AfroZep

Honestly, it seems like somebody would have done this years ago; combine African rhythms with Jimmy Page riffs. Sure, Dread Zeppelin dropped in the Marley-isms to fun effect but they were never as tight as what Afro Zep bring to the party. Check out “Immigrant Song” below and tune in Sunday night at 7:30pm when I’ll spin their studio take on “When the Levy Breaks” on Local Anesthetic.

Read more: Our Zeppelin Cover Band Of Choice http://wxrt.radio.com/2010/10/13/our-zeppelin-cover-band-of-choice/#ixzz1HvBvHxfs
- WXRT radio

Even in a world where Beatallica (Milwaukee's Beatles-Metallica mash-up band) exists, nobody would have predicted that a band would attempt to combine the blues-rock of Led Zeppelin with the indignant, political Afrobeat of Fela Kuti. But that's exactly what the new Chicago band Afro Zep does, rearrange Zeppelin, Fela, and Thomas Mapfumo tunes in to a new hybrid. Robert Plant's wail at the beginning of "Immigrant Song," for example, becomes an Afrobeat-style brass blast atop steadily chugging guitar and African percussion, and "DubQuarter" aptly funkifies the epic melodies of "No Quarter." It's a risky mix, but a hell of a lot easier to cheer on than the zillion bands who've baldly ripped off Zeppelin for decades. - The Onion AV club- Madison, WI

Who: Afro-Zep

When: Tuesday

Where: three20south, Breck

Where'd the name come from? We had the concept to do Afro-beat-inspired arrangements of Led Zeppelin tunes, and when we would send e-mails about setting up rehearsals, we would title them Afro-Zep. Then when it came time to decide on a band name, we realized we already had it.

Home base: Chitown, Ill.

Type of music: We play a set of all Led Zeppelin songs, but we re-do them in the style of Afro-beat and Afro-pop. Some tunes are mash-ups with Fela Kuti songs, like our mix of “Zombie” and “No Quarter,” others are rearranged with traditional African rhythms, and others are original arrangements based on grooves of artists such as Franco, Tinariwen, Thomas Mapfumo and others.

Why do people love ya? Because they can get their groove on and dance all night, plus sing along with familiar songs. The most common comment after shows is “wow, that was real original,” which is pretty crazy considering we are a cover band.

How do you keep it fresh? We don't play shows that often. The three leaders of Afro-Zep have a few other projects as well, so when we get together to do our Afro-Zep set three or four tours a year, we are really excited about playing the tunes. Plus we have amazing musicians we get to play with each tour. For this tour we have Drew Littell and Greg Fundis on percussion, which makes for our best percussion line-up so far, plus Matt Pitts, who plays with the Motet on tenor.

What's the craziest thing you've done/weirdest experience? I'd say whenever we get together crazy, awesome weird stuff seems to occur, but the craziest thing we've done is a year and a half ago we booked our first tour that included some really nice clubs, before we even had the rest of our band or even the majority of our arrangements down.
- Summit Daily

EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado — Blowing in from snowy Chicago, two of the Windy City's most resourceful bands will treat Vail to a free show at Paddy's Sports Bar and Grill on Thursday.

Any classic rock fan will appreciate the justice that AfroZep does to the music of enduring greats Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones. Led Zeppelin is an entity coveted by many, and AfroZep adds to Zeppelin classics with its mission to “spread African music to wider audiences while paying tribute to the greatest heavy rock band of all time,” according to the band's website.

This Chi-town collective honors the original rockers through underlying Afrobeat and Afropop covers that manage to encompass the rock ‘n roll roots that Plant and crew depicted so accurately. AfroZep creates a sound that resonates strongly with Page's passionate guitar and Bonham's inventive beats. Expect to hear familiar classics such as “Immigrant Song,” “When the Levee Breaks,” and “Ramble On.”

Accompanying the classic rock cover band, 56 Hope Road offers a combination of jazz, funk and rock music. Possessing a true fervor for the passion that music can excite, the band pays homage to the positive influence that Bob Marley's message and music has on the world. A self-dubbed “acoustic funk” group, 56 Hope Road's sound has been likened to that of Gomez, Paul Simon and the Grateful Dead. Having released four full-length albums and toured for more than a decade, 56 Hope Road brings a presence to the stage that, combined with AfroZep's unique twist on undying classics, will surely offer concert-goers a memorable experience.

John Scheid does freelance marketing work for Paddy's. E-mail comments about this story to cschnell@vaildaily.com.
- Vail Daily

A collaboration featuring members of some high power Chicago bands such as Chicago Afrobeat Project and others playing Zeppelin tunes Afrobeat style. When we were first approached about this, we thought it sounded like a cool idea - in the same vein as Easy Dub AllStars, but when we heard a few tunes, we were hooked. Hopefully a link to their website to come soon. - University of Iowa

Led Zeppelin 2 seem like the obvious choice here—they put on a spectacular, spot-on show, they sell out halls as big the House of Blues, they’ve got what might be the best possible name for a Led Zep tribute act, and the guy flashing torso as Robert Plant is Bruce Lamont of Yakuza. But I gotta give it up for Afro Zep. A lot of cover bands rely on gimmicks, and Zeppelin cover bands are no exception—there’s one that’s all lesbians and another that’s fronted by an Elvis impersonator and plays reggae versions of the songs. But Afro Zep’s collision of Zeppelin and African pop—they graft Plant and Page’s melodies to grooves lifted straight from Fela Kuti or inspired by the likes of Franco, Thomas Mapfumo, and Tinariwen—is more than just a novelty. Their hybrid sound is like a highly listenable thought experiment: would Zeppelin’s heavy borrowings from the blues, which has centuries-old roots in Africa, help their songs click with music that’s evolved in Africa over the past 50 years or so? Of course, the crowds at Afro Zep shows probably have other things on their minds than cultural appropriation—like dancing their asses off. - Chicago Reader