Longer wait, shorter hair
Twenty years ago, Rick Naqvi was an LSU student who spent too many late nights working till 4 a.m. crafting and printing show flyers at the local 24-hour Kinko’s. Folding concert flyers and sending them out via snail mail was the best and only financially feasible marketing strategy for his upstart indie band. Times have changed, and this summer, fans of Naqvi’s band Zaemon received the latest news from the group over Facebook.
Now an executive at PreSonus Audio, Naqvi is reuniting Sept. 2 with his brother Dr. Asghar Naqvi, Coffee Call owner John Cannatella and Dr. Brent Kelly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their regionally beloved band. The funk-metal-pop outfit that tore through Louisiana and the Southeast in the early 1990s, opening for Lillian Axe and Pantera, playing Jazz Fest and headlining dozens of raucous shows for hometown fans in Baton Rouge, is set to snap its extended hiatus with a comeback concert at the venue where it all began: The Varsity Theatre.
When The Varsity opened for live music in 1991, Zaemon was one of the very first groups to perform at the LSU-area nightspot. It gathered a fast following that year on the back of its crunchy funk-rock debut Show You My Groove. As first-generation U.S. citizens, the Naqvis infused Eastern influences inspired by their parents’ native Pakistan and India with Red Hot Chili Peppers-style rock and ’80s metal to form the foundation of Zaemon’s sound.
Swimming in Sensation followed in 1994 before Kelly and Asghar Naqvi continued their medical studies out of state and Cannatella and Rick Naqvi ventured into successful Baton Rouge businesses.
“It’s weird to play this music with short hair,” Rick Naqvi says. “But it’s amazing how many of these songs we played a thousand times come back so quickly, like a musical reflex.”
The original Zaemon songs that faithful fans remember will get a second life this month, and will be joined by a few new cuts that the band has recorded at Naqvi’s own Black Dog Studios.
Whether the songs are new or old, Naqvi expects the reunion show to bring back a flood of memories for the band and its fans.
“Rick, Asghar, John and I have been friends for over 20 years,” says Vonnie Hawkins, a business consultant and musician. “I’ve been to so many of their shows here and abroad. They are a fun, happy and connected band to watch. It is really infectious.”
In honor of the reunion, Naqvi almost considered another old school mail-out and late-night Kinko’s run. Almost.
“Facebook and iTunes make it so easy,” Naqvi says. “Young bands really have it good.”
Zaemon performs live at The Varsity on Sept. 2. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show begins at 9 p.m. with openers Daniel Lee and Winbourne. For tickets and more information, visit varsitytheatre.com.
