This photo of Chris Stewart, Randy Wayne and Patrick Knowles was taken by Andy Thomas around Easter 1985.

Andy Thomas sent me this 1985 photo of Bryant Simpson on stage with Andy Thomas and Tom Calderaro in the background. This is Zot at Costa Mesa.

At age 10, Diamond had his heart set on becoming an airline pilot. "There was just nothing cooler to me than a pilot," recalls Diamond. But FAA regulations require that pilot applicants be 17 years or older. "I wanted to fly, but I knew it wasn't going to happen any time soon. So I focused on my second love: music. There was no FAA regulation preventing a 10-year old from becoming a rock star!"

"We were staying in a hotel in East Lansing, Michigan," recalls Diamond. "The hotel's bartender was also a flight instructor, which I found to be a curious combination of careers. He invited me to fly with him." Then 17, finally old enough to earn his wings, Diamond was without the time to complete the training. "Being a rock star can really eat into your day," jokes Diamond.

Recorded on November 12, 1984, the Uranium video made it into heavy rotation on MTV during the summer of 1985 for a short time.

MTV's Mark Goodman interviewed the band for the first ever showing of their Uranium video. This is a dated video taken from an old VHS tape and the quality is not the best. I'd like to thank Zot fan Jim Hewitt for passing this along.

There are a few spots of the interview missing, but the majority of it is intact. Randy Wayne handles most of the questions, but Bryant Simpson and Patrick Knowles get to jump in as well (Chris Stewart doesn't speak).

The entire interview runs three and a half minutes (there appears to be a bit more that was lost). The Uranium video is not included in this clip. I have a much better copy of the video that I'm in the process of digitizing.

• Zot MTV interview - QuickTime .mov 6.3MB
• Zot MTV interview - Windows Media .wmv 8.3MB

Versatile is the word that best discribes bassist, Bryant Simpson.

Born in Los Angeles, Bryant's musical career began in Fullerton, California, the birthplace of the Fender bass. He was always enamored with the sound of the bass, but it wasn't until high school that he got the opportunity to explore his musical desires, when his father bought Bryant a bass to keep him out of trouble. From that moment, he was hooked! He then moved on to Fullerton College and for the next 2 years played electric and acoustic bass in their award winning jazz ensemble under the direction of Terry Blackley and Jim Linnahon. After graduating, Bryant began studying privately with MIT staff bassist and jazz veteran, Luther Hughes and bass virtuoso, John Pattitucci, while maintaining steady work in the Orange County area Top 40 scene and as a member of the jazz quartet "Blueprint", featuring Ron Kobayashi. Although his roots were in funk, R&B and jazz, Bryant also had a love for rock music and in 1982 he joined the local Orange County rock group ZOT. Adding his funky groove with their modern rock edge proved to be a winning combination and the group was soon signed to Elektra/Asylum records. They enjoyed brief success until the group disbanded in 1985.

from left to right: Patrick Knowles, Bryant Simpson, Randy Wayne, Chris Stewart

It was fall of 1982 when I responded to an ad in a local paper for a band seeking a bass player. “Zot” was a trio based in Huntington Beach, about 20 minutes from my home in Anaheim. They had a small but loyal following, playing mostly high school dances and backyard parties. Their sound was very techno pop, with Randy’s lead vocals reminding me of David Bowie on helium! My background was in R&B, funk and jazz-fusion, but somehow when we put everything together that day, it felt…great! They were excited and so was I. We immediately started rehearsing for some live shows with hopes of making a demo with Zot’s “new sound”. Randy Wayne’s songwriting was strong and while he was not the most musically talented in the band (I always thought Patrick Knowles was), he had lots of charisma. Chris Stewart’s drumming was solid as well and we really locked. We rehearsed almost daily and as the music got tighter, so did our friendship. We worked hard and played hard.

Our first demo caught the ears of a lot of people. I must admit that there was nothing out there that you could accurately compare it to. With several record labels showing interest, we looked for a manager with strong connections. We finally chose a person who I will refer to as BKP, who at the time was managing Rod Stewart. In my opinion, signing him as manager was both a blessing and a curse for Zot. Although we may not have enjoyed some of our success had it not been for BKP, he was instrumental in changing the focus of the band from making good music to making the “big time” while at the same time planting “you are the star” seeds in Randy’s head. By the time we signed with Elektra/Asylum, the tree was already growing. There was a clause in the contract that stated the band would be dropped if Randy left the group. But we were so close of friends that we were sure that would never happen.

We searched for a producer and went through many candidates. We finally settled on Pat Moran who had just finished Robert Plant’s “The Big Log”. We recorded at the Record Plant in L.A. but Randy and Pat (Moran) the mix-down was in Wales were Moran lived. Naturally, the project went over budget but we were happy with the finished results. They next few months were like a whirlwind with T.V. appearances, live shows and of course, parties and more parties. Then the bottom fell out. Shortly after the release of the album, our A&R guy who signed us (he had also signed Motley Crue and Dokken) had a big falling out with Elektra’s CEO and left us at the label without representation. He went over to Geffen Records and we were dropped. At this time, the pillow talk between Randy and BKP came into fruition. In the fall of 1985 we went on tour with Latin singer/actress Maria Conchita Alonso. When we returned in 1986, the band disbanded. Randy and BKP continued their dubious relationship for several years after but he was never able to make Randy into that “big star”. Patrick and Chris joined different bands in the Orange County. I began doing a lot of session work and moved to North Hollywood. I kept in touch with the guys for a few years but gradually lost contact by the early 90’s.

The times I had with Zot were priceless; I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Patrick, Chris and Randy will always have a special place in my heart. But after that experience, I knew that I never wanted to be in another band situation were the goal was to get signed, sell a million records and become stars. To me, the music was, is and always will be most important. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

I received this undated photo from Bryant Simpson. It shows the band at the video shoot for Uranium. [from left to right] Chris Stewart, Patrick Knowles, Randy Wayne, and Bryant Simpson.

This photo appears to be from Patrick's high school days.

To my friends and family,

We are going to have a memorial service for Patrick at the below locations, as this was the church that Patrick and I grew up in as children and where Patrick taught Sunday school as an adult with Mary.

Community United Methodist Church
Date: Saturday, February 12, 2005
Time: 1:00 pm
Located at: 6652 Heil Ave, Huntington Beach
Phone: (714) 842-4461

Services will be given by Pastor Mike Aggleston

God Bless..

Thank you for your commitment to the group and for keeping the name alive. Do you have articles published about Zot? I would be interested in what information you have gathered over the years. Thank you!

Elizabeth Reynold aka Elizabeth Knowles

I have heard that Patrick was very sick, and suffering from an old injury to his back. I'm afraid that I don't have any more information than that at the moment.

It's hard to know what to say...I'm pretty shocked to hear this. Just back in October I was hearing about the possibilities of a Zot reunion, and now this tragic news.

I know that Patrick will be sorely missed. Whenever I heard from anyone even remotely connected with the band they all asked about Patrick first. Although I never knew the man, I do know that his talent was considerable and that he certainly had a charisma that drew others to him.

Patrick, I'm just an old Zot fan living in Japan, but you and your music made a big impression on more people than you may ever know. The first mail message I ever got concerning the Zot page was from one of your co-workers who told me that you'd seen the page and you'd got a kick out of it. I'd always hoped that someday I'd have the opportunity to get in touch with you and ask you more about your music, but unfortunately that won't be possible now. You were too young to leave us Patrick.

Thank you for all the great music and memories!

Veteran producer Pat Moran, who worked with Edie Brickell, Jon Butcher Axis, and so many others, engineers and produces this highly listenable and entertaining album by the band Zot. It's the songs and vocals of keyboard player Randy Wayne who would go on to work with one of the big acts at the Stiefel Company which represented Zot, that act being Rod Stewart. There's appropriate alien cover art and a vocal from Wayne which is borderline Nick Gilder veering off into David Bowie territory. Randy Wayne would have been the perfect addition to the Spiders From Mars when Bowie's rhythm section tried to launch a career of their own. This is the stuff fans of Ziggy Stardust could truly have appreciated. Though there are no sparks of brilliance à la Roxy Music or other adventurous experimental bands, Zot works because the music is simple, ethereal, and quite pleasing.

The undercurrents could be stronger, there is no push and pull, and while songs like "I Believe in Miracles" have their moments, they just don't have enough to get them all the way over the bar that was commercial FM radio. Ultravox would at least throw you a "Wide Boys," and something like that would've been a plus here. It's all original compositions by Randy Wayne, and had he covered a Ric Ocasek tune from the Cars' Panorama album or even Sweeny Todd's "Roxy Roller," or Ultravox, the album would have that diversion it seems to be crying out for. But the bright side is that the LP is very good and is a fun listen: something to pull out and play when the mood strikes. A surprisingly pleasant disc despite its lack of dynamics. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide

Here are some excerpts:

MR: How did you get involved with Berlin? Were they friends of yours?

DD: No. I was playing in a local band that actually went on later to get a deal with Elektra called Zot. We went one night to a place in West Hollywood called Flippers, which is no longer there. It was one of those roller-disco's (laughs). Anyway, there was this band playing there called Null & Void, and they were really noisy and very experimental, while Zot was a very commercial pop band like Styx, SuperTramp, and those other tired bands that seemed to appeal to so many blonde beach types. I made some comment about how innovative Null & Void was. So, the singer for Zot, whom I never got along with anyway said "Why don't you join them?" Well just as he said that, I realized that I knew someone on Null & Void's crew and so I went over to say "hi" to him. He made some comment about the fact that they were about to fire their bass player. I said "Well, you know what, I'd like to audition." So, the very next week, I got a call from them and went to audition.

Read the full David Diamond interview on the Berlin website.

I for one am a very happy camper to be hearing this. I figured that after 20 years there wasn't much hope of Zot recording or releasing any new material, so hearing about them even considering this is great news.

Before I jump to any unfounded conclusions about this news I'll try to get some more confirmation. Of course I'll post anything I learn here...since this is the only Zot website on the net you won't have to go looking anywhere else for a scoop!