The Zooks to rock downtown at gazebo
The floor planks of the Madison Gazebo will be shaking and rattling when The Zooks perform on July 12.
The Zooks will perform at the Madison Gazebo on July 12.
The Zooks’ forte is dance music of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s with rock and Motown sounds.
The original Zooks started out on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands in 2000. “We knew each other from working on the island for an army contractor,” Randy Razook. “We played together for five years there until I left in 2005.”
Since then, Razook has returned to Kwajalein on business at least twice each year. “We would get together and put on a ‘Zooks Final Reunion Tour … 9 or 10 to-date,'” he said.
Band members, all handling vocals, are Ty Bennett, keyboards and harmonica; Ray Cutshaw, bass guitar; Dave Byrge, drums; Ron Curtiss, lead guitar; Pat Thompson, acoustic guitar and Razook, rhythm guitar. Cutshaw, Curtiss and Razook are original members.
They all work as contractors for the Department of Defense. Bennett, Byrge, Thompson and Razook work on Redstone Arsenal, while Curtis works at SMDC and Cutshaw at The Boeing Company.
“That’s why we enjoy playing at Firehouse Pub on the arsenal. The soldiers, contractors and government employees working for DoD look forward to something different on some Friday afternoons,” Razook said.
Crowd favorites by The Zooks include “Mustang Sally,” “My Girl” and “Brown-Eyed Girl.” “Our whole set list is dance music that the audience loves to hear,” Razook said. “We usually get a few Zookettes up on stage to assist with ‘Mustang Sally.’ They only have to know three words, and two of them are the same: ‘Ride Sally Ride.'”
In the past year, The Zooks have performed at Lee Ann’s, Furniture Factory, The Links at Redstone Arsenal and many private parties.
In 2011, the band opened for Parrots of the Caribbean, the Rotary Club of Madison’s fundraiser. They’ll return to ‘Parrots’ on Aug. 25.
For information, visit Facebook.com/The-Zooks. For bookings, send email to cutshaw@usa.net or randyrazook@gmail.com.
Concerts start at 6:30 a.m. For more information, visit artsmadison.org.
