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Zigman Bird – Yes

Zigman Bird's Yes cd cover
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TRACKLISTING

  1. Compromise
  2. 3000 Miles
  3. Crazy
  4. Jesus in a Mailbox
  5. Sunday School
  6. Elephant of Life
  7. Valentine Girl
  8. And Baby
“Ever since I squished out of the womb, my life has been filled with music. And my first guitar wound up being broken over my brother’s legs by my mom.”
Keith Beck, Zigman BirdAnd so began the Zigman Bird concept, fully emerging into the world in 2003 as a result of the ongoing collaboration between childhood friends, acclaimed Central New Jersey singer/songwriter Keith Beck (Chuttering Mums/Alexander Kariotis and the Rock Opera Orchestra) and his reclusive lyricist partner, Rick Mutz.“I started writing songs with a friend, Rick, from high school five days a week for at least three to four years,” says Keith. “At first we sucked. Then we got better. And we’re still at it after all these years!”

Like the countless Garden State troubadours before them, Keith and Rick grew up with steady doses of the hippest rock and roll playing on the radio dial and distilled those influences to create the classic mix of memorable hooks, melodies, and cutting guitars found on the band’s new CD, Yes.

The songs on Yes have been fleshed out with the contributions of various seasoned musicians, each member complimenting the ZB concept by bringing their own intrinsic sound. Guitarist/Vocalist David Devine (The Number Theory/Spiraling) joined Keith from the band’s outset and both were soon joined by long-time fans Damian Gonzalez (Burning Up White/Como Drive/Spiraling) and Geoff Alpaugh (Down With The Wizard/The Number Theory/Spiraling).

This current incarnation emanates raw, energetic rock and roll of the highest caliber while keeping in the tradition of the greats they admire like the Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Television, Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, and many others.

Zigman Bird’s Yes offers the listener a modern take on the classic rock format, capturing the essence of the human condition while setting it to a beat or as Keith so aptly puts it, “Good melodic rock that sticks in your f!*king head!”

Zigman Bird is currently playing throughout the East Coast area in support of Yes, a Lump’N’Loaf Records release.

 

 

Album Reviews

Being from central Jersey, it is always interesting to have conversations with people from northern and southern parts of the state. The southerners would always claim I was from the north and vice versa. It is no wonder that so much awesomeness goes unnoticed in this elusive central Jersey.

Within this ignored center flies Zigman Bird, a four-piece outfit hatching in a nest created with twigs of 90s alt rock and the spit of early punk ala Iggy Pop. Sprouted from the mind of singer/guitarists Keith Robert Beck, Zigman Bird was originally a solo effort, becoming a fully fleshed out flock with the inclusion of David Devine (guitarist), Damian Gonzalez (bass), and Geoff Alpaugh (drums).

Ball’s Marie is Zigman Bird’s first egg, speckled with everything from the Beatles to Blue Oyster Cult. Their follow-up album, Yes, however, is a species of its own. Even though Yes is only eight tracks long, it packs a tremendous punch. Released through Hillsborough-based Lump’N’Loaf Records, Yes opens with the power pop epic, “Compromise”. You can hear the precision in Gonzalez’s bass line off the bat, as it bounces off the speed and catchiness of Devine’s mustached- 70s rock inspired hooks. Beck’s raspy voice is immediately reminiscent of a prettier and less alcohol-breathed Lou Reed throughout the record. The band then shifts to a slower, melodic ballad in “Crazy”, a bluesy drawl number, lilting towards emotional disarray and mental instability that the track title implies. Alpaugh drums tick deep into the depression that corresponds with Beck’s words as the inclusion of a stringed unit provides a quivering depth. However, the epitome of the album comes from the song “Valentine Girl”, which, on its own, is a fierce, dark nugget that pays homage to early hard rock and metal. It’s a black hole of hellish portions that spits you back out because you are not worthy enough to hear its magnitude.

Bottom line, Zigman Bird’s Yes is a great rock album in which fans of any branch of the genre can find solace within its canopy. Yes offers something for all, with wings outstretched towards the sun, feathers floating from the sky in a rain of musical perfection.
Tara Tomaino, speakimge.com