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 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: of iHeart Podcasts, Talk House and never Mind Media. In 3 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:17,639 Speaker 1: my search for the story of the zombies that toured 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: America back in nineteen sixty nine, I stumbled upon two 5 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: rock legends. In episode four, we explored the half of 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: the Fake Zombies you might already know Frank Beard and 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: Dusty Hill. Those two guys went on to fame and 8 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: fortune and zz top and they never looked back. It 9 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: wasn't until I discovered Frank and Dusty's involvement in the 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies decades later that they even acknowledged it. I 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: got an email from Dusty Hill in twenty sixteen. He 12 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: confirmed that the Fake Zombies two are happened, but he 13 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: left out the details. It was the sixties man who 14 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: was Ali's saying forever a mystery that Dusty Hill. As 15 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: for Frank Beard, He's never commented on his time in 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: the original Zombies, and trust me. 17 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 2: I've asked callous times. 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: There are documentaries, concert films, fan made tributes, and about 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: a dozen biographies where you can learn endlessly about how 20 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: Billy Gibbons, along with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, went 21 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: from Texas bar band to MTV darlings over the course 22 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: of their fifty plus years together, and were eventually inducted 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Frank and 24 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: Dusty are part of the fabric of American music. 25 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 2: And they always will be. Their sound heavy as hell, 26 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 2: but always locked into the groove. 27 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: Their partnership with Billy Gibbons is the sound of Texas. 28 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: Frank and Dusty went on to live the kind of 29 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: lives they could only have dreamed about back in nineteen 30 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: sixty nine. They put in the work, they paid their dues, 31 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: and they emerged from the shadows of the Fake Zombies 32 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: as music legends. 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 2: But there were four guys on that tour in nineteen 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 2: sixty nine. 35 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: And while that happy ending came for Frank and Dusty, 36 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 1: there were two guys on that trip who didn't reach 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: the same kind of rock and roll immortality. And it's 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,960 Speaker 1: their story too. This episode is dedicated to Seed Meta 39 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: and Mark Ramsey, the other two. This is the true 40 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: story of the Fake Zombies. I'm Daniel Lolston. Looking at 41 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: the few photos of the fake Zombies that exist, it's 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: hard not to notice Seb Meta. He just stands out. 43 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: It's not just the male model cheekbones or his Rod 44 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: Stewart in a Texas Tornado haircut. Seb had an intense, 45 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: sicy stare, the kind that you can imagine would have 46 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: melted hearts, the kind of look you would need to 47 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: convince a room full of thousands of screaming music fans 48 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: that maybe you aren't just some kid from Fort Worth, Texas, 49 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: but a bona fide British rock star. 50 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 2: What your. 51 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: Sebizel has been? The fake zombie? I wanted to know 52 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,959 Speaker 1: better for years. He was just the lead guitarist who 53 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: looked the part, and maybe the guy who put the 54 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: fake zombies together. But it turns out by the time 55 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: Seb formed the band with Frank Dusty and Mark Ramsey, 56 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: he wasn't just a pretty face. He was already famous, 57 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: at least in Texas. 58 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 3: She when I met in junior high school a little 59 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 3: band together and started, you know, playing some gigs, and 60 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 3: then that kind of solidified and got better, and we 61 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 3: call ourselves a gentleman at that point. 62 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 2: That's Tim Justice, the drummer and the gentleman. 63 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: Seb metters high school band and that song you're hearing 64 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: was co written by Seb when he was just sixteen 65 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: years old, and that scorching guitar solo that sounds way 66 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: ahead of its time for nineteen sixty six, that's him. 67 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: It's a Crying Shame is one of those songs that 68 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: gets garage rock Officionado is all hot and bothered. It's 69 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: been featured on compilations and written about online by people 70 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: who obsess over finding hidden gems from the nineteen sixties. 71 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: Seebe had the looks and a distinctive guitar style, and 72 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: by the time he could drive, he had a hit 73 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: record time when most bands were trying to sound melodic 74 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: and broadly appealing, the gentlemen weren't. They followed Sebe's rebellious lead. 75 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 3: We wanted to be brash and in your face. 76 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: According to Tim, it was Sebe who really pushed the 77 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: gentleman's sound forward, even as a teenager. He was an innovator. 78 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,559 Speaker 3: You know, I remember when we recorded It's a Crime Shame. 79 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 3: Sebe had punched two holes through these twelve minute speakers 80 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 3: on his box super Beetle, and he was sticking in 81 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 3: the neck of his guitar, the head and the neck 82 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 3: into the holes to create the feedback. You know, a 83 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 3: lot of people talk about the feedback that song has 84 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 3: because he was he I think because it was what 85 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 3: they call it. 86 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: There's no question that it's a crime Shamee rips and 87 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: the fact that Sebe was jamming his guitar into his amp, 88 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: a move that sounds more like Kurt Cobain and something 89 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 1: from nineteen sixty six proves he was thinking about music 90 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,239 Speaker 1: a little differently than anyone else. 91 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 2: Seb let his guitar do the talking. 92 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 3: He didn't really show off very much. He just liked 93 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 3: to play any Sea was reclusive for the most part. 94 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: He may have been reclusive off stage, but he loved 95 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: playing live. His teenage years were spent playing for increasingly 96 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: large crowds. Tim and Seebe's band, The Gentleman, wore matching 97 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: suits and became the go to garage band for high 98 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: school dances and teen nightclub gigs in the Dallas area. 99 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: I'm talking to somebody who was there with Seb before 100 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: the fake Zombies, So I want to know about Seed 101 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: the guy, not just Seb. 102 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 2: The would be rock star. 103 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 3: Now, he has some family issues as folks broke up. 104 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 3: They split up, and that always bothered in my fag 105 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 3: and his father didn't like the whole rock and roll scene. 106 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 3: He he was a doctor. Matter of fact. 107 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: Like a lot of young rockers in the sixties, Seve's 108 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,799 Speaker 1: rebellion came with a price. It can't be stressed enough. 109 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: This was the time when the generational divide between parents 110 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: and their kids was rapidly expanding. 111 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 3: He actually sent Seeds off to military school or a 112 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 3: semester or two. We got another fellow to play at 113 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 3: his place, and then he came back and we picked 114 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 3: up again. 115 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: When Seb returned from military school, it was on for 116 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: the gentleman. He didn't care what his family or anyone 117 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: else in Texas thought of his musical ambitions. 118 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 3: We were on a mission and we really didn't care 119 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 3: what a bunch of dumb cowboys thought. She went on. No, 120 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 3: he didn't shop. I remember going to do his house 121 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 3: at one point. He had the black Jeff Beck here 122 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 3: and a lot of glam sequence and you know, things 123 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 3: going on. He definite when he stood out at that point. 124 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: Sebe's distinctive style continued into the fake Zombies and beyond. 125 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: There's not a single photo of him where he isn't 126 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: dressed in rock and roll regalia. Seb is what you 127 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: would call a lifer, a musical innovator who followed where 128 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: his guitar led him from the gentleman to the fake Zombies, 129 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: and right through the nineteen seventies he continued to play loud, 130 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: fast Texas blues with a British psych influence. Steve's guitar 131 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: got him out of Texas. His post Zombies band, The 132 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: were Wolves, got signed by Andrew Louke Oldham, the Rolling 133 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: Stones manager. They even cut a record in New York 134 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: City in nineteen seventy seven, and Sebe's guitar work remained 135 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: next level, but the were Wolves never hit. In photos 136 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: of seb from seventy seven, he still looked the part. 137 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: The hair is still wild and the outfits are still outrageous, 138 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: but his face is thin and his eyes are sunken 139 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: and hollowed. Seed broke free and lived hard. 140 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 3: She'd always smoked. He always smoked camel regulars. And that's, 141 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 3: you know, next to pickyuns, picky ews you can get 142 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 3: in New Orleans. Then thereabout as possible. 143 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 2: And then he got sick. 144 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 3: His father, you know, being a doctor, but cooking tough. 145 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 3: Tyler for some reason, Tyler Texas, they did exploratory surgery 146 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 3: on him and and just closed it back up because 147 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 3: he was riddled with cancer. He just died pretty quickly, 148 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 3: which was a blessing. 149 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 2: I guess. 150 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: Se passed away of complications from cancer on January twenty fourth, 151 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. He was just thirty years old. 152 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 4: The Summus, Yeah, at last, this guy is own were casting. 153 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 5: One brings a roscot and. 154 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 3: She watches. 155 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: One night, Tim was up late googling his old friend Steve, 156 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: and he came across my story on the fake zombies. 157 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: It reminded him that they'd actually talked about it a 158 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: long time ago. 159 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 3: Of course at the time, I was, you know, really 160 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 3: wasn't thinking that much about you know, what occurred. But 161 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 3: he just mentioned that he had a gig where they 162 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 3: essentially you know, out on the road, and I think 163 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 3: it in Canada. He said, you know that they met 164 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 3: with a mixed response that way. A lot of a 165 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 3: lot of people were kind of pissed about going to 166 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 3: going to see a band that was faking and being 167 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 3: another band. And that was That was actually the last 168 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 3: I saw Feet before he died. 169 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: When Seed Meta passed away in nineteen eight I was 170 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: a year old by the time the words fake zombies 171 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: entered my world. In twenty fourteen. He'd been gone for 172 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: thirty four years. It wasn't until twenty twenty three that 173 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: I found Tim, Sebe's old friend and bandmate from The Gentleman. 174 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: Outside of what he recounted to Tim, I'll never know 175 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: how Sebe felt about being in the Fake Zombies, what 176 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: it was like watching two of your former bandmates go 177 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: on to a lifetime of fame and fortunes. But Seb 178 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: left behind some incredible music. It's just waiting to be rediscovered. 179 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: You can hear his innovation and rebellious spirit in those 180 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 1: early Gentleman records and in his post Zombies band, The Werewolves, 181 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: who were still making a name for themselves when Sebe 182 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: got sick. If Seb had lived past nineteen eighty, I 183 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: have no doubt he would have continued to make incredible 184 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: music and maybe even joined Dusty and Frank and the 185 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: pantheon of Texas blues legends. A guitar god gone too soon. 186 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: But all we have are those faded photographs and garage 187 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: rock records to remember him by, and a story from 188 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen sixty nine, when see Meta and 189 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: his friends from. 190 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 2: Texas hit the road. 191 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: I actually talked to a Fake Zombie back in twenty sixteen, 192 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: Mark Ramsey. Mark was the youngest guy in the group, 193 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: the baby faced rhythm guitarist along for the ride of 194 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: his life. Mark lived a whole life. In between his 195 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: time in the Original Zombies with Frank, Dusty and Siebe 196 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: and our first phone call. He left the life of 197 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: a touring rock and roller behind and became a math 198 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: teacher back in Grand Prairie, Texas. Getting Mark to tell 199 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: me about his time in the Fake Zombies was always 200 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: a challenge. It had been almost fifty years, and Mark 201 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: had clearly spent those five decades looking back on the 202 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: Fake Zombies with a mix of wonder and regret. I 203 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: knew from the very beginning that this wasn't necessarily a 204 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:28,319 Speaker 1: time in Mark's life that. 205 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 2: He enjoyed revisiting. 206 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: When I asked about the details the cities, sites and 207 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: sounds of the Fake Zombies, he wanted to talk about 208 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: the guitars he used on the tour, not the tour itself. 209 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 1: It went on like that for months, over the phone 210 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: and an emails, Mark picked and chose what he wanted 211 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,199 Speaker 1: to share about the Fake Zombies. He sent me a 212 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,959 Speaker 1: scan of a postcard he'd written to his then girlfriend Vicki. 213 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: It says he and his band had just played somewhere 214 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: in the Canadian Rockies. He enclosed Foes Roos too of 215 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: a beaded, fringed suede jacket he bought Vicki at a 216 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: roadside stand somewhere in the Great Plains. These were Marks 217 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:14,080 Speaker 1: memories of the fake Zombies. But occasionally, late at night 218 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: he send me emails with hazy details and a little 219 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: attitude in response to my questions, like when I rather 220 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: callously asked him if he was at all embarrassed by 221 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: the fake zombies. 222 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 6: It might have been embarrassing if we tried to fake 223 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 6: the zombies sound. 224 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: We didn't. 225 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 6: We had our own sound based on Dallas blues and rock. 226 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 6: I was proud of what we accomplished. The Delta people 227 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 6: told us they had to right to tours the Zombies, 228 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 6: so I really didn't worry about it. 229 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: Mark insisted that at no point were he and his 230 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: bandmates trying to pass themselves off as the zombies. Delta 231 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: promotions claimed to be legit. Mark always wanted to be 232 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: in a touring band and this was his big chance. 233 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 6: I didn't look at it as anything more than a 234 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,800 Speaker 6: chance to have some fun, hang out with some cool 235 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 6: guys some rock songs, go somewhere outside this Hillbillyville, and 236 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 6: earn a little money. 237 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: Naturally, Mark tended to focus on the high points, like 238 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: the fake Zombie show in Chicago, where he said they 239 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: blew the roof off the place. 240 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 6: That not everything just went well. I remember a lot 241 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 6: of people wanting to come backstage, and I remember a 242 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 6: lot of people hadn't heard that kind of music. Texas blues, 243 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 6: that really hard blues. 244 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: Compared to the other guys, Mark was just a kid 245 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: in this rock and roll world, he said. The business 246 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: side of things was handled by the other guys. I'm 247 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: still not sure if he genuinely didn't know which of 248 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: his band mates was the point person, or if he 249 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: was just covering for them. 250 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 3: You know. 251 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 6: I wonder if it was Seed Mutter because all the 252 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 6: musical arrangements were his, but it might have been Dusty 253 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 6: Hill or Frank Beard. I don't know for sure, and 254 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 6: I'm sure no one ever told me. 255 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: There were a few details Mark did remember, like the 256 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: press photo for the original Zombies, the one that both 257 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: Gary Johnson and I found and started this odyssey that. 258 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 6: Photo is interesting. You'll notice both Dusty and Frank are 259 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 6: using stage names De Cruz and Chris Page, so it's 260 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 6: almost like they knew something was wrong here and didn't 261 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 6: use the real names. Seb signed his real name because, 262 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 6: like me, he probably didn't think we were doing anything wrong. 263 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: That's how it was between Mark and I for months. 264 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: I'd ask questions and he'd filled me in on the 265 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: details he could remember, like the day he was asked 266 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: to join the band. 267 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 6: Frank was the one who approached me. On the day 268 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 6: they asked me to join the band. All three came 269 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 6: over to my house in Grand Prairie. We walked down 270 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 6: the street and talked about it. I remember all three 271 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 6: being there. 272 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: Mark remembered the tour being less about trying to be 273 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: the Zombies and more about honing an original sound. In fact, 274 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: they didn't even learn a full set of zombie songs. 275 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 6: Our live set was pretty good, but we only tried 276 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 6: to cover a few zombie songs. Now I understand why 277 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 6: Dusty and Seb wanted to play blues. They were just 278 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 6: practicing for the next level. They didn't care about the 279 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 6: zombie songs. 280 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: I felt like Mark and I were getting along pretty well, 281 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 1: well enough that he agreed to let me come visit 282 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: him in Grand Prairie, Texas. Then, the night before I 283 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,639 Speaker 1: was supposed to fly out to see him, I received 284 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: this email at one in. 285 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 6: The morning, Daniel, I've changed my mind. A personal face 286 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 6: to face visit would require one thousand dollars paid in advance, 287 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 6: writing to each other and sharing digital photographs is free. 288 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: From that point on, Mark's responses grew shorter and colder. 289 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: I asked if he kept in contact with his old bandmates. 290 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: After the Fake Zombies'. 291 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 6: Tour, Frank and Dusty moved to Houston, Texas and met 292 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 6: up with Billy Gibbons. It wasn't long before Zez Todd 293 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 6: was formed Sebe started playing with the Werewolves. We went 294 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 6: our separate ways. 295 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,119 Speaker 1: It went on like that for a few months. My 296 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: story came out and Mark and I lost touch. After 297 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: a while, I heard from Mark one more time after that. 298 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: He reflected on his time in the Fake Zombies, now 299 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: that the world knew his story, at least the parts 300 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: he wanted to share. 301 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 6: We had some good songs, I know. We blew some 302 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 6: folks away from time to time. Were we perfect? No, 303 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 6: and we weren't the Zombies. We were a blues rock 304 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 6: band from Texas, a band with plenty of good looks 305 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 6: better than the original Zombies. What we didn't leave behind 306 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 6: was a musical history. 307 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 3: Of our own. 308 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 6: I think of that quite often, but that was long ago, 309 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 6: and I have my memories of the Texas Fake Zombies. 310 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 6: Most of the memories are dear to my heart. But 311 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:44,640 Speaker 6: I went on and followed a different path. Sometimes I'm 312 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 6: confused about what happened. Perhaps they chose me just because 313 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 6: the way I looked. 314 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 2: I don't know. 315 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 6: I hope that I contributed musically. I know I tried to. 316 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 6: And those guitars, all those great vintage guitars and I've lost, 317 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 6: have all been replaced with better models. So when the 318 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 6: moon is full, don't think that I won't crank it 319 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 6: up and let it rip with high volume and effect. 320 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: Mark couldn't or wouldn't tell me everything, and when he 321 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: passed away in twenty seventeen, I assumed that door was 322 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 1: closed forever. I never know why Mark stopped performing despite 323 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: his lifelong obsession with playing guitar, or how he felt 324 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: about his former bandmates and the Fake Zombies going on 325 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:43,199 Speaker 1: to become rock legends in Texas I wonder how he 326 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: felt seeing Frank and Dusty succeed at the thing he 327 00:19:46,040 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 1: loved a few times during our conversations, Mark mentioned his 328 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: kid brother, Brent Ramsey. He told me his brother Brent 329 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: worked in TV in film. He told me that during 330 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: some rough years after the Fake Zombies tour, his brother 331 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: Brent helped him get his life together. When I reached 332 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 1: out to Brent, seven years after I last spoke to Mark, 333 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: he was more than willing to give me some perspective 334 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,160 Speaker 1: on his brother and his brother's time in the Fake Zombies. 335 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 5: Yeah, Mark Ramsey was my brother. We were very close. 336 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,880 Speaker 1: Brent watched his big brother Mark grow up. They were 337 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: totally inseparable back in Grand Prairie, Texas. 338 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 5: We were only two years apart in age, but we 339 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 5: were just one year apart in education going to schools. 340 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 5: And that had to do with my father, Carl Ramsey, 341 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 5: not wanting to drive us to two different schools, so 342 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 5: he made me start school when I was five so 343 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 5: I would be one year behind Mark. 344 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: Brent left Texas eventually for his work in TV, but 345 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: he and Mark were side by side in Grand Prairie 346 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,879 Speaker 1: through their teenage years. Ended the early twenties, so it 347 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: kept us. 348 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 5: Very close, even though we should have been a couple 349 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 5: of years apart. So he graduated from high school in 350 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 5: sixty eight and I graduated in sixty nine, so roughly 351 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 5: fifty five years ago or so. 352 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: According to Brent, Grand Prairie was the kind of town 353 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: where it paid to have an older brother in your corner. 354 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 5: Grand Prairie was also known as Thug City, USA, is 355 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 5: a really rough town for guys. It was a lot 356 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 5: of fist fighting, and fist fighting was a ride of passage, 357 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 5: and there were places people would meet and fight, and 358 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 5: you were generally only as tough as your older brother 359 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 5: was tough. So I had to allow on Mark to 360 00:21:59,080 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 5: bail me out a lot. 361 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: When they weren't fighting on the mean streets of Thug City, 362 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: Mark and Brent would hop in their dad's nineteen sixty 363 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 1: corvet and headed Dallas or Fort Worth, any place that 364 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,200 Speaker 1: wasn't Grand Prairie in search of the music they loved 365 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: back then. 366 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 5: We would go to Fort Worth, would go Dallas, and 367 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,399 Speaker 5: we would club. They had team clubs, you know, they 368 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 5: had tremendous team clubs. And I mean that's really how 369 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 5: Mark and his music and everything got going. 370 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 1: One of their favorite spots was a club in Fort 371 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: Worth called the Cellar. They weren't old enough to get in, 372 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: but they always found a way. 373 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 5: So the Cellar, you'd be twenty one to give you 374 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 5: because it was a strip joint. It wasn't like they 375 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 5: had hired strippers. It was like chicks would just get 376 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 5: up hot as shit and start taking off their clothes 377 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 5: and we would sneak in with groups of taller and 378 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 5: bigger and stronger, older looking guys. We would sometimes just 379 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 5: going to see if we could sneak in, but our 380 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 5: success rate was high enough and we would continue to 381 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:55,120 Speaker 5: go there. 382 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 2: The Cellar was a real sixty. 383 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 5: Scene, so it was just colos on the floor. It 384 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 5: was just one of these casual kind of hookah smoking 385 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 5: looking joints, you know, and you would sit on there 386 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 5: and then there was a band always play and then 387 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 5: the girls would get up and stripped. 388 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: One night, while watching girls dance, the band on stage 389 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: caught their attention. 390 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 5: The band that was playing that night was the American 391 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 5: Blues Band, and these were some rocking, blonde haired dudes 392 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 5: who had dyed their hair blue. And it was Rocky Hill, 393 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 5: Dusty Hill and Frank. 394 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: Beard, Dusty, Frank and Rocky made an impression on the 395 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: Ramsey Brothers. They'd seen a million bands play, but this 396 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: time Mark and Brent felt compelled to chat up American blues. 397 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 2: After their show at the Cellar, we say. 398 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 5: And close the bar down. That night, we were out 399 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 5: on the street and here comes the band and the 400 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 5: manager meets them out there on the sidewalk. If we're 401 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 5: standing just outside, we're like right there with them. I basically, hey, man, 402 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 5: you guys were awesome. Banks could show, you know, we'd 403 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 5: do a great time, you know. And so here comes 404 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,320 Speaker 5: their manager and he kills off twenty five dollars each. 405 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 2: Man. 406 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 5: I'll never forget it, right, I mean paid each one 407 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 5: of the band twenty five bucks. 408 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 7: Right, I went, you know, you guys are awesome. They're 409 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 7: making some money here too, that's awesome. What are you 410 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 7: guys doing where you guys live? And they go, oh, 411 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 7: we live in Irving And I'm like, well, you know, 412 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 7: we live in Grand Prairie, said, what are you doing tomorrow? 413 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,159 Speaker 5: You guys will get together or something, you know. 414 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: So what do a bunch of long haired rockers do 415 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,679 Speaker 1: when they hang out for the first time? Well, it 416 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: was still Texas. 417 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 5: He goes, you like playing football, So we went over 418 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 5: to I want to say's Frank's house. But anyway, they 419 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 5: had a giant front yard and we played touch football 420 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:42,600 Speaker 5: out in their yard. And that's how this is how 421 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,120 Speaker 5: we all got together. I brought my brother and introduced 422 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 5: him there, and they had the blue ass hair and 423 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 5: we're out there. You know, people drive by and hok 424 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 5: and shoot us the finger and you know it was 425 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,160 Speaker 5: not safety and along haired kid in that part. 426 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: Of the country, with that game of touch football, the 427 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: seeds of the fake zombies were so. Mark Ramsey was 428 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: a pretty straight laced kid growing up straight a's student government. 429 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,919 Speaker 1: Brent says their extremely strict father was responsible for that. 430 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 5: You know, he grew up making us get crew cuts 431 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 5: and ship wear Madras shirts with that butch wax front 432 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 5: side and burr on the back. He was with these 433 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,919 Speaker 5: guys like, this house is not a democracy, you know, 434 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 5: this house is whatever I say, it's my way or 435 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 5: the highway. 436 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: Like his future bandmates, seebe Mark's dad was less than 437 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: thrilled when he started sporting long hair in his teens. 438 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 5: So he was pretty rough. Oh, my brother, because my 439 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 5: brother wanted that long hair. Early. We're all dead. I 440 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 5: mean the beach boy like was long hair in sixty 441 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 5: four and five, right, so we're already growing our hair 442 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 5: that moll. My dad wasn't exactly going off that program. 443 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: This wasn't just a disappointed dad. It got physical. Brent 444 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: did his best to stay out of the way. 445 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 5: He and my brother had some fucking knockout fights. My 446 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 5: dad was rough. Yeah, he'd take it to my brother 447 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,640 Speaker 5: once in a while. My brother stood up for himself 448 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 5: against my dad, and I did not because I saw 449 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 5: him bad. It turned out for Mark. You know, my 450 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 5: dad was a big ass. He was a big, strong marine. 451 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 5: He could be in a marine and he had these 452 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 5: pop out of forearms. 453 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: Brent's description of his dad might have you picturing some 454 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: Texas bruiser, an oil man or contractor. That's not exactly right. 455 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 1: He was a hairdresser. 456 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 5: He wasn't just a fucking hairdresser. He was a lead 457 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 5: hairdresser in the United States. He was on the National 458 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 5: Hair Designing Committee. If you ever wonder our big hair 459 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 5: came from in Texas. 460 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: That was their dad, Carl Ramsey. Mark was getting into 461 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 1: music and he and his old man didn't see eyed 462 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: eye on anything, but Brent says they did have one 463 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: thing in common. 464 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,360 Speaker 5: It was just a ladies man got of control. They 465 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 5: both were. My brother and my dad were. We called 466 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,679 Speaker 5: it the curse, you know that the way the ladies 467 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 5: would come on. We said it was dad's fault. He 468 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,159 Speaker 5: really had a lot of side hustle going. So it 469 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,959 Speaker 5: was never really a beautiful, happy home environment when we 470 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 5: were kids, because my mom was always chasing him down, 471 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 5: you know, and it was uncomfortable. 472 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,960 Speaker 1: After years of infidelity, Mark and Brent's parents got divorced 473 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty six and the boys went to live 474 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:44,400 Speaker 1: with their mother. Without their dad around, Mark and Brent 475 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:45,680 Speaker 1: had the freedom they always wanted. 476 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 5: When my mother and dad divorced, my brother and I 477 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 5: did whatever the fuck we wanted to, and my mom 478 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,400 Speaker 5: was helpless, and it wasn't pretty in there. It wasn't 479 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,240 Speaker 5: like a oh yes, mam. We weren't baver cleaver, you know. 480 00:27:57,359 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 5: And those days we'd be gone for three days at 481 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 5: a time. Sometimes, you know, mom is a streak out 482 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 5: where you've been. Well, one night we were just playing 483 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 5: space and we just all got up and drove to 484 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 5: Mexico to get a beer. I mean, that's kind of 485 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 5: shit we were doing back then, just and turned around 486 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 5: and some wherever the fuck we went, you know, when 487 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 5: those border towns told up, got some beers and drove back. 488 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 5: You know. 489 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 1: Mark no longer had to worry about his dad's opinions 490 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: on his hair or who he hung out with, so 491 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: he started his own band at the age of sixteen. 492 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 5: Of course, rock and roll picked on real quick around town. 493 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 5: It would be like Saturday nights at the YMCA, one 494 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 5: of those old school downtown movie theaters would have I'm 495 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,600 Speaker 5: trying to help you picture it. It was go Go night, 496 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,200 Speaker 5: you know. So they had go Go dancers on each 497 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 5: end of the stage, you know, and they had bands 498 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 5: they'd had. The Battle of the bands was kind of 499 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,280 Speaker 5: like the genre that came on strong when we were 500 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 5: young high schools. 501 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 2: Right. 502 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: Mark put together a group with a very sixties name, 503 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: his Prism. 504 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 5: So Mark hooked up with Brad Lloyd, tremendous, tremendous guitar player, 505 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 5: and Mark and I both had the same girlfriend for 506 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 5: a while. Her name was Tina. She was their lead singer, 507 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 5: and she said at Grace slig she was awesome. And 508 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 5: then they had a drummer who they made fun of 509 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 5: all the time. His name was Ricky and he was cold. 510 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 5: But the greatest night of Jakunda's Prism was in Fort Worth, 511 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 5: Texas at the National Guard Armor Mark Brad, Tina and 512 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 5: Ricky and the Chahunda's Prism. We're in this Battle of 513 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 5: the base and they won the Battle of the bands. 514 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: That victory came with a seriously great prize. They got 515 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: to play the opening slot on a bill with two 516 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: other bands. 517 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 5: The warm up band was the Box Tops. You know what, 518 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 5: maybe she wrote me a letter. 519 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: The Box Tops were already in national wearing apps with 520 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: a bona fide hit song in the letter, and their 521 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 1: leader Alex Children we'll go on to form Big Stock, 522 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: arguably the most important influence on alternative and indie rock 523 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: music as we know it. 524 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 2: But the Box Tops were just the opener. 525 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: The real prize for Jacunda's Prism was opening for the headliner, 526 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,480 Speaker 1: the band from California just starting to catch on nationally 527 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: and coming to Texas for the first time. 528 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 5: The band band was The Doors, So you got to 529 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 5: play with the Box Tops and the Doors. You know, dude, 530 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 5: I was there and it was like a square stage 531 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 5: out in the middle of a former armory, you know, 532 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 5: big open space, and the stage was only a couple 533 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 5: of feet high, and the Doors started playing something like 534 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 5: Horse Latitudes and Good Done, and you know, it's just 535 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 5: going on for a while, and then I try to 536 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 5: remember wrap beside me man is the lead singers, Jim Morris, 537 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 5: and he's in those black leathers, and he's like, oh, 538 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 5: fucked up. You know, I'm fun fifteen and he's there's 539 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 5: Jim Morrison and he's not quite They're not a legendary yet, 540 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 5: they're just bands. There's maybe five hundred people there and 541 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 5: that was kind of the greatest knowedge to come to 542 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 5: his prison. 543 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: That was the high point for Marx's high school band. 544 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: He opened for the Doors before they were big. That 545 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 1: would have been Mark's musical claim to fame. But not 546 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: long after the offer came to go on the road 547 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: as the Zombies. 548 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 5: Frank and Dusty and Rocky Hill, Dusty's older brother came 549 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 5: back from a gig and we went to the airport 550 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,719 Speaker 5: to meet him. Rocky had apparently had a problem with 551 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 5: them and was quitting the band, and I believe in 552 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:42,840 Speaker 5: he might have called Mark. 553 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: Mark and Frank Beard had become close in the years 554 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: between the Touch Football game and the start of that 555 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:50,880 Speaker 1: Zombies tour, Frank. 556 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 5: Would come to our house and Mark would go to theirs, 557 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 5: you know whatever. They had a better relationship going. You know, 558 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 5: I just put the damn thing together there. 559 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,800 Speaker 2: Brent was always hyping up his big brother. 560 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: He would continue to have a hand in getting Marked 561 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: together with other musicians. It says a lot about Brent 562 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,240 Speaker 1: that he encouraged his brother to start a band with Frank, 563 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: who Brent, let's just say, wasn't a huge fan of. 564 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 5: About that same time, I think was about when Frank 565 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 5: slept with my wife. He became less than a superstar 566 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,000 Speaker 5: to meet around that time. You know, it's painful. I 567 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 5: was still a teenager. You know, my wife was effing 568 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 5: around with Frank Beard. But you know, it wasn't like 569 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 5: anybody had anything except as you know, time to Bob 570 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 5: and Hop. Anyway, that was just, oh, by the way, 571 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 5: that's kind of how I cut myself out of the scene. 572 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 2: For a while. 573 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 1: We reached out to Frank Beard through his longtime publicist, 574 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: Bob Merriless. Bob is a music industry legend. He's a 575 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 1: no bullshit kind of guy. Frank has never commented on 576 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: the Fake Zombies, and he told us, don't get your 577 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,720 Speaker 1: hopes up. Bob Marless told us Frank Beard hasn't returned 578 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: an email in twelve years. Ramsey's claims remain unconfirmed. Despite 579 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: Brent's feelings towards the guy sleeping with his wife, he 580 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 1: still accompanied Mark when Frank and Dusty came calling. 581 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 5: We went to the airport Mark and I to meet them, 582 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 5: and they came off the plane. My recollection is that 583 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 5: Rocky had a drug problem so bad that he couldn't 584 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 5: go on. If you had a drug problem so bad 585 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 5: that you couldn't go on in this time of everyone 586 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 5: having a drug problem, you really had a fucking drug 587 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 5: problem right, because everyone was doing drugs right and everyone 588 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 5: was finding them. So Rocky might have been the first 589 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,520 Speaker 5: time I ever heard of someone burning out on you. 590 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: With Rocky Hill out of commission, Frank and Dusty were 591 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,840 Speaker 1: looking for a replacement guitarist, so they asked. 592 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 2: Mark to join the bank. 593 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,720 Speaker 1: Frank is pretty sure Mark ended up in the Fake 594 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: Zombies because of hot shot guitarist Seed Metter, who recruited 595 00:33:58,280 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: the other three into the Delta promotions of it. 596 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 2: I want to. 597 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 5: Say Seb asked Mark to ask them because Sebe had 598 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 5: hooked up with these guys in Michigan. 599 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 2: Brent knew Sebe too. 600 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: He'd seen the gentleman play around Texas and high school, 601 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,360 Speaker 1: and he wasn't surprised that his brother went along with 602 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:17,800 Speaker 1: the scheme. 603 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 2: Seve was that good. 604 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 5: Seve had been in so many bands at that time 605 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,400 Speaker 5: because he was such a good guitar player and he 606 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,920 Speaker 5: had he played that white, fine beat, and he had 607 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 5: that great goth look and he just had it all 608 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 5: going on. I think everyone wanted him in their fan 609 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:34,640 Speaker 5: because it was just instant crap. I mean, I can 610 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 5: remember him coming to our high school and play and 611 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 5: was just like, you know, he was just out of 612 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,880 Speaker 5: control good and he just had the look, you know. 613 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:45,880 Speaker 5: So I believe he recruited all of them. Mark had 614 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 5: become Sebe's friend and had been playing with Seb as 615 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:51,920 Speaker 5: a you know once come over was jammed, you know, 616 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:52,840 Speaker 5: jam Sessions. 617 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,520 Speaker 1: Brant has always known that Mark's time on the road 618 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 1: back in sixty nine with the best guitarists in Dallas, 619 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:04,479 Speaker 1: Seed Metter, the two guys who went on to form 620 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:08,520 Speaker 1: ZZ Talk, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill, made his brother 621 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: a legend. Brent saw his friends go from touch football 622 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 1: games to playing the biggest stages in the world. But 623 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,160 Speaker 1: before that, Frank and Dusty were in a band with 624 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: his cool older brother. I'm after some of the details 625 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,120 Speaker 1: Mark didn't share, so I asked Brent if he knows 626 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 1: why Frank and Dusty used aliases while his brother and 627 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,760 Speaker 1: Seb stuck to their real names and the promotional photos. 628 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 5: You know, Frank was in trouble with the law and 629 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:44,360 Speaker 5: he couldn't leave town because he had he was on probation. 630 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,760 Speaker 1: Well, it's nice to picture four guys in their teens 631 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,280 Speaker 1: in early twenties setting out for adventure on the road. 632 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:54,600 Speaker 1: The reality is drugs played a pretty big role in 633 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: all this. 634 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:56,800 Speaker 2: Nobody was hiding it. 635 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,400 Speaker 1: Even Gary, the rock and roll historian in his friends 636 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:01,760 Speaker 1: were taking some heavy stuff. 637 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,960 Speaker 5: Most everyone in my group was high, either from smoking 638 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 5: marijuana or dropping acid or mescaline. 639 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 1: Not to come off like a prude, but this story 640 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: is full of drugs. This really was the era of experimentation. 641 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 1: Even the most straight laced people I've come across in 642 00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:23,239 Speaker 1: search of the fake zombies, I've talked about taking psychedelics, uppers, downers, 643 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 1: and a lot of wheat. The Texas zombies were no exception. 644 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 1: Like Dusty Hill told me, it was the sixties, man, Danny, 645 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:31,399 Speaker 1: I have. 646 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,120 Speaker 5: To remember, there were not a whole lot of long 647 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,920 Speaker 5: haired people, so when you saw another long haired person, 648 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 5: you generally went, hey, what's up man? You won't go 649 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,919 Speaker 5: smoke adobie or something? Right, It was always yeah, yeah, sure, 650 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,720 Speaker 5: and you go smoke. And then that's how friendships developed, 651 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 5: was over pot and pot deals and could you score 652 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:52,120 Speaker 5: me lit? Those were how the conversations developed a lot. 653 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 1: The casual drug use and the fake zombies wasn't limited 654 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,720 Speaker 1: to wheat. They weren't into the really hard stuff like heroin. 655 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:00,600 Speaker 1: They did share needles. 656 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:07,520 Speaker 4: Well, it ended up killing him. Was that he you know, 657 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 4: he developed hepatitis. AD saved for that trip. It's why 658 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:13,839 Speaker 4: he quit. It was why he had come home. It's 659 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,320 Speaker 4: too sick to gone. I mean I know that the 660 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 4: managers I guest shut. 661 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:20,839 Speaker 5: It down at some point, but when he came home 662 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:26,239 Speaker 5: he was pretty sick from hepatitis. They were sharing needles. 663 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:29,319 Speaker 5: They would do B twelve. Sometimes they would shoot B 664 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,840 Speaker 5: twelve just for the fun of it, but they you know, 665 00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 5: that's how you get hepatitis. 666 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,799 Speaker 1: Mark returned to Texas with three strains of hepatitis. But 667 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,319 Speaker 1: it wasn't just a physical toll. The tour took on Mark. 668 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,040 Speaker 1: Something changed in him. He wasn't the same playful, outgoing 669 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,040 Speaker 1: kid when he returned to Grand Prairie. The old Mark 670 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,520 Speaker 1: was fading away. 671 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 5: Mark was two different people. There was the Mark during 672 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 5: those years of the high school rock and roll post years, 673 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,440 Speaker 5: and then I drug Mark aroundtown, made him go to 674 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,520 Speaker 5: college get a degrade because he just didn't have anything 675 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:09,319 Speaker 5: going on. And then he became that school teacher Mark, 676 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:11,280 Speaker 5: and he was an awesome school teacher, but he also 677 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:13,440 Speaker 5: became super reclusive. 678 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:13,799 Speaker 3: You know. 679 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,719 Speaker 5: He was like Howard Hughes or something, and he just 680 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 5: had so few friends in such a small social life. 681 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:22,720 Speaker 5: It was very rare to see him out with people. 682 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 5: Whereas he had been mostly extroverted. 683 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:30,279 Speaker 1: In high school, Mark became insular and guarded. That's the 684 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,719 Speaker 1: Mark I got to know. Brent kept tabs on his 685 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,719 Speaker 1: brother through those dark years and helped get him back 686 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,919 Speaker 1: on his feet and into college. Music remained a big 687 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:45,799 Speaker 1: part of Mark's life. He never stopped collecting guitars and 688 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:51,440 Speaker 1: recording gear. Mark never reconnected with Frank or Dusty, but 689 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,480 Speaker 1: he did remain friends with Seb. When Mark was back 690 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,000 Speaker 1: on his feet, at Brent's suggestion, he asked to join 691 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: Sebe's post zombies band to Where Wolf, but they weren't hiring. 692 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 5: And then Seed got sick, you know, with cancer. You know, 693 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:09,480 Speaker 5: Seed died and Mark. That was Mark's last rock and 694 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 5: roll hang out buddy. 695 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: When Seed passed away in nineteen eighty, Mark's connection to 696 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,759 Speaker 1: the rock and roll world vanished. Brent kept trying to 697 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:19,640 Speaker 1: get him out of the house. 698 00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:23,000 Speaker 5: I said, Mark, why don't you ever like reach out 699 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:24,480 Speaker 5: to some of these guys. And I've said, these guys 700 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:26,839 Speaker 5: are still playing, you know, they need guys to fill in, 701 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:28,640 Speaker 5: And I said, why don't you play with him? And 702 00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:32,160 Speaker 5: he had no interest whatsoever. So he just had no interest. 703 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 5: It wasn't his shyness. It may have been that he 704 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 5: had felt defeated by he had been defeated by that 705 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:45,239 Speaker 5: tour in a way. You know, he got sick, man. 706 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:53,520 Speaker 5: He just he just was not healthy mentally, physically. You know, 707 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:54,719 Speaker 5: he just kind of gave up. 708 00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 1: Mark may have never played in a band again, but 709 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:02,279 Speaker 1: he never stopped playing music. The guitars and the gear 710 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:06,040 Speaker 1: continue to pile up. He loved to plays guitar late 711 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:11,200 Speaker 1: at night. Before we say goodbye, Brent pulls out his phone. 712 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: He wants me to hear something. He holds the phone 713 00:40:15,239 --> 00:40:16,919 Speaker 1: up to the mic and plays me a song. 714 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 5: He only recorded one song, ever, I mean where it 715 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,320 Speaker 5: was like, from beginning to end, he just did one song. 716 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,080 Speaker 5: I searched everything he had, all his hard drives, every 717 00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 5: piece of recording equipment, he had, every SD card in 718 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 5: his house, played them all, searched him off. I said, 719 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:44,839 Speaker 5: he couldn't have just done this one song. He had 720 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 5: this beautiful setup, recording set up. He was just such 721 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:52,600 Speaker 5: a perfectionist that he I just believed for him to 722 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 5: have actually put that one down and said, I'm happy 723 00:40:55,480 --> 00:41:01,320 Speaker 5: with that and it's just our time listened to about 724 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 5: breaking me out. 725 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:19,520 Speaker 2: Brent was there for all of it. 726 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,640 Speaker 1: He watched his brother on stage as a teenager, playing 727 00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:26,480 Speaker 1: music with the coolest kids in town and then heading 728 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:30,239 Speaker 1: out on the road. He saw Mark struggle after the 729 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,719 Speaker 1: Zombies tour, when his brother got sick and didn't have 730 00:41:33,719 --> 00:41:36,279 Speaker 1: the strength to get out of bed, Brent dragged Mark 731 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,319 Speaker 1: to college classes. Brent saw the best in his brother, 732 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 1: even when Mark didn't see it in himself. Brent Ramsey 733 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:48,040 Speaker 1: and I have one thing in common. We both know 734 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,200 Speaker 1: how fucking cool it is that his brother Mark is 735 00:41:50,239 --> 00:42:03,440 Speaker 1: a fake zombie. This is Mark's song. I think of 736 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:06,759 Speaker 1: Mark on those nights alone where he turned his amp 737 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,320 Speaker 1: all the way up and tried to make some perfect noise, 738 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:12,840 Speaker 1: never sharing his music with the world like his old bandmates, 739 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,840 Speaker 1: never getting back in the van and playing on stage again. 740 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:19,480 Speaker 1: But on those nights, when his memories were alive and 741 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,880 Speaker 1: he'd fired off a message to me, Mark left something behind, 742 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:26,160 Speaker 1: a breadcrumb trail of names. 743 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,640 Speaker 2: And faces just waiting to be found. 744 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:35,200 Speaker 1: Fifty five years later, Mark Ramsey, Seve Metter, Dusty Hill. 745 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:38,719 Speaker 2: And Frank Beard, the original Zombies. 746 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,720 Speaker 1: Those four guys pulled it off for a little while. 747 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 1: They were the Zombies, and thousands of people paid to 748 00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:55,480 Speaker 1: see them play, and that's the end of their story. 749 00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:00,360 Speaker 1: But those Texas boys must have been really good, because 750 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:03,520 Speaker 1: back in Michigan, Delta Promotions decided that the only thing 751 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:05,800 Speaker 1: better than having one group of zombies out on tour 752 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:07,279 Speaker 1: was having two. 753 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:12,799 Speaker 5: They learned some Zombies songs, the lead singer tried to 754 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:16,719 Speaker 5: pull off an English accent, and they went on the road. 755 00:43:16,719 --> 00:43:17,520 Speaker 3: List of Zombies. 756 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,239 Speaker 5: They sounded great and they could do all the zombies. 757 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:25,719 Speaker 2: Yes, you know, much better than the Texas Zombies. On 758 00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,760 Speaker 2: the next episode, we meet the second Fake Zombies. 759 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:33,440 Speaker 1: If you want to get in touch about the Fake Zombies, 760 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,240 Speaker 1: we've set up an email address Fake zombiespod at gmail 761 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:42,040 Speaker 1: dot com. This podcast was written by Daniel Ralston. Executive 762 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:46,640 Speaker 1: produced by Ian Wheeler, Melissa Locker and Daniel Ralston. Produced 763 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:51,239 Speaker 1: by Anna McClain and Nick Dawson. Score, original music and 764 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:55,200 Speaker 1: additional audio engineering by Robin Hatch. The voice of Mark 765 00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:59,680 Speaker 1: Ramsey was provided by Jason Simms in Huntsville, Alabama. Additional 766 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:03,400 Speaker 1: product support from Cooper Mall in Los Angeles and Matthew 767 00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 1: Sneat in Huntsville. The True Story of the Fake Zombies 768 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:14,040 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeart Podcasts, Talk House and never 769 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:17,880 Speaker 1: Mind Media. For more podcasts from iHeart Podcasts, visit the 770 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:22,040 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.