Zebrahead is a Pop-Punk band from La Habra, CA, formed in 1995, when Justin Mauriello and Ali Tabatabaee
started recording music with Greg Burgdorf, Ben Osmundson, and Ed Udhus. The band has been together for
nearly 30 years, and has parted ways with many members, including Justin Mauriello, (the original lead singer.
1995-2004), Matty Lewis, (the band's second lead singer, 2005-2021), and Greg Burgdorf, (the original lead
guitarist, 1995-2013). But they have also met new ones, including Adrian Estrella (lead singer, 2021-current),
and Dan Palmer (lead guitarist, 2013-current).
The band has recorded over 20 studio albums, including many classics such as, "Playmate Of The Year" in
2000, "Broadcast To The World" in 2006, and "MFZB" in 2004. Zebrahead, though is mostly unknown in the
United States, have become a house-hold name in Europe and Japan, especially after being invited to play Poland's
Woodstock festival in 2011, to nearly 500,000 people on a larger-than-life stage!
Zebrahead is a unique case of a band that took advantage of the rap-rock fusion trend that took the US by storm in the early 00s, though it would
seem that Zebrahead may have done it at the wrong time, as much of the U.S was deaf to the band and they did not receive the same attention
as many other bands at the time.
However, the band began to notice that much of their sales and radio play were coming from Japan. This would go on to allow the band to
adopt Japan as Zebrahead's second home and would play more shows in Japan and Europe and make more money and attention as a result.
The band came out with "One More Hit" as the first original piece of Zebrahead music that released in 1996, that contained the songs "Hate" and "Check". Check being the very first song they ever wrote that was popular locally, and eventually both songs were re-recorded for their first studio recording, that many fans refer to as "The Yellow Album" that had 10 tracks and was released through Doctor Dream Records in 1997. Soon after, Zebrahead found themselves signing with Columbia Records to release their first studio debut record, "Waste Of Mind" in 1998. The album contained five tracks from their self-titled "Yellow Album" as well as a song called "Get Back", which is considered their first real hit in the industry, that lead to the release of the Get BAck Radio Promo CD. The band's follow-up Playmate of the Year was released in August 2000 and charted at No.4 on the U.S. Top Heatseekers chart. The extended play Stupid Fat Americans followed in February 2001 as a Japan-exclusive release. Zebrahead recorded and released their fourth studio album, MFZB, in 2003; this was their last publication under Columbia Records. The band's extensive touring earned them a sizeable fanbase in the country, leading MFZB to chart at No.9 on the Japanese Charts and earn a gold certification. A follow-up to MFZB titled Waste of MFZB – containing songs that didn't make the final cut of the former – was released exclusively in Japan in July 2004[13] where it topped the Billboard Japan chart.
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After the release of their 4th studio album, Justin Mauriello, the original lead singer and rhythm guitarist, made the decision to part ways with the band, due to creative differences. However, despite the devistating loss of a prominant founding member, Zebrahead decided to move forward and hire Matty Lewis to become the bands new lead singer and rhythm guitarist. For most bands, losing a lead singer and hiring a new one is usually a death sentence. However, Zebrahead proved early on that Matty Lewis had what it took to continue the band's legacy, with the release of their 5th studio record, "Broadcast To The World" in 2006.
Matty wrote lyrics and sang vocals for over 10 studio albums from 2005 to 2021, these albums include:
*Broadcast To The World (2006), *Pheonix (2008), *Panty Raid (2009), *Get Nice! (2011),
*Call Your Friends (2013), *The Early Years: Revisited (2015), Walk The Plank (2015)
*The Bonus Brothers (2017), *Brain Invaders (2019),
Following the release of Brain Invaders, Matty Lewis would official announce his departure with
Zebrahead in 2020. However, it seems Zebrahead was still more than determind to keep the party on
the road, because in early 2021, Zebrahead would annouce they'd hired on Adrian Estrella, from the
bands "Assuming We Survive" and "No Bare Feet" to play the lead singer, and rhythm guitarist role,
and soon after, they immediately went back into the studio to record their 14th studio release, "III"
and Adrian would make his first live debut with the band on two sold out shows at Slam Dunk Festival.
After joining the band in early 2021, my uncle, Adrian Estrella, would go on with his new friends to record the band's next album; However, much to the fans' surprise, Zebrahead released their first EP in over 11 years as a part of a trilogy called "III, II, I", with the band debuting the first single "Lay Me To Rest" on July 30th, 2021. This set of EPs was a big change in the Zebrahead sound and some fans weren't thrilled, however, it has invited a new generation of Zebrahead fans that love it and even many old fans that the trilogy grew on over time. It is described as a mix of pop-punk and emo, with dark themes of heartbreak, depression, and suicide. A stark contrast to what Zebrahead is known most for in songs like "Anthem" and "Hello Tomorrow". Many fans say "II" is the best of the three, containing great tracks like No Tomorrow and F.L.F.U, (SIDE NOTE ON THAT!) F.L.F.U is a song that, as of this article, has never been played live, yet many fans love it. It is described by many as the "odd-ball" song that takes on a more classic sound of pop-punk from the early 2000s. This song also exists alongside another track called "Evil Anonymous", a Ska-Raggea-inspired song that shares an imaginary stage with F.L.F.U.
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