So, every time I get the honor of traveling overseas I get a list of requests of what to bring my friends and family back. We just flew into Switzerland this past weekend to perform for the Blues Now Concert Series in Basel and the Sierre Blues Fest in Sierre. I usually get the uncertainty of exactly what country this is..."Sweden?....Germany?..."
Then it starts:
"Hey bring me back some chocolate!"
"Hey don't they make Swiss Cheese?"
"Bring me back a hot Swiss girl!"
and finally "Bring me back some Swiss Miss!!"
I do my best to accomodate my people. Chocolate is always a winner.
I have played now in Europe for about 5 years. It's a slow process but rewarding and always
very fun for me. I love to travel abroad and learn things about other cultures.
You find that no matter where you go, people are people.
I always make a friend or two and some of them really stick.
We find that we have a common interest in music and family and that we are not all that different.
I met Patrick Kaiser last year when we played the Blues Now Concert Series in spring of 2011.
It was the first show of the tour and we really hit off. Patrick and his partners Rene' and Wolter are
very much music lovers and wonderful people. Patrick and his wife Beatrice brought us into their home for dinner and we all talked for hours on end about the Blues, Jazz and music in general.
The people of Basel are modest and straight forward. If they like what they hear, they'll let you know.
Thankfully the initial show at Blues Now was a success.
Now, 15 months later, we returned to Basel to perform again for Patrick and the fine folks in Basel.
The Blues Now Concert Series is extremely professional. The sound is fantastic and the concert hall was really great. This year Cadillac was the big sponsor. The show was full at about 250 people.
Once again Patrick spared no expense at making sure we were happy and having a wonderful experience in Switzerland. We had many meals together and the best is at his home with the family and band. We again sat for hours discussing the music business and the Blues. Who we liked, who we didn't know and so on. We always take a lovely ride over the Rhine River on a ferry when heading to Patricks home. Basel is a wonderful city, very charming and quiet. Beautiful old buildings and scenery that is incredible. This year I was very fortunate to have Rob Lee on drums, Andy Irvine on bass, and Jimmy Carpenter on sax and vocals. What a great bunch of guys and tight ass band.
I have been watching Jimmy C play since 1998. We met at Murphy's in Springfield, Mo. when I opened for Jimmy Thackery. We hit it off right away and have been friends ever since.
The show in Basel was a wonderful show, the people cheering after every solo and dancing in the ailes.
Patrick was very happy and so was I.
There is just something amazing about traveling half way around the world to play music you wrote in your home and have everyone accept it, enjoy it and cheer for more.
Patrick Kaiser is a wonderful man and brother in the blues.
I am back home now, hanging on in the midst of Hurricane Isaac. Hoping for the best for my family and friends in Louisiana and Mississippi.
We fly out this Friday to resume performances with the Royal Southern Brotherhood.
Peace, Love, Zito
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back to School
Well, it's that time of year again....summer is ending and it's back to school.
I have 5 children so this is a big deal. My oldest son, Zach will be a senior in high school.
Riley, my oldest daughter, will be starting middle school. Sophie, my 5 year old, is starting Kindergarten. This is a big year for sure.
I have been on tour all summer with RSB, but got home a week or so ago and have had some much needed time at home with my family. New shoes, back packs, school clothes....the list goes on.
I'm always happy when I get to contribute to the every day particulars at home.
It seems silly to some folks, but cleaning up after dinner, laundry, getting the kids ready for school,
it really means a lot to me. It helps to feel like I am a part of the family and even when I am apart.
I was never a good student, but I was a good student.........
I did not get good grades in school. Hard to believe, right? :)
I was always in trouble for talking or doing stand up comedy or something.
I wasn't a fighter, or so much a shit disturber, just wanted an audience at an early age.
I never did my homework, never studied for anything, yet I usually did well on my testing.
I have a good memory, but it doesn't always equal understanding the subject.
I can just remember most things I hear or read.
Anyway, I got terrible grades, mostly because I never applied myself.
But.......I loved going to school. I loved going to see my friends everyday. My brother and sisters were all older and I loved going to hang out and play with my friends.
I especially loved high school.
I was not popular, but I wasn't a castaway either, just somewhere in the middle.
I went to Catholic school all of my life, which is an institution in Saint Louis.
My high school was Bishop Dubourg. It was Co-ed :)
I was kinda chubby and dorky and really into music and theater.
I wanted to be an actor almost all of my life. They had an exceptional theater dept. for a high school at Dubourg, and I was in every play all four years. I did 15 plays in high school.
I was the only male to ever accomplish this feat at the time. I received a small scholarship to get me started in college, but with my horrible grades, it didn't help much. But I was thankful.
Dubourg is where I met my first friends who really knew how to play guitar.
I had a guitar but did not know how to tune it even, let alone lay anything.
I just tuned it to an open chord and strummed hard and loud.
Mark Mitchell and Keith Snyder showed me how to tune the guitar, how to hold it, how to pick,
and how to play real chords. They were both very good and had been taking lessons.
Like school, I didn't want to learn anything, I just wanted to play.
They had a band and they needed a singer.
I came over and auditioned after school. The band was called Mas Confusion......
Rob Adler was the drummer and a guy from another high school was the lead guitarist - Jeff Slay.
Jeff Slay is the son of Gene Slay. Gene Slay went to high school with my mother.
The Slay family lived in the same neighborhood as my father's family in Soulard.
My father grew up in a mostly Lebanese/Syrian part of town. The Slay's were always in my life since I was born. I knew who Jeff Slay was and maybe met him when I was younger at Saint Raymond's Church. Jeff was an incredibly good guitar player, even at 14 years old.
He'd been taking lessons and learning how to play for a while. He had an Ibanez Destroyer and a red Marshall Stack!!!
He was the first person I ever saw in real life play guitar like I heard on my records.
He played Van Halen and it sounded exactly like Van Halen!
This was a HUGE revelation in my life. I thought you had to be famous to be able to play that good.
From that moment on, I was determined to lean how to play guitar.
I started taking lessons and practicing with the band all the time.
Needless to say, I did not go to college. I went to work at a local guitar store.
I did not get good grades, I did not do my home work......but I loved going to school.
It was just so much fun. I didn't drink in school, I didn't do drugs in school. None of us really did.
We just played music and practiced with the band in Rob Adler's basement.
I remain friends with all these guys today, and my closest friend is Jeff Slay.
He never really got into playing in bands much after high school. He's very talented in many ways and has always had plenty of options.
He has been behind me and my music career 100% since day one.
He's loaned me guitars, given me guitars, amps, helped fund my albums and tours.
He's always involved in anyway possible. When I made my first album for Eclecto Groove Records,
Jeff flew to Hollywood to be there with me and give me the thumbs up I needed.
He's always making sure I am playing guitar and not just playing music! As I have evolved into a song writer and singer, Jeff reminds me to play guitar. To let loose and be fun on the guitar still.
I need that push. When I make an album or record a song, Jeff is one of the first people I send it to for approval. It's been 28 years since we first joined a band together, and he's still right there with me.
He's always a phone call away, if I need anything, or just want to share some of the excitement from my latest tour, Jeff wants to hear about it.
He's lived an exciting, interesting life so far and still plays the hell out of a guitar.
Here is a link to a video at Santa Cruz Guitars website:
http://www.santacruzguitar.com/cowgirl/
The story on this website is incredible, and it's all Jeff Slay.
scroll down and watch the video of him playing and telling the story.
I hope my kids enjoy school as much as I did, although I pray they get much better grades!
Mostly, I hope they make good friends, make good choices and maybe they'll make a friend or two
that will stay with them for long haul.
Peace, Love, Zito
I have 5 children so this is a big deal. My oldest son, Zach will be a senior in high school.
Riley, my oldest daughter, will be starting middle school. Sophie, my 5 year old, is starting Kindergarten. This is a big year for sure.
I have been on tour all summer with RSB, but got home a week or so ago and have had some much needed time at home with my family. New shoes, back packs, school clothes....the list goes on.
I'm always happy when I get to contribute to the every day particulars at home.
It seems silly to some folks, but cleaning up after dinner, laundry, getting the kids ready for school,
it really means a lot to me. It helps to feel like I am a part of the family and even when I am apart.
I was never a good student, but I was a good student.........
I did not get good grades in school. Hard to believe, right? :)
I was always in trouble for talking or doing stand up comedy or something.
I wasn't a fighter, or so much a shit disturber, just wanted an audience at an early age.
I never did my homework, never studied for anything, yet I usually did well on my testing.
I have a good memory, but it doesn't always equal understanding the subject.
I can just remember most things I hear or read.
Anyway, I got terrible grades, mostly because I never applied myself.
But.......I loved going to school. I loved going to see my friends everyday. My brother and sisters were all older and I loved going to hang out and play with my friends.
I especially loved high school.
I was not popular, but I wasn't a castaway either, just somewhere in the middle.
I went to Catholic school all of my life, which is an institution in Saint Louis.
My high school was Bishop Dubourg. It was Co-ed :)
I was kinda chubby and dorky and really into music and theater.
I wanted to be an actor almost all of my life. They had an exceptional theater dept. for a high school at Dubourg, and I was in every play all four years. I did 15 plays in high school.
I was the only male to ever accomplish this feat at the time. I received a small scholarship to get me started in college, but with my horrible grades, it didn't help much. But I was thankful.
Dubourg is where I met my first friends who really knew how to play guitar.
I had a guitar but did not know how to tune it even, let alone lay anything.
I just tuned it to an open chord and strummed hard and loud.
Mark Mitchell and Keith Snyder showed me how to tune the guitar, how to hold it, how to pick,
and how to play real chords. They were both very good and had been taking lessons.
Like school, I didn't want to learn anything, I just wanted to play.
They had a band and they needed a singer.
I came over and auditioned after school. The band was called Mas Confusion......
Rob Adler was the drummer and a guy from another high school was the lead guitarist - Jeff Slay.
Jeff Slay is the son of Gene Slay. Gene Slay went to high school with my mother.
The Slay family lived in the same neighborhood as my father's family in Soulard.
My father grew up in a mostly Lebanese/Syrian part of town. The Slay's were always in my life since I was born. I knew who Jeff Slay was and maybe met him when I was younger at Saint Raymond's Church. Jeff was an incredibly good guitar player, even at 14 years old.
He'd been taking lessons and learning how to play for a while. He had an Ibanez Destroyer and a red Marshall Stack!!!
He was the first person I ever saw in real life play guitar like I heard on my records.
He played Van Halen and it sounded exactly like Van Halen!
This was a HUGE revelation in my life. I thought you had to be famous to be able to play that good.
From that moment on, I was determined to lean how to play guitar.
I started taking lessons and practicing with the band all the time.
Needless to say, I did not go to college. I went to work at a local guitar store.
I did not get good grades, I did not do my home work......but I loved going to school.
It was just so much fun. I didn't drink in school, I didn't do drugs in school. None of us really did.
We just played music and practiced with the band in Rob Adler's basement.
I remain friends with all these guys today, and my closest friend is Jeff Slay.
He never really got into playing in bands much after high school. He's very talented in many ways and has always had plenty of options.
He has been behind me and my music career 100% since day one.
He's loaned me guitars, given me guitars, amps, helped fund my albums and tours.
He's always involved in anyway possible. When I made my first album for Eclecto Groove Records,
Jeff flew to Hollywood to be there with me and give me the thumbs up I needed.
He's always making sure I am playing guitar and not just playing music! As I have evolved into a song writer and singer, Jeff reminds me to play guitar. To let loose and be fun on the guitar still.
I need that push. When I make an album or record a song, Jeff is one of the first people I send it to for approval. It's been 28 years since we first joined a band together, and he's still right there with me.
He's always a phone call away, if I need anything, or just want to share some of the excitement from my latest tour, Jeff wants to hear about it.
He's lived an exciting, interesting life so far and still plays the hell out of a guitar.
Here is a link to a video at Santa Cruz Guitars website:
http://www.santacruzguitar.com/cowgirl/
The story on this website is incredible, and it's all Jeff Slay.
scroll down and watch the video of him playing and telling the story.
I hope my kids enjoy school as much as I did, although I pray they get much better grades!
Mostly, I hope they make good friends, make good choices and maybe they'll make a friend or two
that will stay with them for long haul.
Peace, Love, Zito
Saturday, August 11, 2012
A summer ends
Hope all is well out there in your blue world....
I've tried to keep this blog going every week but time has gotten the best of me and it's dropped off a little.
I am in Minneapolis enroute to Duluth to perform with RSB at the Bayfront Blues Fest tonight.
We had a fantastic trip to Europe last month. Austria, Switzerland and mostly Italy. Growing up in an Italian household and finally getting to see the "old country", as my father called it, was sensational. It was kind of like being at a huge Zito family reunion.
The crowds were intense and really got into the music. This band just has a way of getting into your heart and soul and making you feel the music.
It has been a long, long summer. The tour has been going strong for months and it's just now beginning to die down for a few weeks. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I always enjoy playing with my band and touring, but this is just different. It's like being on tour with the Boys Club....
You got a different mix of people who have come together in the name of music and soul. We have found a common ground in the music.
I'm proud to be in this band.
Even though the summer is wrapping up, our tour will continue in Sept and into the fall months with another big Europe tour in October.
I'm very excited to play the Big Muddy Blues Fest in Saint Louis over Labor Day weekend. I have never played the Big Muddy in my life, but attended many,many times. I was not always accepted in the STL blues world.
Early on I was told I was too rock n roll and too wild to play in the blues clubs and at the festivals in Saint Louis.
In about 1998,I put out my first cd "Blue Room". I was so excited to turn it in to the Big Muddy Fest for consideration.
They turned me down immediately.
I was performing regularly at a club on the landing called Boomers. We had a great weekend gig there in the back of the club and we were doing very well.
The owner of the club, John Clark, got very upset that we were not allowed to perform at the festival. He decided to set up his own stage in the alley in front of his club and have us play on both Saturday and Sunday of the festival which surrounded this alley.
We set up, turned up and played our hearts out. People poured in from both sides of the alley and we sold all of our CDs that day. It was a huge uplifting experience. The owner of that club got a visit later that day from the festival commissioner and was told that we could not perform again on Sunday.
We took too many paying customers away from the festival stages. It turned into a huge fight between the two.
John Clark stood by our side but we were not allowed to perform again on Sunday. Either way it was a great experience and a memory I'll never forget. I understand the point of the festival folks back then and know it wasn't personal. I was definitely young, wild, loud and rocking!
After all these years to return to Saint Louis and play this festival means the world to me.
Especially with this band,
Royal Southern Brotherhood.
Thank you to all our friends out there who have spread the word and been to many shows already. We look forward to seeing you more this fall and to continuing the RSB tour.
Peace, love, Zito
I've tried to keep this blog going every week but time has gotten the best of me and it's dropped off a little.
I am in Minneapolis enroute to Duluth to perform with RSB at the Bayfront Blues Fest tonight.
We had a fantastic trip to Europe last month. Austria, Switzerland and mostly Italy. Growing up in an Italian household and finally getting to see the "old country", as my father called it, was sensational. It was kind of like being at a huge Zito family reunion.
The crowds were intense and really got into the music. This band just has a way of getting into your heart and soul and making you feel the music.
It has been a long, long summer. The tour has been going strong for months and it's just now beginning to die down for a few weeks. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I always enjoy playing with my band and touring, but this is just different. It's like being on tour with the Boys Club....
You got a different mix of people who have come together in the name of music and soul. We have found a common ground in the music.
I'm proud to be in this band.
Even though the summer is wrapping up, our tour will continue in Sept and into the fall months with another big Europe tour in October.
I'm very excited to play the Big Muddy Blues Fest in Saint Louis over Labor Day weekend. I have never played the Big Muddy in my life, but attended many,many times. I was not always accepted in the STL blues world.
Early on I was told I was too rock n roll and too wild to play in the blues clubs and at the festivals in Saint Louis.
In about 1998,I put out my first cd "Blue Room". I was so excited to turn it in to the Big Muddy Fest for consideration.
They turned me down immediately.
I was performing regularly at a club on the landing called Boomers. We had a great weekend gig there in the back of the club and we were doing very well.
The owner of the club, John Clark, got very upset that we were not allowed to perform at the festival. He decided to set up his own stage in the alley in front of his club and have us play on both Saturday and Sunday of the festival which surrounded this alley.
We set up, turned up and played our hearts out. People poured in from both sides of the alley and we sold all of our CDs that day. It was a huge uplifting experience. The owner of that club got a visit later that day from the festival commissioner and was told that we could not perform again on Sunday.
We took too many paying customers away from the festival stages. It turned into a huge fight between the two.
John Clark stood by our side but we were not allowed to perform again on Sunday. Either way it was a great experience and a memory I'll never forget. I understand the point of the festival folks back then and know it wasn't personal. I was definitely young, wild, loud and rocking!
After all these years to return to Saint Louis and play this festival means the world to me.
Especially with this band,
Royal Southern Brotherhood.
Thank you to all our friends out there who have spread the word and been to many shows already. We look forward to seeing you more this fall and to continuing the RSB tour.
Peace, love, Zito
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