Zebrahead is an Orange County, California based rap-punk band that formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Justin Mauriello (formerly of Once There), guitarist Greg Bergdorf and drummer Ed Udhus (both formerly of 409) and bassist Ben Osmundson (formerly of 3-Ply).

All four musicians and their previous band mates shared the same rehearsal space and soon found themselves experimenting together on a regular basis. Upon realisation that they enjoyed playing together rather than with their other bands, all four members quit their previous groups and Zebrahead was born. The group then began incorporating elements of hip hop into their sound and soon recruited rapper Ali Tabatabaee to join their ranks.

After issuing their self-titled EP on Doctor Dream Records in May 1998, Zebrahead signed to major label Columbia Records and released their full-length debut titled ‘Waste of mind’. The band’s follow up album ‘Playmate of the Year’ was issued in mid 2000, followed by the exclusive EP release for Japan ‘Stupid Fat Americans’.

2004 saw the departure of lead singer/guitarist Mauriello, as he left in order to pursue other interests. The same month Matty Lewis (formerly of the band Jank 1000) was informed that Zebrahead were looking for a new co-lead singer. Lewis set out to California to try out for the role and heavily impressed the four remaining members of Zebrahead and was officially named their new co-lead singer.

2006 saw the release of their fifth and latest studio album ‘Broadcast To The World’, which was very well received. The rest of 2006 was spent touring Europe and the US as part of The Broadcast To The World Tour. The band has recently been working on new material for their untitled new studio album.

Zebrahead will be performing live at Manchester Academy 3 on Monday 26th May.