Antoine Lester Solo Gig

To understand Zesty Lester and the Spicy Meatball we must go all the way back to the beginning, where it all started. Antoine and Lenny Lester are the offspring of Father Leonard Antonio Lester, AKA Zesty Lester, who, in the early 1970’s, impregnated two women in one night of passionate, angry, lustful sex. A few months later Father Lester got the news that he had impregnated both women so he sent them away to raise the children in America. This was to keep the secret of that night hidden far away from his parishioners and countrymen and even farther from the church. That act was an effort in vain.

The broken families moved around from town to town, city to city. Antoine and his mother settled in Chicago, Lenny and his mother in Hendersen, NV. The boys grew up about as normal as you could for children of the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s. Both had their share of stepfathers and other issues, but after their eighteenth birthday the boys received a letter containing a newspaper clipping that told of the accidental death of Father Leonard Lester on vacation in Scotland. That day both boys heard the story of their conceptions and that somewhere they had a half brother.

In the days that followed Lenny decided to leave home and move to Phoenix, AZ to study bass theory. Antoine on the other hand decided to travel the country looking for his half brother. A few years later, tired and road worn, Antoine stumbled into a bar hosting open mic night, pulled up to the bar and ordered a Guinness and sat back to listen to some guys jamming some funky jazz mix. It was just a drummer, bassist and guitarist, but as Antoine looked on he thought he recognized something about the bassist. Maybe it was the thickness of his style, or that he had a stage presence that Antoine felt akin to, whatever it was there was something familiar about that bassist. So, being a self-taught guitar virtuoso, Antoine made a move for the stage to take over and show what he was all about, and before you could say spaghetti sauce something freaky happened on stage. For every riff that bassist could throw at him, Antoine had a riff that was equally as wicked but at the same time added to the overall beefiness and aura of the music. Some would say it was an epic journey through the halls of funk expressionism.

After forty-five minutes, and to the audience’s dismay, the bartender asked that the three musicians step down and let the other musicians waiting have their chance. As Antoine pulled up a stool at the bar the bassist came up, introduced himself as Lenny Lester, and asked Antoine if he was willing to jam on a more permanent basis. Upon hearing the name Lester, Antoine returned the introduction and asked Lenny if he had ever heard of Zesty Lester the Sicilian priest. Lenny was shocked, he hadn’t even considered that he might one day meet face to face with his half brother, but sitting there before him was the only other offspring of the infamous Zesty Lester. That night the two brothers shared pitchers and stories that would match any war hero. Overhearing the stories, the bartender remarked that the one about the priest, if it was true, was one spicy meatball. When the Lester bros. heard that, they decided to form a band and call it Zesty Lester and the Spicy MEATball referring to the priest and the secret.

Since the release of “Trashman EP”, Lenny and Antoine have been busy writing their second album, “Little Flowers”. So far the “Little Flowers” collection is maintaining a wide spectrum of influences that could only be brought together in that Zesty Lester fashion. So for the strength of the few, stay true, because Zesty Lester and the spicy MEATball are coming for you!