In the early 1970s, Jackson and Hanemann played together in a bar band called Shepherd's Bush, but in late 1974 they left Shepherd's Bush and founded a new band, Maelstrom, with Gelso on drums and Tim Thorson on keyboards.[1] The group initially was a cover band, playing Led Zeppelin and other technically proficient rock groups such as Yes, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd.[2]
But in February 1975, after Thorson left, the band decided to stay as a trio, with Hanemann handling keyboards as well as bass. They then adopted the name Zebra after seeing a cover of the magazine Vogue featuring a woman riding a zebra.[1] Initially based in New Orleans, they increasingly played more often on Long Island, and eventually all three members moved there to pursue success.[3] They had introduced their original material into their cover sets years before they were signed to Atlantic Records, including "The La La Song", "Free" and "Bears" (originally entitled "The Bears are Hibernating").
Zebra had been noticed by local colleges and even had some of their early original performances recorded by Long Island FM radio station WBAB, culminating in the inclusion of one of their songs on a release of "WBAB Homegrown Album", which commemorated local acts and performances culled from the station's on-air "Homegrown Hour" program.
Zebra's mainstream debut on Atlantic Records was in 1983 with their eponymous album, produced by Jack Douglas and featuring the singles "Tell Me What You Want" and "Who's Behind The Door?" The band continued to tour throughout the 1980s but took a temporary break in the early 1990s after being dropped by Atlantic Records. Randy Jackson formed his solo band Randy Jackson's China Rain, and released its only album in 1991.
Zebra finally resumed playing in 1994 and released Zebra IV in 2003, their first album of all-new material since 1986. A DVD of live performances, mostly from a show at the House of Blues in New Orleans, was released in the summer of 2007.
During the first half of 2007, drummer Bobby Rondinelli filled in for Guy Gelso, who was undergoing treatment for chest cancer. Fortunately, he came through it and was back with Zebra by the end of that year.[4]
Although Zebra has not released any studio material since 2003's Zebra IV, the band continues to perform live, mostly in the Gulf Coast and East Coast of the United States, including New Orleans and New York City.
In February 2017 Jackson reported to Shreveport Times that the band was working on a new album: "I have new material and hopefully we'll get to work on a new record in the next couple of months."[7] In addition to a new album, a documentary on Zebra, tentatively titled Tell Me What You Want: 50 Years of Zebra, is in the works.[8]
Band members
Randy Jackson – guitars, lead vocals, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, mellotron, piano (1975–present)
Felix Hanemann – bass, backing vocals, strings, keyboards, synthesizers (1975–present)
Guy Gelso – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1975–present)
