bitflipper
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Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
I just heard this story for the first time, it's incredible. So incredible that I was initially dubious, but it checks out. The synopsis: A promoter decided to create not one but two cover bands and send them on tour as The Zombies. The real Zombies had already disbanded. One of the fake Zombies bands was from Texas, the other from Michigan. Somehow, nobody noticed that neither of them had a keyboard player, despite the electric piano's prominence in Zombies hits. Once the Zombies faded from the charts, both faux-Zombie bands broke up. But the drummer and bass player from the Texas group stayed together and started a new band: ZZ Top. https://www.buzzfeed.com/danielralston/the-true-story-of-the-fake-zombies-the-strangest-con-in-rock?utm_term=.ivak9J4dd#.qvEBKkwll The above print version is better, and is the likely source for the video below, presented here for those who don't like to read words and stuff:
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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ampfixer
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 03:59:17
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Good read. I guess the music business has always sucked, not just now.
Thanks for that Dave.
Regards, John I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps. WIN 10 Pro X64, I7-3770k 16 gigs, ASUS Z77 pro, AMD 7950 3 gig, Steinberg UR44, A-Pro 500, Sonar Platinum, KRK Rokit 6
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BobF
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 10:44:29
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Bob -- Angels are crying because truth has died ...Illegitimi non carborundum --Studio One Pro / i7-6700@3.80GHZ, 32GB Win 10 Pro x64 Roland FA06, LX61+, Fishman Tripleplay, FaderPort, US-16x08 + ARC2.5/Event PS8s Waves Gold/IKM Max/Nomad Factory IS3/K11U
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bitflipper
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 15:05:28
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The article mentions The Drifters, which it says has had over 60 members over the years. I actually knew one of them, a great bass singer. He told me that at the time there were no less than six groups touring as The Drifters.
Yeh, the music industry has always assumed audiences are uninformed goobers. Remember that lawsuit from 70's band It's a Beautiful Day? Their manager had tricked them into letting him trademark the band's name, so when they later tried to get away from him he just hired some random players and sent them out under the name It's a Beautiful Day. The original band sued and lost, based on a judge's decree that all pop bands sound alike and band members were thus interchangeable. The judge went so far as to tell the original founders that they owed the unscrupulous manager a million dollars.
Today you can go to any casino and hear Styx - but only the bass player is original. Sometimes they do a double bill with REO Speedwagon, which also features just one original member. Blood, Sweat and Tears is still performing, but with none of its original band members. So many currently-touring oldies acts are really nothing more than tribute bands, and many honest tribute bands are actually better.
All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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jamesg1213
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 15:29:30
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Tangerine Dream get talked about a lot here, and I was reading their Wiki page. Seems a little odd that in a 50 year old band, the current longest serving member joined in 2005!
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bapu
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 16:18:15
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☄ Helpfulby jamesg1213 2017/09/23 16:29:15
Tangerine Dream is not a band. It's a Pedro state of mind.
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craigb
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 17:31:38
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jamesg1213
Tangerine Dream get talked about a lot here, and I was reading their Wiki page. Seems a little odd that in a 50 year old band, the current longest serving member joined in 2005!
TD was really Edgar Froese's baby and he was with them the whole time from the beginning until his death in 2015 (48 years) so that might make a bit more sense. His son has participated on several albums so, who knows? Maybe he'll take it over. As far as I'm concerned, TD died with Edgar.
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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jude77
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 17:55:24
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A fascinating article. After reading it I sort of feel like we owe Milli Vanilli an apology.
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ampfixer
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 18:15:21
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☄ Helpfulby craigb 2017/09/23 20:19:58
jude77
A fascinating article. After reading it I sort of feel like we owe Milli Vanilli an apology.
No, mm, mm, we don't.
Regards, John I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps. WIN 10 Pro X64, I7-3770k 16 gigs, ASUS Z77 pro, AMD 7950 3 gig, Steinberg UR44, A-Pro 500, Sonar Platinum, KRK Rokit 6
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jude77
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/23 20:29:34
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ampfixer
jude77
A fascinating article. After reading it I sort of feel like we owe Milli Vanilli an apology.
No, mm, mm, we don't.
Hahahaha!! Agreed. But maybe they could go out as Justin Bieber and katie Perry.
You haven't lived until you've taken the Rorschach. Windows 10 Home Edition 64-bit /6th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700 Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)/16GB (1x16GB) DDR4 2133MHz SDRAM Memory/ NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 730 with 2GB DDR3 Graphics Memory/ Dell KB216 Wired Multi-Media Keyboard English Black/ 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0/Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio Pro/Wireless 3165 driver
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ClarkPlaysGuitar
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/25 22:26:29
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I almost got to see some one of the fake Zombies. At the last minute they were cancelled & a band called The Bowery Boys played the venue instead. Now I think I know why... Thanks for the story!
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Slugbaby
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Re: Fake Zombies and ZZ Top
2017/09/28 12:50:09
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ampfixer
jude77
A fascinating article. After reading it I sort of feel like we owe Milli Vanilli an apology.
No, mm, mm, we don't.
Sure we do. Another story shushed by the media: MV was originally signed as a pair of vocalists with a backing band. Their label insisted that other singers record the vocal parts for their debut album, and Milli & Vanilli finally agreed on the promise that they would be allowed to sing on their 2nd album. When it came time to record the 2nd the label refused, reneging on their agreement. MV threatened to publicize what the label made them do, but still weren't allowed to record their own music. So Milli Vanilli went to the press and TOLD everyone that they'd been lip-synching. I think that's a solid thing to do. Unfortunately nobody remembers who told the secret, so they have turned into the scapegoats for the "miming" musicians. PS. Great article!
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