BZB: "Last Chance Hotel
The Butch Zito Band aka BZB (named after guitarist/vocalist Butch Zito) from the Philadelphia/ Delaware area play in the style of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Group members have, at various times, played with people like Michelle Shocked, The New Riders, Canned Heat and more. The only cover on their 1998 CD Last Chance Hotel is Robbie Robertson's "Twilight.".Philadelphia’s Butch Zito Band, now simply known as BZB, has been featured in this column several times before. Zito was a founding member of Stackabones and the Delaware-based Porch Chops. Zito and fellow members of BZB still play in various incarnations of the aforementioned. Regardless, BZB has a new CD, the very fine sounding Last Chance Hotel. It is, undoubtedly, the most cohesive and consistently pleasing project that Zito has been involved in and surpasses expectations from previous demos previewed a while back. Not only is there a real sense of maturity in his writing (and that of the other members, who incidentally are Frank Milewski, lead guitar; Bill Schultz, bass and vocals; and Steve Gregg, drummer), but the band really gels musically. Sure, there’s overt San Francisco and Grateful Dead influences and a joyous, hippie sensibility about the proceedings, but this really is quality stuff. You can also hear snippets of Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, The Band and even a little R&B. The songs are strong, the lyrics intelligent and the playing crisp and inventive. There’s no point in rattling off a string of titles. If you are reading Relix, you’ll undoubtedly find plenty of interest in this quality disc. If you do pick up the disc, make sure you let it run long enough to hear the lighthearted bonus hidden track at the end. Highly recommended. Write BZB at P.O. Box 120, 1712 Marsh Rd., Wilmington, DE 19810-4611 or reach the band by e-mail at rosebud@inet.net.
--Relix Magazine, Issue 25-01, January/ February, 1998
Butch Zito Band - Last Chance Hotel- 1998 - ?