 |
 |
 |
 Home | Hotels | Dining | Attractions | Real Estate | Nightlife | History | People | Shopping
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visitor Information |
|
Photograph by Skye Dunlap Playing for a Living Having performed for Mickey Mouse, John Elway and George Bush, Papa Doo Run Run is a golden oldie By Michelle Alaimo "If someone would have told me 34 years ago that I would still be in the band today, I would have told them they were nuts," says Don Zirilli, Papa Doo Run Run's manager, keyboardist, and vocalist. The Grammy nominated one-time garage band is set to release its third CD--a live concert recording--next summer. The disc will be an enhanced CD that can be played on the computer. It will feature concert clips and music in a slide show format. While the band may not have any hits currently climbing the charts, they have a loyal following across the country and perform more than 120 concerts nationwide each year. Although most of Papa's gigs are for private and corporate parties, some are for the public. The closest the band has ever publicly played for a Cupertino audience was when Highway 85 had its grand opening celebration in YEAR. But not too far from home, Papa Doo Run Run has become a staple in the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's concert series held each August. This year 7,000 people came to hear the band perform the oldies. Zirilli says he never dreamed that the band would be so popular and have such staying power. Not only is the band still playing, but it has performed at a number of high-profile events including two Olympics, seven NFL Super Bowls and President George Bush's inauguration. And all of the band's success has come from word-of-mouth publicity--and from being in the right place at the right time, according to Zirilli. "It's like a big snowball effect," Zirilli says. Even the decision to play Beach Boys music--the band's specialty--came about because of another band's blunder. Three decades ago, four teens from Cupertino High School in a band called Goodie Two Shoes (also known as "the ZU"), were asked to fill in when another band failed to make a scheduled appearance at a local high school. The four CHS alumni--Zirilli, Jim Rush, Jim Shippey, and Steve "Surf" Dromensk--had already performed all the music they knew that night. When they were asked to continue playing, the boys decided to belt out some Beach Boys tunes. "The place went nuts," Zirilli said.
After that night in 1971, the band decided to ditch its rock music and play nothing but Beach Boys tunes. Shortly after, they changed their name to Papa Du Run Da Run. Eventually the group stuck with the shortened version, Papa Doo Run Run.
For the next ten years, the group performed at nearly every high school and college in California for a total of more than 200 shows a year. It was at one of those Southern California shows in the mid-'70s that a Disney executive stumbled across the band. The band was hired for a one-week stint at Disneyland. Papa Doo Run Run sent out flyers to students across the state prior to the show with amazing results, Zirilli says.
"Thousands of kids showed up," Zirilli says.
Because of the overwhelming response, Disney hired the band to perform every summer, holiday and special event for the next 15 years. Although the band was phased out of Disneyland in 1990, Zirilli says they still perform at Disney World.
The foursome was the focus of a whirlwind of national attention in the 1970s. In 1973, Papa Doo Run Run became friends with Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean. The two groups later went on five concert tours together and released a TV movie and soundtrack titled "Deadman's Curve."
Papa Doo Run Run released 13 singles and two albums in the 1970s and 1980s. One of their albums, "California Project," was nominated for a Grammy.
In more recent years, Papa Doo Run Run has moved away from playing only Beach Boys music. Now the quintet, clad in Hawaiian shirts and shorts, play Beach Boys and classic rock.
Back in 1965--when "the ZU" played its first gig at a San Jose State University fraternity party (for all the beer they could drink)--the bandmates did not imagine that they would never need to have a "real" job. Zirilli and Rush still play with the band. Shippey left the band in 1985 and is a real estate agent in San Diego. Dromensk left in 1992 to stay home with his two little girls. He now performs throughout the Bay Area with the duo Soundbytes.
Replacing the CHS alums were Jeffrey Foskett, former Beach Boys guitarist and Zirilli's brother-in-law, vocalist Bobby Gothar and drummer Bo Fox.
Zirilli is the only member who still lives in Cupertino with his wife and daughter. The rest are spread throughout California. Because of the distance, Zirilli says, the band doesn't rehearse except during soundchecks before a concert.
Papa Doo Run Run's upcoming concert schedule is packed with big-name events. The band will perform at next year's Super Bowl--its eighth. On New Year's Eve, they will ring in the millennium at the Monterey Hyatt.
This article was originally published in the November 24, 1999 issue of the Cupertino Courier. Copyright © Metro Publishing Inc. Maintained by Boulevards New Media.
cupertino.com home |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2008 Boulevards New Media > Contact Us | |||||||
