In a time when there is a 24-hour global stream of information at our fingertips, some stories are impossible to imagine. On July 11, Talkhouse will launch its latest podcast, The True Story of the Fake Zombies, in which host Daniel Ralston regales listeners with an expertly researched and unbelievable music industry scam that went untold for decades.
Throughout the historiographic 8-episode weekly series, Ralston dives deep into the tale of how, in 1969, a music promotion company in a tiny Michigan town sent out not one but two bands onto the road to pretend to be The Zombies, the recently disbanded British Invasion band who had just had a huge hit with their song “Time of the Season.” Fake band members included Frank Beard and Dusty Hill, who would go on to become legendary figures in their next band, ZZ Top!
Ralston, who discovered this stranger-than-fiction con a decade ago, dives deep into every aspect of this 55-year-old rock n’ roll mystery, uncovering the secret history of the shady managers who concocted the scheme, the hapless young musicians who were recruited for the scam, the unlikely town where the whole thing was cooked up, the impact of the scheme on the real Zombies (whose iconic music features throughout the show), and much more. The True Story of the Fake Zombies is a production of iHeart, Nevermind Media and Talkhouse.
About Daniel Ralston:
Daniel Ralston is a writer, director, and journalist. He is the co-creator and co-host of the highly influential music podcast Low Times as well as MTV’s Videohead podcast. His writing has appeared in TIME, Buzzfeed, Grantland, Vulture and Esquire. He has also directed music videos for artists like Aimee Mann, The So So Glos, Eric Bachmann, and Kevin Devine, among others.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
