1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,759 Speaker 1: The True Story of the Fake Zombies is a production 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: of iHeart Podcasts, Talk House and never Mind Media. 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 2: We were a blues rock band from Texas, a band 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 2: with plenty of good looks better than the original Zombies. 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 2: What we didn't leave behind was a musical history of 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 2: our own. I think of that quite often, but that 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 2: was long ago, and have my memories the Texas Fake Zombies. 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 2: Most of those memories are dear to my heart. But 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 2: I went on and I followed a different path. 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: Imagine you're one of the Texas Zombies back in nineteen 11 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: sixty nine. You and your bandmates are tearing down the highway. 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: You just played a gig. You've got a little money 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: in your pocket, but you're dead tired. You're taking whatever 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: you can to stay awake. There's another gig tomorrow, and 15 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: another one the next day. You're playing these zombie shows anywhere. 16 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: The Bay City guys send you and the schedules relentless. 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: You gaze out the window, lost in thought as the 18 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: world flies by. In this imagined scenario, you suddenly see 19 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: a bus headed in the opposite direction, crossing paths with 20 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: your tour van on a long stretch of highway. You're 21 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: headed north. The bus is headed south. As it passes, 22 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: you notice a band name written on the side in 23 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: psychedelic lettering. You catch a glimpse in the window and 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: you realize it's a tour bus filled with young guys 25 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: just like you, barreling towards their next gig. As the 26 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: bus passes by, your heart sinks. You focus in on 27 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: that logo painted on the side of the tour bus. 28 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: It says the Zombies. You would know it couldn't possibly 29 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: be the real band. They're back in England, broken up. 30 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: You were hired to be the Zombies by two guys 31 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: in Bay City, Michigan, two guys who told you this 32 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: Zombies tour you're on is all above board, that they 33 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: own the rights to the Zombies music, and it was 34 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: all perfectly legal. You were simply filling a void. But 35 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: how would you feel when you found out those same 36 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: two guys in Michigan put together another Zombies and send 37 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: them on the road too. 38 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 3: Ovise for. 39 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: This is the true story of the fake Zombies. I'm 40 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: Daniel Ralston. We're not saying our goodbyes to Mark Ramsey 41 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: and his bandmates and the Texas Zombies just yet. Before 42 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: we turn our attention to the second Fake Zombies. I 43 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: have elite on the origins of the group from Texas. 44 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: When I sat down with former Delta Promotions employee Tom 45 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: Hocott in twenty sixteen, he shared his memories of the 46 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies operation with me. Tom was the first Delta 47 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: employee I met, and he played a huge role in 48 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: the early days of finding this story. When we met 49 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: at a Chili's outside Bay City, Tom brought along a 50 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: Manila envelope full of pictures of himself as a young man. 51 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: He showed me photos of himself with the bands he 52 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: managed on the Delta roster. Along with the photos, there 53 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: were flyers for concerts, including a Fake Zombies gig in California. 54 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: I didn't know it at the time, but the faces 55 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: and names in that envelope will become a part of 56 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: this story. Years later. There's Tom standing in a field 57 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: with Gordon Thayer and his brothers Rich and Phil from 58 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: the band Dick Rabbit, the openers for the Texas Zombies tour. 59 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 4: I believe they're a pretty band on the road up 60 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 4: and down the East Coast for three months. 61 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: In the background of Tom's photos from nineteen sixty nine, 62 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: it's Big Jim Atherton, road manager for the Fakes Obmys. 63 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: Without Tom, the names and the faces in this story 64 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: would have disappeared. I want to ask Tom about the 65 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: new names and new faces I've found, but Tom can't 66 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: communicate the way he used to due to a stroke 67 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: he suffered a few years back. Tom was a window 68 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: into the world of Delta Promotions. He watched Kehoe and 69 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: Atherton create bands, was charged with taking them out on 70 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: the road, but Tom left something out, a detail lost 71 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: to time. Before Mark Sieve, Frank and Dusty from Texas 72 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: were recruited into the Delta operation, Tom Hocott was asked 73 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: to create the first version of the Fakes Obbis. While 74 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: Delta Promotions had a small stable of bands and some 75 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: out of state connections to help them book tours, this 76 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: was still tiny little Bay City. Combine with the fact 77 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: that most bands didn't want to pretend to be another one, 78 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: Tom didn't have a lot of options. When it came 79 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: time to recruit. He called his teenage nephew. 80 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 5: Okay, Tom Hocott. Tom is my uncle worked for Bill 81 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 5: Keho up in Bay City, Michigan. 82 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: That's Tom's nephew, Dan Hocott. When I reached out to 83 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: him at his home in Indiana. It had been a 84 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: long time since anyone had mentioned the fake Zombies. Back 85 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty nine, Dan was eighteen and an aspiring 86 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: rock and roller when he got a call from his 87 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: uncle Tom. 88 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 5: I lived in Northwest Indiana, right outside Chicago in June 89 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 5: of sixty nine. I had just graduated from high school. 90 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: Tom is only a decade older than Dan, and they've 91 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: always been close, bonded for life by their shared love 92 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: for rock music. Dan was a little naive to his 93 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: uncle's business up in Bay City, but he knew he 94 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 1: worked in the music industry. When Tom called in June 95 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: sixty nine, he offered his nephew Dan the chance to 96 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: audition for a band on the Delta Promotions roster. 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 5: I got a call from Tom saying that he had 98 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,599 Speaker 5: a opportunity for me if I wanted to travel with 99 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 5: a band for the summer. I said, sure, you know 100 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 5: it's you know that was my aspiration. 101 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: Anyway, for a teenager fresh out of high school. The 102 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: deal his uncle presented a summer gig and a touring 103 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: band was dream come true. Dan went straight to Michigan. 104 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 5: I got on a flight, went to Bay City, Michigan, 105 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 5: and Tom explained to me that the group the Zombies 106 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 5: were doing an American tour and that they lost their 107 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 5: bass player or something to that effect and wanted me 108 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 5: to audition. So I went in there knowing only. 109 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: That Dan passed the audition and he was suddenly a Zombie, 110 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: fresh out of high school and playing bass in a 111 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: band with a hit record. It seemed too good to 112 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: be true, which, of course it was. The first thing 113 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: Dan noticed about the Delsa operation. There wasn't a single 114 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: English musician and sight. 115 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 5: I found out pretty quickly that there was no Zombies, 116 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 5: and that Bill Keyhole had put together a bunch of 117 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 5: stray musicians and tried to create a band with them, 118 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 5: myself and three other people keyboard, guitarist and drummer, none 119 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 5: of who knew each other. 120 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: Dan and his new bandmates had just met when they 121 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: found out they already had gigs lined up. He was 122 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: about to be on stage in front of crowds performing 123 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: as the Zombies with three complete strangers, none of whom 124 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: were British. Bill kehow assured them that everything was on 125 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: the level. 126 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 5: Bill said he owned the American rights to the name Zombies, 127 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 5: as well as a few other groups, and he was 128 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 5: assembling bands and putting them on the road as those groups. 129 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: This was not exactly what Dan had signed up for. 130 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 5: It was horrible, quite frankly. It was just four guys 131 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 5: from four different avenues of music, never meeting each other before, 132 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 5: and they threw us on the road and we had 133 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 5: within a week job uped in I think Grand Haven, Michigan. 134 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 5: I think we knew a couple of Zombies songs, but 135 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 5: other than that, we just threw together a bunch of 136 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 5: blues tunes and that we could all learn. Within a week. 137 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 1: Dan's version of the Zombies only had a week to rehearse. 138 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: They couldn't possibly have sounded like the real thing, but 139 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: Delta didn't seem to mind. They booked more shows for 140 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: the Zombies. 141 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 5: And that went on maybe two or three concerts around 142 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 5: the Michigan area, and then they decided to put us 143 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 5: on the road. 144 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: After a week of rehearsal and a few trial runs 145 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: in Michigan, Dan and his bandmates were flown south, where 146 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: Delta Promotions had a considerably larger gig line up, supporting 147 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: a very real, very popular band. 148 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 5: They were booking The Zombies into pretty big venues. I 149 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 5: remember one night we opened for Three Dog Night, the 150 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 5: real Three Dog Night. So they sent us off to Jacksonville, Florida, 151 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 5: and they put us up in a hotel and wanted 152 00:09:57,679 --> 00:09:59,440 Speaker 5: us to rehearse and get really tight. 153 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,679 Speaker 1: The All American Zombies spent another week hold up in 154 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 1: at Jacksonville hotel. Dan wishes he could say they got better, 155 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: but they didn't. The Fake Zombies bombed in Florida. 156 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 5: We had no business being on that stage. We were horrible. 157 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: Dan saw the writing on the wall after that first 158 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: out of town show. It was all a big rus 159 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: He and his bandmates had been flown to Florida and 160 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: given brand new equipment. They were opening for one of 161 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: the most popular bands in their era, all on the 162 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: pretense that Dan and his American bandmates, who hadn't even 163 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: met two weeks earlier, were supposed to go up on 164 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: stage and be the Zombies, a five piece British rock 165 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: band with one of the hottest songs in the world. 166 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 5: It just never jelled. It was a horrible situation because 167 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 5: nobody had played with each other. 168 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,959 Speaker 1: If it wasn't obvious, this Fake Zombies business wasn't for Dan, 169 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: but one of his bandmates in that first Fake Zombies, 170 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: A good looking guy with a shaggy rock and roll 171 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: mullet and a flying v guitar wanted to keep at it. 172 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 5: So the guitar player his name was Seb Scab Meta 173 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 5: m E A d O R. I believe he was 174 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 5: from Texas. 175 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: Dan's bandmate, one of the guys he was matched up 176 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: with in Bay City and bombed with in Florida with 177 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: Seed Meta. This confirms that Seed, what was the rock 178 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: and roll Rebel, was the link between the Texas Zombies 179 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: and Delta promotions in Michigan. Dan didn't want to play 180 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: bass on the Zombies anymore. He was ready to head 181 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: back to his uncle's place in Bass City, but he 182 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: stuck around Florida long enough to meet a future rock legend. 183 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: He remembers Seb phoning up someone he knew in Texas, and. 184 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:11,840 Speaker 5: He happened to Noah, bass player that he had played 185 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 5: with for quite some time, so they brought him in. 186 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: Dan was there to meet the guy who would replace 187 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: him in the Fake Zombies. 188 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 5: Dusty had come up from Texas and they had one 189 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 5: rehearsal in a hotel room before they played the. 190 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: Gig from the Wings Dan watched Sebe and Dusty Hill 191 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: play as the Zombies for the first time again, opening 192 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 1: up for three Dog Night. Things didn't go any better 193 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: with the new lineup, and Dan was struck by just 194 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: how strange it all was. 195 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 5: I mean, I felt like hiding my face. 196 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: Seebes Fake Zombies now had a bass player from Texas. 197 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,559 Speaker 1: They'd call on two more friends, Mark Ramsey and Frank 198 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: Beard and head out on tour. Dan went back to 199 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: Michigan to hang out with his uncle Tom and the Delta. 200 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 5: Crew, and I stayed there for about a month. 201 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: Dan hung around Delta and watched as Keyho and Atherton 202 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: spun their wheels trying to figure out how to make 203 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: their fake Zombie scheme that they'd poured time and money 204 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: into work. After the disastrous shows in Jacksonville. 205 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 5: They pretty quickly realized that they could not throw a 206 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 5: band together with any finesse and have them pull off 207 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 5: the Zombies. 208 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: Delta thought the problem lay in trying to assemble the 209 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: Zombies from scratch. They didn't have time to wait around 210 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: for the groups they assembled to find their sound. This 211 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,199 Speaker 1: is why CEB and Dusty recruited their friends Mark Ramsey 212 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: and Frank Beard to fill out the Texas version of 213 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: the Zombies, but Kejo and Atherton didn't take any chances. 214 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,079 Speaker 1: They went in search of another band that already had 215 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: a cohesive sound to become the second Fake Zombies. 216 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,839 Speaker 5: So they started to realize it would be better if 217 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 5: they drafted whole intact bands, so that's what they did. 218 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 5: They got a band. I believe they were from Flint, Michigan. 219 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 5: I don't remember the name, but they had been playing 220 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 5: together for quite some time and they were very good, 221 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 5: and they went on the road as the Zombies. 222 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: Dan played in the first Fake Zombies before it became 223 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,119 Speaker 1: an all Texas outfit, and he watched his Delta promotions 224 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: found their second Fake Zombies. That Second Zombies band, made 225 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: up of local guys from Michigan, did something Dan and 226 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: the Texans couldn't do. They sounded like the real thing, 227 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,280 Speaker 1: at least while they were singing. 228 00:14:43,040 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 3: Money Thank You. 229 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: Seb and Dusty recruited Frank Beard and Mark Ramsey into 230 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: the Fake Zombies and went out on the road. But 231 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: the Texas Zombies didn't exactly follow the brief. According to 232 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: Mark Ramsey, they played exactly one Zombie song, the big 233 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: hit that started all this time of the season. If 234 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: you went to see the Zombies and ended up seeing Frank, 235 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: Dusty seb and Mark, time of the season was all 236 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: you were going to get. The rest of those Zombies, 237 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: said Lists was hard fast blues, the kind they liked 238 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: to play back in Texas with the Texas Band. Delta 239 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: filled the Zombie shaped hole in America with something that 240 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: didn't quite fit. A blues band preoccupied with their own 241 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: distinctive style. It could never last. So what a Delta do. 242 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: They found another band, this one right in their own backyard, 243 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: and sent them out on the road as the Zombi 244 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: at the same damn time. When Delta started their new 245 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: version of the Zombies, it wasn't an unprecedented move. In 246 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: episode one, Joe Selvin, music writer, an expert on the 247 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: early days of the music industry, told me that having 248 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: multiple versions of the same act was standard practice in 249 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: the world of soul and R and B music. 250 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 4: A group would have a hit record, and quickly they 251 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 4: would hire a bunch of guys to go out and 252 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 4: be the group, and sometimes they would send two or 253 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 4: three of the groups out at the same time. Eventually, 254 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 4: the Coasters had three different groups working. Two of them 255 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 4: had split the country western of the Mississippi, East the Mississippi, 256 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 4: and the third one just rampaged across the country and 257 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 4: they were all the coasters. 258 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: Delta Promotions needed a better Zombies, so they went looking 259 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: for a pre existing band that would hopefully be easier 260 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: to control. As luck would have it, Keyo and Atherton 261 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,880 Speaker 1: found a band that actually sounded like the Zombies right 262 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: in their own backyard, Enter the Excels. Looking at pictures 263 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,879 Speaker 1: of the Excels in the early sixties, it's pretty easy 264 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: to spot their musical influences and their promotional photos. The 265 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: Excel's five smiling faces and their striped Madra shirts, white 266 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: slacks and Kendall haircuts scream the Beach Boys. The band 267 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 1: met at Northern Michigan University, where the Excels actually started 268 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: as a Beach Boys cover band before incorporating original songs 269 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: into their repertoire. They became regulars on the Michigan Team 270 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: nightclub circuit, crossing paths with artists like Bob Seger and 271 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: question Mark in the Mysterians. After extensive tours in Michigan, 272 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: the Excels trekted Detroit in search of a recording contract. 273 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: They met with Motown and even got some FaceTime with 274 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 1: the Supremes, but an all white band with a heavy 275 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,439 Speaker 1: Beach Boys influence wasn't exactly what Motown wanted. On the 276 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: same trip, the Excels cross paths with Ali McLaughlin, an 277 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,719 Speaker 1: influential disc jockey in ann Arbor. In addition to being 278 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: one of Michigan's biggest DJs, McLaughlin had a record label, 279 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,560 Speaker 1: Carlo Records. He signed the Excels and their song Little 280 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: Innocent Girl was a regional hit in Michigan, cracking the 281 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: top ten in Detroit, and there they stayed. They released 282 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: more singles with modest regional success. By nineteen sixty nine, 283 00:18:41,680 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: that success had flatlined. We pick up the story of 284 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: the Excels in nineteen sixty nine. Here's Gary Johnson from 285 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Museum. 286 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 6: When the original Excels kind of split. They split with 287 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 6: their lead singer, Clark Sullivan. The teen club scene, which 288 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 6: was basically the bread and butter of the Excels, was 289 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 6: fading out. 290 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: The four remaining Excels were looking for a gig they 291 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: could still pull off those Beach Boys harmonies, and Delta 292 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: was looking for a tight vocal group to impersonate the Zombies. 293 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, Gary Johnson tracked down to the Excels 294 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: and asked them how they transformed from a promising young 295 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: band into the second Fake Zombies. 296 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 6: Clark Sullivan was their lead singer, the lead guitar player, 297 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 6: and really the principal songwriter, and he wanted to kind 298 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 6: of continue in the pop rock vein that the Excels 299 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 6: were so successful in the other four guys. After they 300 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 6: picked up a new league guitar player, you know, they're 301 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 6: kind of looking for a record deal and a way 302 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 6: to maybe transition away from the team clubs into you know, 303 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 6: the concerts scene. 304 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,679 Speaker 1: After replacing Clark Sullivan with John Herrick, the Excels became 305 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 1: the Zombies. One thing I've learned in researching this story 306 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: is not everybody wants to talk about it. The time 307 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: the Excels spent pretending to be another band cast a 308 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: shadow over the rest of their lives. The remaining members 309 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: of the Excels declined to talk to me for this podcast. 310 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 1: Gary's a local guy who reps hard for Michigan music. 311 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 1: Back in twenty nineteen, Gary got in touch with the 312 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: Excels about including them in his Michigan Rock and Roll 313 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: Legends Museum. While honoring them, he asked about their time 314 00:20:58,720 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: as a Delta Promotions act. 315 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 6: They played Role Air, which was an outdoor facility in 316 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 6: the summertime. They made contact with Keyo and he invited 317 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 6: them to Delta Promotions, you know, apparently to discuss them 318 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 6: becoming the Zombies. 319 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: Delta told the Excels they wanted a vocal band that 320 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: could duplicate the zombies sound, and that the Excels would 321 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 1: be a perfect fit. The van ditched their striped shirts 322 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:29,439 Speaker 1: and clean cut look. In their Delta promotional materials, the 323 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: Michigan Zombies are dressed like extras from Easy Rider, sporting 324 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: flowing shirts, tight pants, and swayed vests. Their keyboardist, Howard 325 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: you Linnen, has a giant beard and a David Crosby 326 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: style cape. These are the clothes you'd wear if you 327 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: wanted to look psychedelic. Not exactly a perfect match for 328 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 1: the well tailored zombies, but close enough. These Zombies hit 329 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: the road, and. 330 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 6: Of course they traveled in a van with the zombies 331 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 6: printed on the side aides. 332 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: Like the Texas Zombies, the Excels were sold on the 333 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: idea of becoming the Zombies, because according to Delta, it 334 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: was all perfectly legal. Delta shot official promo photos for 335 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: both of their Zombies. It's important to note that the 336 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: Texas band were called the original Zombies and their glossy 337 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,440 Speaker 1: black and white photos and the shots of the Michigan Zombies. 338 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 1: The name at the bottom next to the Delta address 339 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 1: just says the Zombies. That would prove to be an 340 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: important distinction when it came time to hit the road. 341 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 1: Suddenly it was more than just playing zombie songs. The 342 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: Michigan Zombies were told to actually pretend to be the band, 343 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 1: English accents and all. 344 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 6: They adopted British accents to do radio interviews. Gerry Stott 345 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 6: Cairo is very upfront above the Delta promotions publicity photo 346 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 6: and the write ups that presented them as the original 347 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 6: British band that had the hits like She's Not There. 348 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: In time of the season, the Excels were too well 349 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,119 Speaker 1: known in Michigan to play zombie shows in their home state. 350 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 1: They played in all the teen night clubs and had 351 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,680 Speaker 1: a hit record just a few years earlier, so Kehoe 352 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: and Atherton had to send them further afield, where they 353 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,359 Speaker 1: wouldn't be recognized. 354 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 6: It's just kind of hard to believe, you know, that 355 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,440 Speaker 6: they could pull this thing off, you know, and especially 356 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 6: in big answers. 357 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: Stacaro told Gary Johnson that there were ten thousand people 358 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: at one of their shows. That is by far the 359 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 1: biggest known fake Zombie's performance. At that point, Delta Promotions 360 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:50,120 Speaker 1: must have been thrilled. Gary Johnson was able to track 361 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: down another member of the Excels, Terry Quirk. Strangely, Terry 362 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,199 Speaker 1: Quirk is also the name of the graphic artists who 363 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: designed the cover of the Zombies' classic album Odyssey and 364 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: All Oracle. This is a different guy also named Terry Quirk. 365 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: Here's Gary on Terry. 366 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 6: You know Terry Quirk. When I spoke to him, and 367 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 6: I've spoke to him several times on the phone, you know, 368 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 6: he told me that they fell for a keyhose line 369 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 6: to quote him, hook line and sinker. 370 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: The Excel signed on and the Michigan Zombies came to life. 371 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: This was nothing like the blues rock boogie of the 372 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,920 Speaker 1: Texas version. Delta had found their authentic sounding zombies. 373 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 6: You know, according to all accounts, they sounded great and 374 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 6: they could do all the Zombies hits, you know, much 375 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 6: better than the apparently than the Texas Zombies did. 376 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: While the Michigan Zombies were more successful than the Texas guys, 377 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: playing to a crowd of ten thousand in Utah and 378 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: making it to the whiskey of Go Go in La, 379 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't exactly a lucrative endeavor for the band, even 380 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: though the money wasn't particularly good. Harrow Quirk and the 381 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: Michigan Zombies continue to tour the US from nineteen sixty 382 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: nine into nineteen seventy until that Rolling Stone article written 383 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: by Ben Fong Torres, exposed out of promotions and their 384 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: fake band scheme. In nineteen seventy, Rolling Stone was still 385 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: printed on newspaper with a horizontal fold. Its low five 386 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 1: charm made it a favorite spot for emerging writers at 387 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,640 Speaker 1: the time like Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonneger. When 388 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: Ben Fong Torres wrote his story on the fake Zombies, 389 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: he was the senior editor at the Coolest newspaper in 390 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: the World. The picture that ran above the fold on 391 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: that issue was of the Michigan Zombies with the headline 392 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: fake Zombies, fake animals. Oh my, here's Ben Fong Torres 393 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: reading from his story. 394 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 7: None of the groups being hunted down is real. They're 395 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 7: all phonies, tenth rate bands using names of well known, 396 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 7: technically non existent groups to pull the wool over the 397 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 7: public's collective eyes and ears. 398 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 6: They were exposed as frauds nationally, and you know, it 399 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 6: served to tarnish the reputation of the Excels as a 400 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 6: very good band and the most successful band ever to 401 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 6: come out of the Upper Peninsula. 402 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: Terry Quirk felt so bad after the Rolling Stone story 403 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: dropped that he even tried to contact the real Zombies. 404 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 6: They were, you know, deeply embarrassed. I think Terry tried 405 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 6: to reach out to them and was unsuccessful if I 406 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 6: remember correctly. 407 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: Soon everyone would know that the Zombies touring America weren't 408 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 1: the original group, no matter how much they sounded like them. 409 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: They were just five guys from Michigan calling themselves the Zombies. 410 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: It was the end for the Michigan Zombies, and it 411 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: would also be the end for the Excels. 412 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 6: Quirk said, you know, it made him lose faith in 413 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,960 Speaker 6: the entire year music business. He stopped playing for a 414 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:08,440 Speaker 6: number of years after that happened. Eventually he got back 415 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 6: into it, as did Gary Staguero. 416 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:12,199 Speaker 7: Uh. 417 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 6: He ended up rejoining with a couple of the other Excels, 418 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 6: and you know, they played in Flint for quite a 419 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 6: few years. 420 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: The Excels were a local Michigan band caught up in 421 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: the world of Delta promotions. They accepted Keho's offer thinking 422 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: they were simply taking the next step in their career. 423 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: It would be their owndoing. But while they were still 424 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: performing as the Zombies, the Excels left something behind. 425 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 5: We talked that with that accent, English accent or a 426 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 5: British accent. 427 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 8: British accent. 428 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,199 Speaker 1: Picturing these guys getting up there in front of an 429 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: audience and pretending to be British. It took fifty five 430 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,880 Speaker 1: years to see the light of day, but the Michigan 431 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:34,719 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies gave an interview on TV. The Excels were 432 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,679 Speaker 1: inducted into Gary Johnson's Rock and Roll Legends Museum in 433 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: Bay City, Michigan in twenty nineteen, and I thought Terry 434 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: Quirk and Gary Stacarro recalling their stories was as close 435 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: as I would ever get to them. Then about a 436 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: year ago, this video appeared of Gary Staco, Terry Quirk, 437 00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: and the rest of the Michigan zombies on television, but 438 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:08,960 Speaker 1: getting our hands on it, that's a story unto itself. 439 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: This happened so long ago. There are important people in 440 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: this story who were gone before I even went looking 441 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: for it, like Bill Keho and Seed Metter, and even 442 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 1: more who've passed on since, like Dusty Hill and Mark Ramsey. 443 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,320 Speaker 1: Then they're the guys like the Excels, who just don't 444 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: want to talk. So you go looking anywhere you can, 445 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: hoping to find a lost piece of history floating in 446 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: the ether. When I found out there was a video 447 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: of the Michigan zombies out there, I had to see it. 448 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: I've never seen the fake zombies in action, and I 449 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: always hoped there might be some footage of them somewhere. 450 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: My producer Nick and I both saw an advanced screening 451 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: of a documentary directed by Robert Schwartzmann about the zombies 452 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: called Hung Up on a Dream. Suddenly they show a clip. 453 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: I have a bunch of guys on screen pretending to 454 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: be the zombies. They actually found a clip of the 455 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:14,960 Speaker 1: fake zombies. Nick and I recognized them immediately. It was 456 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 1: the Michigan guys and they were being interviewed. How could 457 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: I have not known that this video was out there 458 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: the whole time we needed this clip. Luckily, Nick, it's 459 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: really good at his job. So we started digging. 460 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 8: I kind of dug through the credits to see where 461 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 8: all the archival came from, and then worked There were 462 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 8: probably two different archival seat of companies that could have 463 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 8: licensed it for this film, and so I kind of 464 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 8: dug up their numbers and started calling. And the first 465 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 8: number that I called, I speak to this guy, and 466 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 8: I say. 467 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: This guy runs an archive a film and TV clips. 468 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 1: They have a massive impressive collection of strange shit that 469 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 1: aired on TV in the sixties and seventies. We were 470 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 1: looking for one of those odd ball clips. 471 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 8: And I say, this is a strange question, but do 472 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 8: you have any archival footage connected to the zombies? And 473 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,960 Speaker 8: he's like, no, they're really hard to get anything on, 474 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 8: but we do have something on the fake zombies. But 475 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 8: obviously you're not interested in that. 476 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: But of course Nick actually was interested in the fake zombies. 477 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: In fact, other than me, he's the only other person 478 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 1: in the world looking for it. 479 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 8: And I start to sort of try and move toward us, 480 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 8: you know, getting to see this and potentially licensing it. 481 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: We really wanted the Michigan Zombies audio for this episode. 482 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: I wanted you to hear those voices, to bring the 483 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: whole thing to life. 484 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,600 Speaker 8: Unfortunately, when he asked what it was for, I said 485 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 8: it was for podcast, and he became almost completely nonverbal 486 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 8: after that. 487 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: I should mention that the guy at the video archive 488 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: Nick's talking to is extremely grizzled. I'm talking Tom Waite's 489 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: level of grizzle here, and for some reason, when Nick 490 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,800 Speaker 1: said the word podcast, he just shut it down. 491 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 8: I tried to be as charming as I could, tried 492 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 8: the whole British thing, and it is to no avail. 493 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: According to Nick, most Americans go for the British accent thing, 494 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: not this guy. So Nick offered to pay him. 495 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 8: It wouldn't be something that we would expect to get 496 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 8: for free. We would pay a reasonable price, and he 497 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 8: basically just stopped responding to things I was saying and 498 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 8: hung up on me. 499 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: Eventually, that was it, no quote, no negotiation, he just 500 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: hung up. This guy really hates podcasts. Why would this 501 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,280 Speaker 1: clip be so closely guarded? We tried another route. 502 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 8: Our colleague, excellent colleague, Melissa swooped in fortunately and sort 503 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:57,080 Speaker 8: of came at it from a different angle did not 504 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,239 Speaker 8: use the word podcast when she reached out about this, 505 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 8: and was able to get a sort of preview for 506 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 8: like a water marked audio water marked version of this 507 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 8: clip so that we could actually see it. 508 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,200 Speaker 1: Thanks to Melissa Nick and I actually got to see it, 509 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: the fake zombies doing time of the season and giving 510 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 1: an interview on TV with fake British accents. 511 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 8: Maybe I'm spoiling this bad. As you will hear from this, 512 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 8: it seems like the British accent duties were finally sort 513 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 8: of allocated to just one person, which is something of 514 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:35,200 Speaker 8: a mercy. 515 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 1: Hearing their voices and seeing the expressions on the faces 516 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 1: of these young guys hired to be the zombies, it 517 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:42,440 Speaker 1: just made it real for me. 518 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 8: It was real that there is some footage of it. 519 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 8: The clip itself is just just makes the whole thing 520 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 8: orpen up way wider. 521 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:54,440 Speaker 1: This is the part where I should be playing you 522 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: the clip. But when we asked to use the audio 523 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: from it, they quoted us a price that I assumed 524 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,080 Speaker 1: had to be a typo. You could buy a starter 525 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 1: house in Bay City for this price. For some reason, 526 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 1: this footage of the fake zombies, the only footage of them, 527 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:12,800 Speaker 1: is a hot commodity. 528 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:19,240 Speaker 8: It felt like it was a price that was quoted 529 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 8: to us with the express purpose of us not being 530 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 8: able to pay it because it was so huge. 531 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,279 Speaker 1: We asked our partners at talk House, never mind an 532 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,319 Speaker 1: iHeart for the money surprise. They said no. 533 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 8: But fortunately we're resourceful people, and so there's another way. 534 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: Always in the spirit of this story about impersonation, we 535 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 1: also recreated the only interview with the fake zombies so 536 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: you can hear little snatches of what it sounds like. 537 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,760 Speaker 1: Just as much as our lawyers said was okay without 538 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 1: us being liable for legal. 539 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,400 Speaker 8: Action, I think it's what Bill Keihowa wanted. 540 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: So let me tell you about what Nick and I 541 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,720 Speaker 1: saw when we watched the tape. After a few seconds 542 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 1: of static and fading signal, a band appears on the screen. 543 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:26,319 Speaker 1: We recognize them immediately. It's the Michigan Zombies. Is They're 544 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:29,319 Speaker 1: scattered across the sound stage of a TV show called 545 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:33,360 Speaker 1: Talent Party in Memphis, Tennessee. The host of the show 546 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 1: is George Klein, a local Memphis DJ and TV star 547 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 1: best known for being part of the Memphis Mafia, Elvis 548 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:44,000 Speaker 1: Presley's tight knit crew of handlers and advisors. Klein was 549 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 1: childhood friends with Elvis, and the King was the best 550 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:52,240 Speaker 1: man at his wedding. The Michigan Zombies are lip syned 551 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:54,720 Speaker 1: to the Real Zombies version at the time of the season. 552 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,279 Speaker 1: These zombies look calm and collected, miming along to a 553 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,279 Speaker 1: song they've been performing out on tour, and hey, at 554 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: least there are five guys on stage. Despite the fact 555 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 1: that Delta wanted its bands to keep a low profile, 556 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:24,000 Speaker 1: the Michigan Zombies couldn't resist the bright lights of Talent Party. 557 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,240 Speaker 1: As the song comes to a close, George Klein approaches 558 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,840 Speaker 1: the drummer Gary Stacaro, and the interview portion of the 559 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 1: show begins. George Klein asks toa Caro about the pop 560 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,480 Speaker 1: festival thing and whether he enjoys playing for bigger crowds, 561 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,120 Speaker 1: whether because it's his first time on TV or because 562 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:45,919 Speaker 1: he's pretending to be a British guy in a band 563 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,360 Speaker 1: that no longer exists. Stacaro seems kind of nervous and 564 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,239 Speaker 1: struggling for an answer, before settling on a kind of 565 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:56,000 Speaker 1: hippieish answer by noting that at festivals you. 566 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,560 Speaker 6: Can move around a bit. You got a little freedom. 567 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 1: I guess that's what it's all about. I guess Staco, 568 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,479 Speaker 1: the band's drummer, has been charged with the hardest task 569 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,520 Speaker 1: of any fake zombie pretending he's a member of the 570 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,880 Speaker 1: real band from England. By this point, the Michigan Zombies 571 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 1: had given up the pretense that they were all original 572 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: members from England on talent party. Stacaro is the only 573 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: one still pretending. How many people in the group are 574 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 1: from actually from England? Just yoursell for anybody else, I'm 575 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:26,000 Speaker 1: the only one. Klein then turns his attention towards rhythm 576 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: guitarist Terry Quirk, who he talks to about the band's 577 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,000 Speaker 1: magic bus, which Quirk says is. 578 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:34,120 Speaker 3: The magic wreck right now. 579 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:36,480 Speaker 1: He continues to explain that. 580 00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:39,839 Speaker 5: Traveling is a constant hassle and you always run into 581 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:42,799 Speaker 5: these kind of problems, you know, and they did seem 582 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:44,360 Speaker 5: to follow us around, especially. 583 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:47,400 Speaker 1: He explains that the bus currently has no reverse and 584 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,600 Speaker 1: has no ford usually, though exactly what he means is unclear. 585 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:55,000 Speaker 1: After Quirk then introduces each of the other band members 586 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,279 Speaker 1: one by one, he says they're off to Texas and 587 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:00,600 Speaker 1: then Canada, where apparently the band are but for two 588 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: days at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival, where 589 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 1: John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band was due to play their 590 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: first ever gig. Klein told the band what a pleasure 591 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,920 Speaker 1: it was to have them on the show, invited them 592 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,400 Speaker 1: to come back whenever they were in the area, and 593 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: then cut to a message from Doctor Pepper. The Fake 594 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,319 Speaker 1: Zombies would never make another appearance on that or any 595 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 1: other TV show. They were nearing the end of the line. 596 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:33,000 Speaker 1: Was the story about their broken down bus true? Or 597 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 1: was it just an attempt to make the band seem 598 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:38,240 Speaker 1: like scrappy underdogs to the audience who might be questioning 599 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:41,239 Speaker 1: their bono fides. Were they really on their way to 600 00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:44,080 Speaker 1: play in Toronto opening up for John Lennon at the 601 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:47,560 Speaker 1: Plastic Ono Band's first live gig, or was that just 602 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 1: something they told the host to seem more legit. And 603 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,319 Speaker 1: why do they decide that only one of the band 604 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,880 Speaker 1: members needed to be English to pull off this elaborate 605 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:59,799 Speaker 1: con These are questions that can only be answered by 606 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,879 Speaker 1: the guys who lived it, and fifty five years later, 607 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:11,440 Speaker 1: they still aren't talking. It must have been tough to 608 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:15,800 Speaker 1: be in Excel after the fake Zombies were exposed. One minute, 609 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,200 Speaker 1: you're a promising young band making a name for yourself 610 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 1: in Michigan. The next your picture is in Rolling Stone 611 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:26,320 Speaker 1: magazine and you're being called an imposter. The Michigan Zombies, 612 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,279 Speaker 1: the guys who called themselves the Zombies and pretended to 613 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,320 Speaker 1: be them, became the poster boys for Delta shady operation. 614 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:37,359 Speaker 1: Their counterparts from Texas made it out unscathed, allowing two 615 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,920 Speaker 1: of those Zombies to rise above this strange chapter in 616 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:46,840 Speaker 1: their lives and become Rock Royalty and Zezy Top. The Excels, 617 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,960 Speaker 1: Michigan's answer to the Beach Boys, from promising pop back 618 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:52,680 Speaker 1: to rock and roll con men in the course of 619 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:57,560 Speaker 1: one year, all thanks to this outrageous scheme brought to 620 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:02,800 Speaker 1: you by the good folks at Delta Promotions. Whether you 621 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:06,239 Speaker 1: see the Excels as willing participants or naive pawns and 622 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 1: Keyho and Atherton's plan depends on your perspective. Whatever you 623 00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:13,400 Speaker 1: might think of their actions, there's a silver lining at 624 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 1: the end of this story. The only true victims of 625 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,760 Speaker 1: this con were the band the other guys were trying 626 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 1: to be, and fifty five years later, the real Zombies 627 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:29,400 Speaker 1: aren't holding any grudges. On the next episode of the 628 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,880 Speaker 1: True Story of the Fake Zombies. I talked to the 629 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,160 Speaker 1: Real Zombies and find out how it feels to be 630 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,600 Speaker 1: the band that inspired one of the strangest cons in 631 00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:53,600 Speaker 1: rock and roll history. If you want to get in 632 00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,680 Speaker 1: touch about the Fake Zombies, we've set up an email address, 633 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,960 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies pod at gmail dot com. This podcast was 634 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:06,760 Speaker 1: written by Daniel Ralston. Executive produced by Ian Wheeler, Melissa 635 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:11,920 Speaker 1: Locker and Daniel Ralston. Produced by Anna McClain and Nick Dawson. Score, 636 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:16,360 Speaker 1: original music and additional audio engineering by Robin Hatch. Additional 637 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:20,280 Speaker 1: production support from Cooper Malt in Los Angeles. The Fake 638 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:26,120 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies are Josh Agren, Brian mcalese, and Joey Devine. 639 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,560 Speaker 1: The True Story of the Fake Zombies is a production 640 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:34,719 Speaker 1: of iHeart Podcasts, Talk House and Nevermind Media. For more 641 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:39,440 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeart Podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 642 00:41:39,800 --> 00:42:03,319 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.