The Zeros, cannot only justifiably lay claim to being San Diego’s first “punk” rock group but also can brag about being one of the first punk groups in the United States.

In a brief but brilliant career highlighted by some classic recordings as well as shows with the Clash and Devo, the Zeros played the first big punk shows in both Los Angeles and in San Diego as early as 1977, when they were still high-school students. It is a testament to the drive and spirit of these pointy-toed revolutionaries that such a group was able to spring from the sleepy suburbs of National City and Chula Vista at a time when greater San Diego was both indifferent to and unimpressed by counterculture movements of any kind.

To say that Zeros guitarist and lead vocalist Javier Escovedo hails from a musical family would be to make a grand understatement. His father immigrated to Texas from Mexico in the 1930s. His father, who played in mariachi bands, passed his passion for music on to every one of his 13 children. Javier's older brothers, Pete and Thomas “Coke” Escovedo, played with both Santana and Malo (who had the hit “Suavecito,” sometimes called “The Chicano National Anthem”), and niece Sheila E. played with Prince and had hits with “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre” in the 1980s. His brother Alejandro founded San Francisco punk band the Nuns, , post punk Alejandro and Javier formed the True Believers in Austin Texas.

Zeros guitarist Robert Lopez and his cousin, Zeros drummer Baba Chenelle (Robert’s dad is the brother of Baba’s mom) grew up together listening to music and learning to play the guitar and drums, respectively. Robert’s  older sister Rhoda (Javier's wife) kept him up to date with the latest music, and Robert shared their tastes with Baba.

Baba and Hector met in PE class at Chula Vista Junior High School 
During this time, Javier and Robert, who were students at Chula Vista High School, were playing in a band called the Main Street Brats, covering Standells, Seeds, and Velvet Underground songs, alongside Javier’s originals like “Main Street Brat,” “Siamese Tease,” “Wimp” and “Don’t Push Me Around.” They recruited Baba to be the group’s drummer, and later that year, when they needed a bass player, Hector joined.

The band had now become The Zeros, a nod to a line by Lester Bangs Javier had read in Creem magazine: “I don’t wanna be a hero, I just wanna be a zero.”  At that time, our kind of music was just not heard or played in San Diego, so we set our sights on Los Angeles.”
Their first big show, earned through persistence and a tape that finally made its way to the Nerves, took place in early 1977 at Hollywood’s Orpheum Theater (known as the Punk Palace) on the Sunset Strip across from Tower Records. The Zeros played with the Germs and the Weirdos. Also attending the show were the Damned, the first British punk band to tour the United States. The Weirdos played last, got an encore and called the Damned up to the stage to play. Captain Sensible proceeded to urinate all over the first row and the show abruptly ended! 

Also in attendance at that first show was Bomp Magazine’s Greg Shaw, who invited them to  record for his new Bomp! label. The result was the band’s classic singles “Wimp”/”Don’t Push Me Around” and “Beat Your Heart Out”/”Wild Weekend.” next came "Beat Your Heart Out b/w Wild Weekend. 

The Zeros became the darlings of the LA punk scene, playing shows at the Whisky, the Masque and the Starwood, driven back to San Diego late at night so that they could attend school the next day by Javier, the only group member old enough to have a driver’s license. He also booked the shows rented the rehearsal space, wrote all of the songs booked the hotels, and dictated the look and sound of the band.

At venues like the Larchmont Hall, the owners had a difficult time understanding the interaction between bands and audiences. According to Javier, “When we went on, the crowd started to pogo dance. The older people running the lights told us to stop playing. Of course we wouldn't, and the crowd went wild. Our friend Jett Compton kicked in the door to the office and made them turn the lights back on. As we packed up after the show, the old farts were still yelling at us. We thought it was pretty funny.”
They opened for Devo on four straight sellout nights at the Starwood on Santa Monica, met the Ramones, at the Tropicana Motor Inn.Tom Waits used to refer to them as “those Mexican kids with pointy shoes.” Javier’s sisters Ford Maverick made trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco dozens of times, pulling a U-Haul laden with the group’s gear.

They played the Whisky, the Starwood with Devo, the Masque, The Mabuhay in Frisco and the temple beautiful with the Clash and Negative Trend later Cbgb and Max's in NYC.

Fast-forward to 2005 and The Zeros “Wild Weekend” was named one of 50 top punk songs of all time by MOJO Magazine. The group was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Music Awards, further validation of The Zeros’ contribution to punk music. 

The Zeros continue with Javier Escovedo guitar vocals and Baba Chenelle drums vocals, harmonica, rounding out the band are bassist Jay Tea and guitarist Paul Sanchez. The band is excited to be part of the cruise and look forward to a rocking good time.