BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone\, two true stalwarts of classy English pop\, have reunited after three decades under the moniker of th eir former outfit\, The Zombies. \; Their reunion has been enthusias tically embraced by the public\, thanks to a hot band\, some superlative new material\, and a stage repertoire that draws heavily upon their muc h-cherished catalogue of The Zombies and solo hits.\nIn their day\, The Zombies were one of the few English bands of the 1960s that enjoyed true global popularity\, with two American number ones\, chart records throu ghout the rest of the world\, and a deep and lasting affection for their music. For instance\, in early 1967\, at a time when their career had a lmost ground to a halt in the UK\, the band played to crowds of over 30\ ,000 in the Philippines. And ironically\, right after the band split\, t heir final single &ldquo\;Time Of The Season&rdquo\; quickly became thei r biggest record &ndash\; US radio plays for the latter song recently pa ssed the four million mark. The Zombies&rsquo\; first two American singl es\, &ldquo\;She&rsquo\;s Not There&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;Tell Her No&rdqu o\;\, also remain two of the most-heavily spun vintage hits on American classic-rock radio.\nBut beyond the statistics\, The Zombies had several remarkable attributes that set them apart from other artists. The sheer consistent quality of Rod Argent and Chris White&rsquo\;s songwriting i s rivaled only by Lennon and McCartney. Building upon the standard R& \;B and rock&rsquo\;n&rsquo\;roll influences\, The Zombies introduced cl ass and sophistication into a genre not noted for either\, and in the mo st natural\, unselfconscious way possible. And the songs were lent an ex tra dimension by the voice of Colin Blunstone\, widely acknowledged as o ne of the finest singers Britain has ever produced. Rod Argent&rsquo\;s keyboard work is regarded as some of the most accomplished and inventive in rock. The Zombies&rsquo\; canon belongs on the same shelf as the oth er major players of the mid-1960s such as the Kinks\, Yardbirds and Anim als\; from their debut &ldquo\;She&rsquo\;s Not There&rdquo\; onwards\, there was never at any point a drop in quality. The Zombies&rsquo\; reco rds are some of the best produced and distinctive in all pop music.\nMor e importantly\, the popularity of The Zombies&rsquo\; music\, in keeping with their name\, shows no sign of dying. Their unsurpassed oeuvre cont inues to influence musicians around the world\, whether they be original fans the stature of Tom Petty or Pat Metheney\, or relative youngsters like REM\, Beck\, Pavement and Paul Weller. And contemporary cutting edg e American and UK acts such as Fountains of Wayne\, Spoon\, Badly Drawn Boy\, Belle &\; Sebastian and Super Furry Animals are just the latest in a long line of musicians to play homage to The Zombies\, for thanks to high profile reissues like the definitive 1997 box set \;Zombie H eaven\, \;each new pop generation has been able to discover for them selves the undiluted magic of the band&rsquo\;s catalogue.\nIn recent ye ars\, when The Zombies have been feted by pop&rsquo\;s hip aristocracy\, it has been largely for their swansong\, \;Odessey &\; Oracle&nb sp\;(famously misspelled by the cover artist)\, from which &ldquo\;Time Of The Season&rdquo\; was taken. It was their second and final album\, r ecorded in 1967 before they went their separate ways\, and remains perha ps their greatest artistic statement.Odessey \;presents an evocation of memory that maybe has yet to be surpassed in pop music\, with a pecu liarly English yet universal slant on dreams\, childhood and the attenda nt loss of innocence that derives from the passing of both. And it is a record today as celebrated and influential as the Beach Boys&rsquo\;&nbs p\;Pet Sounds \;or Love&rsquo\;s \;Forever Changes\, recently ra nked #80 in Rolling Stone&rsquo\;s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time\, and #32 by the U.K.&rsquo\;s New Music Express in a similar list of British albums.\nUpon the demise of The Zombies\, Rod Argent went on to form th e eponymously named band Argent\, who had further success in the United States during the 1970s with the anthemic hits &ldquo\;Hold Your Head Up &rdquo\; and &ldquo\;God Gave Rock &\; Roll To You&rdquo\;. He has si nce had a varied and successful career in the field of record production \, as well as frequently scoring for television and stage. Colin Blunsto ne meanwhile has remained a familiar chart presence in the UK and Europe through hits like &ldquo\;I Don&rsquo\;t Believe In Miracles&rdquo\; an d &ldquo\;What Becomes of the Brokenhearted&rdquo\;\, while his back cat alogue\, studded with gems like the album \;One Year\, boasts a soli d cult following amongst musicians and fans &lsquo\;in the know&rsquo\; (in addition to The Zombies&rsquo\; material\, Rod and Colin feature exc erpts from both of their solo careers in the current show).\nIn 1998\, t hese two exceptional musicians decided to join forces again after thirty years\, cognizant that their musical partnership is far more than the s um of the parts. They also have the added benefit of a splendid\, entire ly complementary band\, which includes former Argent and Kinks bassist J im Rodford\, his son Steve on drums\, and acclaimed session player Tom T oomey on guitar. In 2001\, Blunstone and Argent released the first recor ded fruits of their collaboration in the album \;Out Of The Shadows. \nThis was followed up in 2004 with \;As Far As I Can See&hellip\;\, released in the U.S. by Rhino Records. \; Featuring 10 new tracks\, plus a re-working of Blunstone&rsquo\;s hit &ldquo\;I Don&rsquo\;t Beli eve In Miracles&rdquo\;\, the album is colored by The Zombies&rsquo\; tr ademark minor-key melancholy along with Blunstone and Argent&rsquo\;s ex plorations of new musical territory.\nThis is also the first new recordi ng released under &ldquo\;The Zombies&rdquo\; name since \;Odessey & amp\; Oracle \;- a move Argent had resisted for years\, in respect t o the band&rsquo\;s legacy. &ldquo\;Ever since The Zombies split up in 1 967\, we have always resisted re-forming despite being offered lots of m oney\,&rdquo\; explains Argent. &ldquo\;We didn&rsquo\;t put the band ba ck together then because we have always wanted to look forward\, and it has always seemed wrong to put the band back together again simply to ma ke a quick buck.&rdquo\; However\, commenting on the new album\, Rod rev eals that the specter of The Zombies is a natural result of his and Coli n&rsquo\;s renewed partnership: &ldquo\;When we played the first mixes b ack\, Colin and I were surprised to hear many resonances of our first ba nd on the record\, because they weren&rsquo\;t achieved consciously\,&rd quo\; says Argent. &ldquo\;Suddenly\, and for the first time in all thes e years\, it felt honest and right to include the name &lsquo\;Zombies&r squo\; somewhere on the album. It still feels important to include our o wn names as well - a way of expressing something about the future as wel l as acknowledging the past.&rdquo\;\nThe album has another special conn ection to The Zombies&rsquo\; storied past. Paul Atkinson\, one of the g roup&rsquo\;s original guitarists and a legendary music executive\, earn ed a special A&\;R credit on \;As Far As I Can See&hellip\;for hi s efforts championing the album. Blunstone and Argent recently played a benefit concert at the Los Angeles House of Blues to honor their friend and bandmate\, who sadly died prior to the album&rsquo\;s American relea se. The album also features former Zombies member Chris White contributi ng guest vocals on three songs: &ldquo\;Memphis\,&rdquo\; &ldquo\;I Want To Fly\,&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;Look For A Better Way.&rdquo\;\nTheir retu rn to the concert stage is of particular importance to fans\, since many never had the opportunity to see the band live during its brief existen ce in the 60&rsquo\;s (especially since a large number of their fans wer e born \;after \;the original line-up disbanded!). \; Their live performances were recently captured on a double CD and DVD\, \; Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre \;(released in the U.S. by Rhino in 2 007)\, and their appearances in North America have included the &ldquo\; Little Steven&rsquo\;s Underground Garage&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;HippieFest &rdquo\; tours\, as well a stint for Rod Argent in the 2006 line-up of R ingo Starr&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;All-Star Band&rdquo\;. \;\nMarch 2008 ma rked a true celebration of joining the old and the new\, when the curren t Zombies line-up was joined onstage by the other surviving original mem bers\, bassist Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundy\, for a series of spe cial concerts at London&rsquo\;s Shepherds Bush Empire\, which featured the first-ever live performances of \;Odessey &\; Oracle \;in its entirety. \; This momentous event\, awaited by many for decades \, was filmed for a future DVD release\, and was attended by fans rangin g from Robert Plant to members of Snow Patrol. \;\nThe Zombies are c ited by the mercurial Courtney Love\; and as influences by Badly Drawn B oy\, Paul Weller\, Super Furry Animals\, Magic Numbers\, Billy Joel\, Sh e &\; Him\, Foo Fighters\, Fleet Foxes\, The Vaccines and the Arctic Monkeys\, among others. Recorded for their \;Golddiggersalbum\, The Beautiful South released their version of \; &ldquo\;This Will Be Ou r Year&rdquo\; \;as a single. Just recently\, Neko Case and Nick Cav e recorded &ldquo\;She&rsquo\;s Not There&rdquo\; for the premier episod e of HBO&rsquo\;s \;&lsquo\;True Blood&rsquo\; \;fourth season.& nbsp\; The Zombies&rsquo\; songs are regularly covered live by such vari ed artists as Beck\, She &\; Him and Belle &\; Sebastian\, and use d in films and TV shows (&lsquo\;Dear Wendy\,&rsquo\; \;&lsquo\;Awak enings\,&rsquo\; &lsquo\;Kill Bill 2\,&rsquo\; &lsquo\;The Simpson\,&rsq uo\; among others &ndash\; evidence that their music really is as fresh and relevant today as it ever was.\nThe Zombies&rsquo\; touring band fea tures original members Colin Blunstone (lead vocals) and Rod Argent (key boards &\; vocals)\, plus Jim Rodford (bass)\, Tom Toomey (guitar) an d Steve Rodford (drums). They played live dates in the UK in 2009 and ag ain in 2010\, also touring that year in France\, Spain\, and the USA. Th ey kick off a U.S. tour in September\, 2011.\nThis year\, The Zombies\, helmed by founding members Rod Argent and singer Colin Blunstone\, are m arking the group&rsquo\;s half century with a stunning new album &ndash\ ; \;Breathe Out\, Breathe In. \; It has received rave reviews in the UK:\n&ldquo\;Classy&rdquo\; \;&ndash\; Daily Mirror\n&ldquo\;Ar gent and Blunstone find Zombie Heaven again&rdquo\; \;&ndash\; Uncut \n&ldquo\;a gloriously uplifting record&rdquo\; \;&ndash\; Record Co llector\n&ldquo\;a refreshing and quite potent mix of heady aural pleasu res&rdquo\; \;&ndash\; Live (Mail On Sunday)\nA magisterial work\,&n bsp\;Breathe Out\, Breathe In&rsquo\;s\, ten songs are impeccably crafte d pieces\; the harmonies are rich\, the melodies full\, the arrangements exquisite\, the organ and piano fresh\, the production intuitive.\nBrea the Out\, Breathe In \;was recorded over a year in Argent&rsquo\;s o wn Red House Studios\, the band line-up completed by guitarist Tom Toome y\, bassist\, Jim Rodford and drummer Steve Rodford.\nColin Blunstone&he llip\;Rod Argent&hellip\;The Zombies &ndash\; two seasoned pop veterans\ , backed by an exemplary band\, with a show that not only pays open trib ute to the much cherished highlights of their unequalled musical legacy\ , but also continues the tradition with new music cut from the same clot h: a treat for pop fans any way you slice it. URL:http://glenview.patch.com/events/the-zombies-736508cb SUMMARY:The Zombies LOCATION:275 Parkway Dr\, Lincolnshire\, IL 60069: 275 Parkway Dr\, Linco lnshire\, IL END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR