zebrahead

Zebrahead came together in 1996 as a punk-rap band from Orange County, California, with vocalist/guitarist Justin Mauriello, guitarist Greg Bergdorf, bassist Ben Osmundson, and drummer Ed Udhus forming the original lineup. Drawing inspiration from Fugazi and the Descendents, the members rejected the ska-punk wave dominating their local scene and instead folded hip-hop influences into their music, which led them to bring rapper Ali Tabatabaee into the group. They put out the EP Yellow through the independent Dr. Dream label in May 1998, then secured a deal with Columbia Records for their first full-length album, Waste of Mind, which arrived later that year. Mid-2000 saw the release of Playmate of the Year, followed in 2001 by the Stupid Fat Americans EP, which appeared exclusively in Japan. The band joined Green Day for a European run that included several festival appearances, and over the years they also performed alongside Less Than Jake, Kottonmouth Kings, 311, Reel Big Fish, and Goldfinger. Their next album, MFZB (aka "Motherf*cking Zebrahead Bitch!"), surfaced in 2003, after which Mauriello departed to explore new projects; fans felt the loss keenly because the vocal interplay between his singing and Tabatabaee’s rapping had defined the group’s identity. Zebrahead quickly regrouped by adding vocalist/guitarist Matty Lewis, whose delivery closely resembled Mauriello’s, and they spent summer 2006 on the Warped Tour while releasing Broadcast to the World overseas in July via SPV/Sony. The record earned gold certification in Japan within a month, prompting a fall schedule of shows across Europe.