Zebrahead

The group thought for a long time what direction to play, for ska-punk , who was actively gaining momentum at the time, did not inspire them. Therefore, they decided to introduce elements of hip-hop into their music, for which rapper Ali Tabatabaee (Ali Tabatabai) was invited.

After the release of the EP titled Yellow in May 1998, the band signed with Columbia Records to release their first full-length album, Waste Of Mind, which was released in the same 1998. In 2001, the second album, Playmate Of The Year, was released.

After that, a tour of Europe (and not only) began, during which the zebra-headed people managed to play on stage with groups such as Green Day , Less Than Jake , Kottonmouth Kings , 311 , Reel Big Fish , Goldfinger .

In 2003, after a long break, the new album MFZB (Mother Fucking Zebrahead Bitch!) Was released. After that, lead singer Justin Mauriello left the band, creating a new band I Hate Kate .

This greatly upset the fans, as the dynamics of the vocals and rap between him and Ali was decisive in the band's music. However, the history of the group did not end there, because the striped family was soon replenished with a new singer named Matty Lewis (former member of Jank 1000). And in 2006 came the first album with his participation - Broadcast To The World. Most surprisingly, Zebrahead doesn’t collect stadiums in America, but in Japan. Before release in the United States, Broadcast To The World went gold in the land of the rising sun. At home, Zebrahead gathers small clubs. Also this year, the band is recording a song for the game Sonic the Hedgehog (game, 2006) called "His World".

Since March 2007, the group spent 2 months recording the material for their not yet having the name of a new studio album. In May 2007, the group conducted a tour of Europe with MxPx, and also was the headliner of a tour of the UK. In June-July 2007, the group toured the United States, where Zebrahead played on the heat of Unwritten Law with the group Bullets and Octane. After the end of the tour, the group began to work hard on a new album, the release of which is scheduled for February.

Between July 8-9, 2008, the band released an album called Phoenix and EP Not the New Album.

In November 2009, the album Panty Raid was released.

In August 2011, the band released the album Get Nice!

In February 2013, the official website of the group posted information about the release of the new album in July and August of the same year.

The release of the album Call Your Friends in the first half of August 2013 was confirmed in mid-July.

On June 18, 2013, lead guitarist and back vocalist Greg Bergdorf decided to leave the band and stop his creative activities in connection with his daughter's upbringing. His place will be taken by Death Pal guitarist Dan Palmer.

Despite the fact that the group has been on the scene for almost 20 years, their worldwide popularity is very local and unusual. In their homeland, for the most part, the group is still regarded as underground, with an inherent audience. Quite different is the situation in Japan, where Zebrahead is one of the great bands on the rock scene and has already gathered 50,000 spectators more than once (for example, during a performance at Chiba Marine Stadium in Tokyo on August 12, 2006). From the very beginning of their career, albums of the group were sold by a much larger number of copies in Japan, and the fanbase grew rapidly from plate to plate.

The musical style of Zebrahead is a mixture of powerful melodic pop-punk with often aggressive rap reporters, as well as in the initial funk work. The style from album to album has evolved greatly. In the 1998 album "Waste Of Mind," the aforementioned funk factors stood out. With the advent of 2000, the album "Playmate Of The Year" took pop-punk sound and more and more brings it to the fore. With the release of "MFZB" in 2003, emphasis was placed on aggressive rapcore with a bias to alternative rock. After vocalist Justin Mauriello left the band in 2004, Zebrahead continued the style of the previous album, but with new vocalist Matthew Lewis on the 2006 album "Broadcast to the World". Thanks to the new vocalist, this album sounded new and was very successful. The need for one more change is demonstrated by the group in the heavy, quiet and melodic "Phoenix" of the sample of 2008. In 2011, the band presents “Get Nice!”, Which is a mixture of all previous styles. With the release in 2013 of the album "Call Your Friends", the guys from Zebrahead successfully once again declare themselves in pop-punk sound.

Themes of their work include stories about relationships, as well as social criticism with the way of life that is characteristic of underground groups in Southern California, which forms their particular slang, emphasized in the lyrics.

Current members

• Mattey Lewis : vocals / rhythm guitar (2005 - present)
• Ali Tabatabaee (Ali Tabatabaee): MC (1996 - present)
• Ed Udhus: drums (1996 - present)
• Ben Osmundson: bass / backing vocals (1996 - present)
• Dan Palmer (Dan Palmer): guitar (2013 - present) [1]

Former members

• Justin Mauriello: vocals / rhythm guitar (1996 - 2004)
• Greg Bergdorf: guitar / backing vocals (1996 - 2013) [2]

Studio Albums

• The Yellow Album (1998)
• Waste of Mind (1998)
• Playmate of the Year (2000)
• MFZB (2003)
• Waste of MFZB (2004)
• Broadcast to the Word (2006)
• Phoenix (2008)
• Panty Raid (2009)
• Get Nice! (2011)
• Call Your Friends (2013)
• The Early Years - Revisited (2015)
• Walk The Plank (2015)
• Brain Invaders (2019)

Video Albums

• MFZB - The DVD - Banzai Mother F ** ker! (2003)
• The Show Must Go Off! Zebrahead Live At The House Of Blues (2004)
• Blood, Sweat & Beers !!! Live In Tokyo (2005)
• Broadcast to the World: The Fucking DVD (2007)
• Way More Beer - Live in Germany (2014)

• Official band website