Zeb

Los angeles native drummer/percussionist Zeb (a.k.a. Jamey Dekofsky) began his drumming career early. He started playing drums at 8 and by the age of 10 was already playing in numerous percussion ensembles (timpani, hand percussion, drum set) and party bands. Gigging was his life even then. He moved onto punk and classic rock in jr. high and by the age of 15 he was exposed to and started playing a lot of reggae music. He graduated in 1988 from the performing arts magnet at Van Nuys High School where he performed in every musical ensemble they had. By 19 he was backing his first reggae artists (Mikey Dread and hand drumming specialist Ras Michael). He toured Europe and the caribbean with Ras Michael and when he came back to the states his career skyrocketed. In the early 90ʼs he had a development deal with Columbia records (under the tutelage of Randy Jackson of american idol fame) with a band called Black House Blue Sky. That effort never made it to fruition but he continued recording and playing up to 250 shows a year with various bands as well as writing, producing, and teaching percussion. He has done drum and percussion sessions for grammy award winning songwriters such as Diane Warren (Aerosmith, leann Rimes), and worked with top producers such as the legendary Earth, Wind and Fire, Ashley Ingram (Desʼree), and Fabian Cooke (“Lion king”, Jimmy Cliff, ziggy marley). In 1994 he joined and helped form Detour Posse which has since become the premier backing band for International Reggae Artists in the United States. Their career has spanned almost two decades in the business and still going strong. With the Detour Posse he has backed over 100 international Reggae and hip hop artists. Some of the biggest names in his resume being Sean Paul, Shaggy, Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy, Marcia Griffiths, Heavy D, Yellowman, Gyptian, and Kymani Marley. (See attached backing resume for full list). He has toured over 60 countries and played huge venues and festivals such as the Greek Theater, hollywood bowl, Central Park New York, Summerjam (Germany), Jamaicaʼs Sumfest, Tobago Jazz Fest, Reggae on the River (california), Madison Square Garden (new york), Brixton Academy (London), San Diego sports arena, Staples Center, Seattle Bumbershoot Festival, and the Long beach Arena to name a few. One of the highlights of their career was playing in front of over 55,000 screaming fans at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, japan. Recent tours in 2012 included New Zealand, Australia, colombia, costa rica, hawaii, canada, and the caribbean, as well as headlining huge festivals in the U.S. such as the recent Austin City Limits festival in Austin, texas with reggae legend Barrington Levy. He also recently had the privilege of sharing the stage with none other than Stevie Wonder at the Savoy in los angeles. In 2011 zeb performed with grammy winning artist Shaggy on the “George Lopez show” doing the song “Sugarcane” and in 2012 they performed together again on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” doing the song “Dame.” Zeb is proficient not only on drum kit but also world percussion and his most recent project is working with International Latin Pop star Kat De Luna (Universal/Motown records). Her recent hit “wanna see u dance” is in rotation on KIIS fm and stations worldwide and her album drops in April, 2013. On this gig he is responsible for both drum and percussion parts as well as running loops and samples. Playing over 200 shows a year with various and sometimes numerous artists on the same bill Zeb has become a seasoned veteran in the business and is much sought after not only on drums and percussion but also as a dancehall reggae vocalist. He has had song placements in HBOʼs original movie “Thick as Thieves” with Alec Baldwin, MTVʼs hit show “Laguna beach”, and most recently the up and coming movie “Resident Advisor.” 2013 looks to be very promising as tours are already set up (Barrington Levy, Kat De Luna) and many more shows and sessions are in the works. He is currently unendorsed and His Current set up is Pearl Prestige session select kit and Pearl hardware, Sabian Cymbals, Roland spd-sx, toca special edition congas, lp bongos and hand percussion, and pro mark 5b oak sticks. When not on the road he also plays locally at venues large and small so keep your eyes and ears to the speakers. Drummer/Percussionist/Vocalist/Producer