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Zephyr hasnt missed a beat
pic zephyr-1 n-LT
Zephyr a band that Gordon Kennedy helped formed seven years ago poses for a photo. - photo by Photo Contributed

Zephyr is back.

It’s not that the group of rockers from G.K. Production’s stable of young musicians had a bad break up.

“No, we just took a break (as a band),” said lead singer and guitarist Isaiah Ilog.

He along with his brother Seth Ilog on drums, Warren Weichmann on saxophone and keyboard, and Astorga on lead guitar are members of the original Zephyr formed by Gordon Kennedy of GK Music of Manteca in 2008.

Bass player Shawn Jansen, who also helps out with harmonies, has been with the group for four years. He’s a senior at the California Virtual Academies or CAVA, and will be moving to North Carolina before the end of the year.

This edition of Zephyr will be together until then.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Ilog brothers along with Weichmann, Astorga and Jansen happened to be at the Senior Center during an event benefitting muscular dystrophy. They got up on stage played two sets. Never mind that it was nearly a year and a half since they played together.

They had been consumed in school activities and other outside interests.

Astorga, for instance, is at Sierra High. He’s also a DJ and does his share of sound mixing.

Seth Ilog is a sophomore at Manteca High and is looking to do track and field. His brother, Isaiah, is a 2014 graduate of MHS and currently at Modesto Junior College.

Weichmann is at Lathrop High, where his main interest is music.

“They didn’t miss a beat,” said Rikki Weichmann, Warren’s mother, on the Zephyr improv reunion of sort.

She along with Kennedy had seen the boys not only grow up together but go through their various stages and personnel changes.

Lane Cadell played the bass during the early years. He left the band in 2012 to pursue his love of golf.

In 2013, Isaiah decided he was tired of performing lead vocals so Zephyr had tried various singers.

First up was Cameron Brooks. He played with the band that entire summer but found his love was primarily playing metal. “(It) wasn’t conducive with the type of music at the venues in which Zephyr was performing,” recalled Rikki Weichmann.

Michael Rigalo was brought in the following year. Last fall, he left the group to attend college.

Rigalo is currently at The Academy of Arts University in San Francisco but left it open to return to the group in the summer.

They started out as pre-teens, performing locally including the San Joaquin County Fair while covering many of classic rock tunes – Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple), Play that Funky Music White Boy (Wild Cherry), Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) and Fight for Your Right to Party (Beasties Boys), to name a few.

Over the years, they’ve gone through various phases including hairstyles and music genres.

They sported long hair and some dyed hair.

Zephyr went from classic rock to progressive, R&B, country, and punk rock. They’ll still play some of those songs, depending on the audience.

“It doesn’t matter what we play – music is music,” said Isaiah Ilog.

Zephyr performed several songs this week at GK Music, namely, 99 Luftballoons (Nena), Say It Ain’t So (Weezer) and Boys of Summer (Don Henley).

They’re scheduled to play at the Manteca Crossroads Street Faire, the San Joaquin County Fair, the San Mateo County Fair, the Alameda County Fair and were asked to play again at the Cal Expo state fair.

Zephyr hasn’t missed a beat.