Gettin' the Band Back Together: Zero
Steve Kimock by Dave Vann |
Mentioning the name Steve Kimock around the musical water-cooler usually
gets a wide range of audiences. You have "The Guy Who Has Never Heard of Him,"
who (by the way) has never heard of JamBase or the Internet in general. The fact
that he is even reading this article is shocking, as well as dangerous to the
space-time continuum. Beside him is the ever-present "Guy Who Thinks He's Just
Alright." He's potentially heard some version of The Other Ones or Phil &
Friends that, for a brief and fortunate moment, sounded pretty decent. Then there
is the "Forever Dedicated Kimock Head," who has heard Steve's work in various
forms (Zero, KVHW, SKB) and will see him no matter what form of monster (or maiden)
he chooses to take shape as. Though there are many more, I am the latter of these
categories. In 1994, an angel from heaven (in the form of a Deadhead named Irv
who worked for the postal service in Miami but always dreamed of working for UPS)
blessed me with a single golden nugget: my first Zero tape. Best. Cole's Law.
Ever. It's been a long road from that point to this year's High Sierra Music Festival,
and needless to say, I was thrilled with seeing a Zero
reunion, though I agree with many that Zero without Bobby Vega on bass or even
Judge Murphy on vocals is Less Than Zero. Does Robert Downey Jr. play the keys
or Chip Roland? Neither attended.
John Morgan Kimock by Dave Vann |
So what was the lineup? From the original band, there was Steve Kimock
on guitars, Greg Anton on drums, "Meester" Martin Fierro on saxophone,
and Liam Hanrahan on bass. From Grateful Dead fame, Donna Jean Godchaux
was on vocals, and Melvin Seals of Jerry Garcia Band was ever-present on
keyboards. Jerry Joseph added more guitar and vocals, and Chrissy [Sister
Soul] Colangelo helped keep things in tune with her fine harmonization. An
added flair is the young prodigy John Morgan Kimock on a second set of
drums. Watch out for this kid. He's more than just "in the pocket."
Jerry Joseph by Dave Vann |
The late night show began with the party classic "Anorexia." The room was in high
spirits, commonplace for ANY location at High Sierra at two in the morning. "Crazy
Fingers" was a nice follower, and this particular version had 20 minutes of exploration
within its vocal bookends. The familiar favorite "Catalina" was great to hear
after all these years, though it was played a bit faster and was just average
overall without Judge. "Sun Sun Sun" has always been a Martin favorite, and although
it was somewhat of a fuzzy moment, I do recall basking in Martin's undeniable
talent. He is truly one of the best improvisational saxophone players alive today.
"Gomorrah," clocking in at over 12 minutes, was patient and flowing with a big
payoff, as was the trend for the entire night. Kimock clearly was in a different
mindset with this band. The Jerry Joseph songs were well-executed rockers that
were of a different flavor than past Zero shows, and they were well-received.
Zero's anthem, "Chance in a Million," was a bit less to salute to, but the Merle's
"Boogie" first set closer had people shakin' their asses like they were serving
breakfast. It's a shame they weren't because the people who left missed a monumental,
utterly stellar 19-minute "Franklin's Tower" that segued into a "Baby, Baby" that
would please even the most critical of Deadheads. Long after all other late night
shows had ended, the band somehow found the energy to fully wind up and release
a ripping "Mercury Blues" that would make you want to sell your hybrid. As the
sun began to rise, I stumbled to bed, fully surprised and impressed by this Zero
reunion.
Donna Jean Godchaux by Susan J. Weiand |
Friday evening's set didn't seem to have the momentum of that morning, but granted,
neither did I. "Tongue n' Groove," an instrumental rooted in Marvin Gaye's "Sexual
Healing," warmed up the crowd slowly and reached a fine summit but may have been
better placed somewhere else in the set. The vocals during "Pits of Thunder" made
me wish the band went instrumental, but Joseph's vocals on "Watching the River
Flow" were quite redeeming. The "Crazy Fingers > Gregg's Eggs" and the "Golden
Road" closer were the diamonds in this rough, and they paved new paths for some,
regardless of how much they lacked Vega to others.
My only complaint is that some people saw part of this set, heard the vocals,
and then moved on to some other music at the festival. Much like the old Zero,
they gave it their best shot, but they didn't like the singing. And the late
night show had a much smaller audience to witness the magic. So I ask myself,
"What is it going to take to convince 'Guy Who Thinks He's Just Alright'?" Does
this band need to just play instrumentals? What is next for Steve Kimock? Will
KVHW ever have a reunion tour? How many licks of those pure tones does it take
to get to the center of a new music fan? In the words of the wise old owl, the
world may never know. Perhaps it's an acquired taste, like Garcia has said about
licorice. Regardless, whatever the future may hold for Steve Kimock, I'll keep
listening carefully to what he's saying, in whatever language.
- Toby Gaine aka DJ Tobiwan
Steve Kimock & Jerry Joseph playshop by Susan J. Weiand
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