Posted on: June 4, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The premise is funny enough that it’s amazing someone hasn’t thought about committing it to film before. A struggling metal band at night plays kid’s parties during the day to pay the bills. The best part about it is that it’s based on a real band. IFC picked up this original and surprisingly addictive half-hour TV series.

The metal band in real life and on the IFC TV show is Brooklyn-based Z02 and consists of brothers Paulie Z (Paulie Zablidowsky) David Z (David Zablidowsky) and Joey Cassata. In their day job playing to bratty, rich New York kids, they go by the name Z Brothers. The charm of the show is the band itself – clearly not actors, but once you get past the slightly stilted performances in the first episode, they relax a bit and actually come off as decent actors (even if they are playing a version of themselves). The situations are so much more original from plots that play out on traditional sitcoms on any other channel.

Their feud with a fellow kiddie band, described as “The Wiggles on acid” is flat-out hilarious. And when the line between Z02 groupies and parents who hire the band for their kid’s birthday starts to blur, it’s nearly impossible to change the channel. The show itself is great, but the cameos by fellow rockers like Sebastian Bach, Dee Snider, and the front man of the Spin Doctors (playing the band’s landlord) is genius. John Popper, playing himself and the band’s nemesis over a handful of episodes is another brilliant casting coup. Whether or not the series can continue with the strong momentum that’s begun is still up in the air, but the first season is definitely deserving of all the hype that has been generated so far.
Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Z Rock – Season One/DVD/2009/Anchor Bay Entertainment/242 mins.

Leave a Comment