you're like me, you think of most cover bands (those that play non-original, popular music) being typical bar acts jumbling through half-baked versions of radio hits that somehow don't really sound like that Zeppelin song you've come to know and love. Wobbly rhythms, flat vocals, cheesy guitar solos, but hey, it's the weekend and you're having a good time. So what if they don't sound anything like the song they're playing? But what if you could dance to a band that makes those great classic rock tunes sound almost exactly like the band their covering?

Enter Zuzo Blue. What catches your ear immediately about these guys is they often sound just like the original artist. Let's examine the players. All three musicians have been lead singers in other successful NW bands. Bass player Todd Jensen has gone even beyond the local scene -working with the likes of David Lee Roth (Van Halen), Steve Perry (Journey), Alice Cooper and Paul Rogers (Bad Company). Drummer and band leader Bill Fancher toured the Western US with One Way Out and Las Vegas act, Nemesis throughout the 1980's and 90's. Guitar player Brian Hadley started ZuZo back in '91 after touring the NW and Canada with Picture Parade and performing with original artists Picture This in 1989 and 1990.

Song selection is right off the KGON playlist, with classic rock covers by ZZ Top, Van Halen, Sammy Hager and so on. At one time Zuzo Blue flirted with original material. Drummer Bill Fancher explains, "When Todd joined the band, it was quicker for him to learn the covers. We just went with that and never looked back." It's little wonder that it would be a quick fit for bass player Jensen, he actually performed some of these songs with the original artists.

?