Gig - Jive Romeros

Zac Zdravkovic, lead guitarist of jump jive rock ‘n’ roll band the Jive Romeros, first got hooked on 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll music when he was just seven years old. “I had this uncle who used to come round who wanted to stop me eavesdropping when he was talking to my mother. So, he would clamp these headphones over my ears and play me rock ‘n’ roll records. I used to turn up the volume and listen to the Everley brothers and Buddy Holly and stuff. I thought it was great”. He’s never looked back. After playing in various unsatisfactory rock ‘n’ roll bands which ‘lacked passion’, seven years ago Zac decided to form his own band - the Jive Romeros. He describes their sound specifically as the music of the mid 50’s (it’s a surprisingly diverse area) which includes the traditional rock ‘n’ rollers Bill Haley and the Comets and Tommy Steele. But unlike other rock ‘n’ roll purists, the band also incorporates the jazzier/swing sounds of Art Baxter and Toby Crombie. “After Bill Haley and the Comets, a lot of the jazzers at the time had a go at doing their own rock ‘n’ roll music. It was quite a different sound”. One of the distinctions was the type of instruments they used. “The other groups used guitars because they were trying to sound more modern. But we’re more like the jazzers”, says Zac. “We’ve got a double bassist and a saxophonist in our line-up. It gives a more authentic sound”. Although Zac’s musical tastes will go backwards as far as the 1920’s he never listens to anything after 1959. “Modern music is just a noise to me”, he laughs. “Just a droney incomprehensible noise”. ER