In the wake of Leo’s dissolution, Zano started Dozen Dead Roses, an “AC/DC-meets-Guns N’ Roses” band that was drawing label interest until it dissolved due to the proverbial “creative differences.” Undeterred, Zano’s next move was forming This is a Shakedown!, a part-dance, part-rock act that signed to the now defunct Reversed Image Unlimited label.
In the midst of these setbacks, he started writing pop songs just to see if he could do it. That’s when he started learning how to record and took online recording classes.
Zano also started the hard rock group Ragers in December 2011, and the band is still going strong. The group celebrates the release of its latest album, Death Blow to the Thrones, with a show with the A-10’s and Public Squares on July 28 at CODA. It’ll mark the band’s first concert in eight years.
The group actually started recording the disc years ago when it went to record in Akron at Tangerine Sound where it tracked the album live with engineer Ben Vehorn.
“We really wanted a live drum sound that was great, and he was really cool to work with,” says Zano in an email exchange. “We then tracked all of the guitars, bass and vocals at my studio, which was in my house in Duck Island at the time”.
Zano then moved to L.A. to focus on his solo career as well as his production career, which has become a full-time job for the past four years.
“A few years ago, I decided to put time aside and finish production and mixing on the record, which was finalized with the band and my buddy Ben Schigel at Spider Studios right towards the end of COVID,” says Zano. “We’ve finally found time for the band to get back together to play more and release the album years after I moved. It’s produced by me and co-mixed by Ben.”
The first single, “Kill Your Politics,” drops on Monday, and the album comes out on Friday, July 21. It’s the band’s first new release in 11 years.
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This article appears in Jul 12-25, 2023.