Guest: Robin Platts, author of Times and Seasons – The Rise and Fall and Rise of The Zombies 

Six decades after they stormed the British and American charts in 1964, The Zombies are possibly more popular than ever. Their biggest hits, ‘She’s Not There’, ‘Tell Her No’ and ‘Time of the Season’ have been played more than 14 million times on U.S. radio alone. Praised by critics, discovered by a new generation of fans, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Zombies returned in the 2000s to establish themselves as a top-class touring act still driven to create new music. Based largely on author Robin Platts’ interviews with the five original band members, Times and Seasons – The Rise and Fall and Rise of The Zombies (Hozac Books) tells the whole story from the mid-‘60s Decca Records hits and misses through the break-up, to the creation of their orch pop masterwork, Odessey and Oracle, to the solo years, and their unexpected revival in the 21st century. For more info, check out my review of the book published by PopMatters  

"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show/podcast about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. Occasionally, the host is joined by notable musicians who have written about their careers. Recent guests have included eccentric British singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Traffic co-founder Dave Mason, and Moon Zappa. Expect a great conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it.

Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, the jazz ensemble Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.