Artist: Zon, Album: Astral Projector, Song: Put On The Show

Zon were a rock band from Toronto, Ontario.  They were formed in 1975 by front man, Denton Young.  Denton was in a previous band with Rik Emmett called, Act Three.  When Rik accepted an invitation to join Triumph, Denton assembled the band, Zon, with musicians, Howard Helm, Brian Miller, Kim Hunt and Jim Samson.  Zon had a progressive rock sound with swirling organs and hard rock guitars.  They toured relentlessly and their reputation of being such a great live act eventually attracted the attention of CBS/Epic Records.  In 1978, the band released their major label debut entitled, Astral Projector.  One great tune from this release is the album opener, Put On The Show.  You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbgvfS0mMRo.  1978 turned out to be a very good year for the band.  They got tons of FM radio support, toured the country in support of bands like Styx and The Tubes.  They were even nominated for the Juno for Most Promising Group in 1979 along with Max Webster, Teaze (see blog 12/9/11) and Streetheart but lost out to Doucette in the end.  The popularity of the band led to the release of their sophomore album in 1979 and the chance to headline live shows across the country.  Sadly though, their label, CBS, went through some changes and the band lost their contract.  They would release one more album in 1981 with A&M Records before calling it quits.  Many of the members of this band have gone on to play with other Canadian acts like Moxy (see blog 5/9/11).  Keyboardist, Howard Helm, joined the band Refugee (see blog 3/17/11) for a brief time during the 80's but had toured with Ian Hunter ("Once Bitten Twice Shy") prior to that.  They certainly don't get the press today that some other bands from that era do and their discography is somewhat rare.  You can purchase a 2003 re-release that includes both Astral Projector as well as their second album, Back Down To Earth, for $20 from Maplemusic.com.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!