MASTERTON trio The Dead Zephyrs are rocking on the threshold of a performance double whammy at home and in the capital.
Guitarist and vocalist Ryan Coles said the trio would play their valley brand of blues punk -- a blend of retro'70s punk, psychedelic rock and blues -- at King Street Live in Masterton and Valhalla in the capital next month.
Coles said the trio, which includes drummer Alex Fafeita and bassist Chris Parkinson, "rose like a phoenix from the ashes" of a band he founded last year called Roumengoux, and had since become "a strong tight-knit group of mates who simply love to jam".
Coles earlier told the Times-Age links between players in the band go back to their schooldays, including at Masterton Intermediate School, where Parkinson and Fafeita ran a radio show, and Wairarapa College, where Fafeita and he had been classmates in music studies.
The Dead Zephyrs count as influences Kiwi contemporaries including His Masters Voice, Heterodox, Pellegra and Masterton unit Masterhuna, along with international heavyweights and history-makers like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jack White, The Ramones, Tool, The Sex Pistols "and many other bands that have influenced our music in weird and wonderful ways".
He said earlier this year the trio had made their eponymous debut EP, from which two tracks including White Rooms and Runaways will feature on set lists played at their upcoming gigs in Masterton and Wellington, which will also feature support acts Type II and Broke.
The five-track EP was recorded at Tsunami Studios in Levin in February and is available on iTunes and SoundCloud.
Coles said their EP would be on sale at their upcoming show at Valhalla in Wellington on Thursday, September 17, and at King Street Live in Masterton on Friday, September 18.
Door sales will be available, entry costs $10. For information go online to facebook.com/TheDeadZephyrsNZ.