The long and painful process....

Maybe that got your attention :)
I'm sitting in the control room of Dockside Studios with my engineer David Ferrell and we are finishing up the mixes for my new album "Gone to Texas". I've been here for 6 days now mostly in this one same room. It's one of my favorite places to be on planet earth. David is one of the best and one of my favorites to spend this time with.
He has wonderful stories of albums and projects over the years that are extremely entertaining to me. Japanese punk bands showing up in Bogalusa, La at the Winn Dixie with pink and blue hair and having the cops called on them just because....
When I leave here tomorrow I will have recorded and mixed 15 songs in 7 days. It sounds like a lot and maybe even impossible and some of you might even think this has something to do with how great I am, but it doesn't so please don't! I'm not great, I'm just working hard and smart, attributes I learned from David Z and Tony Braunagel and David Ferrell.
This album idea was conceived in January of 2012. I got the idea from reading Texas history. It took about 2 months for the song to come me. Then I began using the song and title as an open canvas of a story I wanted to tell, but had no idea how I would tell it.
I wrote almost 30 songs last year with this album and story in mind.
Some really rocking, some slow and sweet and some more blues or country.
I made the song list for this album a thousand times. I came up with at least a dozen album cover ideas. I started to think about a band. To find the right players. Some came and some went, some stayed. I had a sound in my head for this album that started to reveal itself to me as the year was passing by.
I drove my wife and manager crazy sending demos everyday for months.
It's all about the story.
An album without a story is just a bunch of songs that don't really belong together. What's the story?
The story can't just be that you're good.
That's not going to work.
Their are too many others better than you, no matter how great you think you are! It can't be the same old shit cause the originators have done it best, so who wants to hear you play almost as good as Muddy Waters when they can listen to fucking Muddy Waters! :)
The story has to be honest and true.
You have to open up and share some real intimate material with your audience. People know the difference between good, better and best and you had better be shooting for best, that way you might land somewhere around better. This year of constant writing and rewriting and living in your head takes a toll on you and those around you. Because to be the best artist you can be is to be very, very selfish.
But when the time comes to book the studio and get the schedule lined up, things get really exciting. As a producer you get all the songs together and make a final song list. The songs that really work best to tell your story.
You make notes for the arrangements,
chord charts for the band, print out all the lyrics. Then you all show up to the studio and hope it all works out!
If you're a good producer, you have brought together all the right people so it makes the recording process very easy. You show up prepared and yet open to ideas along the way.
Everyone laughs and tells great stories. Wonderful meals are shared, family and loved ones come to share in the joy of the album. You work hard and then you get a break and tell more stories and laugh harder.
You spend 12 hours a day together making music and wishing it would never end.
When the actual recording begins you get lost in the songs and in the parts and in the playing. You're trying find ways to make the acoustic guitar work with the piano and stay out the way of the snare drum and so on....
You've got to make the track feel good.
Once all the tracks are cut and you start adding harmonies and percussion you start to hear for the first time....
Your songs again.
They just came to life right in front of your eyes. 6 days later all the musicians have gone home and its just you and the engineer alone in this room. The studio is empty and dark.
That's where I am right now.
We have mixed 8 songs so far and will probably do one more before we call it a night. The songs are finished and have become their own entities now .
It's amazing to hear them after a year of thinking about them night and day.
The process is still far from over.
Mastering is necessary to get the best volumes and eq on the final mixes.
The artwork has to be finalized, liner notes written etc. Then we wait about 3 months or so before it is ever released.
So, in retrospect we didn't make a record in 7 days. We made a recording of a particular piece of time in history where musicians played these songs together in 7 days. We made a record in about a year in a half.
That is if you're making an honest, thoughtful album that has a story to be told. I realize what a privilege it is to get to make an album and I feel a real responsibility to try and make the best album I have ever made. I also try not to take myself too seriously. At the end of the day I'm a father and a husband and this is my job. I try to work as hard as any other father that works to provide for his family. Playing music professionally should be really hard, because we get to do something we love. I'm never interested so much in the fame and the fortune, I just want to make a great record. That's all that will be left behind when I die.
I'm thankful my family understands why I have to be away and I'm grateful for the wonderful musicians and artists that lend their skills and time to make my dreams come true.
Their is nothing more important in the life of a musician than making records.
I live for the long and painful process.

Gone to Texas

Hope all is well in your blue world.
Happy new year to all of you.
I was so fortunate to be home for the holidays and having all the kids at the house is such a treat. We played lots of games and ate wayyyy too much!
Then my oldest children, Zach, Riley and Sam hit the road with me on tour with RSB opening for Gregg Allman.
Sam got sick along the way, and the other two were troopers. What a fun tour it was. Zach helped by being my roadie and Riley ran around getting everyone's autograph. John Hiatt asked Riley if he could have his picture taken with her! The tour was short but wonderful and ended on such a high note for me personally. I sat in with Gregg Allman and band and played One Way Out. It was a dream come true.
As soon as the tour ended we packed our bags again and hit the Rock Legends Cruise. It was certainly legendary. 4300 fans on one huge ship!
Great shows, met some wonderful people and got to spend some quality time with my wife Laura. She had such a good time, she's a rocker chick at heart.
We are wrapping up a week of dates with RSB and then I head straight to Dockside Studios to record my next album "Gone to Texas"
This is a very exciting album for me.
It is the first time I will be bringing in my own band The Wheel: Rob Lee, Jimmy Carpenter, Lewis Stephens, Scot Sutherland and Susan Cowsill. It is also the first album that I will be producing myself on a label. I'm so thankful to Ruf Records for allowing me to be the artist I have always hoped to be. This again is a very personal record. Stories from my life and songs I really love about my time in the Lonestar State.
Look for this release in early May.
Devon's new album Turquoise is on its way out soon as well as Bart Walkers album as well. Both fantastic records by great artists.
Check online for all touring dates for all the bands and join the Street Crew by all means!
Peace, Love, Zito

The Wheel Rolls On

Hope all is well in your blue world...
I am out on the road with my new band The Wheel, featuring sax/vocalist Jimmy Carpenter, bassist Scot Sutherland, and drummer Rob Lee.
We are out on our official first tour running through the south. Many of you know these fabulous musicians from other great groups and maybe from playing with me as well. I have been writing my new album "Gone to Texas" all year long with an idea of my dream band for this recording.
I saw Rob Lee play drums with Alan Haynes at The Big Easy in Houston years ago and fell in love....
Not like that!
It's his strong, soulful backbeat and swing that really got my attention.
Rob has been playing drums with me for about 3-4 years. He was brought in around the recording of Pearl River. He was booked to be the drummer on that album. He was on tour in Europe with Alan Haynes and their flight got held back and he had to contact me to let me know he didn't think he'd make it in time for the album. It was a frantic situation but being in New Orleans we had a few options and Eric Bolivar was brought in for the recording. Eric did a great job, but I've always been remiss that Rob wasn't on Pearl River.
We have been wanting to make an album together for some time and I am excited to have Rob join me in this new group and album.
Many of my favorite artists always have had a drummer that was their "sound".
Bruce Springsteen with Max Weinberg,
John Melloncamp with Kenny Aronoff,
Mike Zito with Rob Lee.
I first saw Scot Sutherland play bass with Tommy Castro in 2010 at the Blues from the Top festival in Winter Park, Co. I was blown away. He filled the stage with bass and moved the music with a swing that was immaculate. We jammed on the Delbert cruise and had a real rapport right away. He plays all the right notes and knows all the styles and feels that i love. I've always kept Scot in mind for my dream band and its coming true.
I met Jimmy Carpenter in 1998 in Springfield, Mo. with Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers. I had seen him play before and was excited to share the stage with him. He liked my group and offered to help me get some gigs on the road. We stayed in touch over the years and we both moved to the gulf coast about 10 years ago.
He set the bar very high for me considering horn players. I was a big Drivers fan in those days and really liked the sound of a sax with the guitar.
I've been so fortunate to have him accompany me on many gigs over the past 5 years and we just seem to really play well together. Jimmy is not your regular saxophonist. He really knows how to play with a guitar. He phrases like a guitar when necessary and gets a strong tenor tone like no other. Their are times when it sounds like we are one big guitar tone. He is soulful and melodic like no other.
We are out on this tour to get acquainted as a group and get our mindset for next months recording at Dockside Studios.
Their is one more member of The Wheel - Lewis Stephens on B3 and Piano!
I met Lewis on the Delbert cruise in 2009 and got to play with him. Wow!
He is incredible. He played all the right stuff behind my guitar playing, it made me sound so much larger than life.
I then learned that Lewis was Freddie King's B3 player. Aha!!!
He is such a sweet man and shared many stories with me about Mr King, one of my heros of the blues.
I asked him then if he would ever consider playing and recording with me and he said yes.
Lewis will join us in January for the album.
So, I've had these fabulous musicians on my mind and in my heart for some time. I wrote this album with them in mind and with the idea of a big band.
A big sound. A Texas style E Street Band!
With all the success of RSB this year I knew I would need to really step it up in my solo career. The Wheel is the next chapter of my musical book.
We are all very excited to make this album. I believe I have written some of my best material to date and have the group to truly bring it to life.
I've been so blessed this year in my family and my musical career, I couldn't ask for more.
I've had some tough times too but the music always get me through.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Holiday Season, please be safe and enjoy your loved ones. You never know what's around the turns ahead.
Hopefully all good things.
The Wheel will roll on :)
Peace, Love, Zito

Brothers Abroad

The Royal Southern Brotherhood embarked on a 28 day/24 show tour on Oct 15th. It was the last tour of a long year for this group that has really been blessed with success. We are currently on our way to Winterbach, Germany with about a week left before we head home. The audiences have been magnificent and gracious. Very open to our style of music, very open to the diversity in our group and our songs.
It's always uplifting and motivating to travel so far and have such acceptance of your songs.
We performed for the famous Rockpalast television program in Bonn Germany. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. It was an incredible experience and I think a real high energy captured performance by our group. (Also, my hair looked pretty good)
We played a small club in Paris called La Duvan du Monde on a Monday night just 2 km from a small club where the Rolling Stones were performing that same night. It got real exciting for a second. Cyril had toured with the Stones when singing for the Meters in the 70's and also on his own with the traveling circus tours.
Calls were made, publicists and managers reached out hoping for a meet and greet and ultimately putting our album in the hands of the Rolling Stones. Alas, we received word from their camp that they knew we were in town and were sorry they couldn't see us but wished a good show and tour.
I was pretty impressed! It was a strange old club with lots of fog and bright lights and old balcony.
I kept imagining seeing Keith and Mick through the fog sitting in the balcony by themselves watching our set.
We ended the show with our encore of Gimme Shelter and I swear they were hiding in the shadows.......
As we get close to ending a years worth of touring and work, we all feel elated and thankful. It's been a wonderful ride so far and we look forward to our next chapter in 2013.
Thank you all so much for the kind , loving support that this band needed to get off the ground. I have a new band of brothers that I feel at home with and new music to brighten my soul.
Thank you to Devon, Cyril, Charlie and Yonrico for all the wonderful shows and good times on the road. (Lots of laughter) A big thanks to Rueben Williams and Thomas Ruf for being there every step of the way. And thank you to all at Piedmont Talent for pushing hard for this band.
Devon has a solo album coming out in February called "Turquoise" on Ruf Records, I think his best work to date.
Cyril is recording a solo album in December that will come out next year.
Yours truly will go into the studio in January to record my new album "Gone to Texas", which will come out next summer.
All is well in our world thanks to you.
See you on the road.....

On the road

We spend a lot of time on the road.....
Literally, I spend most of my time in a year on the highway in a van. Most of that time is in the middle of cities on a road that always looks the same. Farmland, hills, truck-stops, small towns, toll roads, rest stops, chem trails...... :)
The road goes on forever.
It's never ending and always constant.
It's every bathroom in every town with every vulgar racist political nonsense you could never imagine on the walls.
It's Doritos and Mars bars, Cokes and coffees all staring you in the face when you're telling yourself you need to find something good to eat. It's gray faced, low talking, midnight cashiers all asking if that's you on pump 9.
Watching tv shows on your phone,
listening to Lightning Hopkins, John Hiatt, Sonny Landreth and Richard Pryor. Taking turns in the shotgun seat,
and laying down a lot but never really sleeping.
Most of us just become zombie like people with one question.....
"How much longer?"
Then their are times when we engage in storytelling. We start laughing together at Louis C.K.
Cyril starts telling us about being on tour with the Rolling Stones,
Yonrico talks about playing with Ray Charles, I share a delicious drug story from way back. Devon and Bobby gets excited about tacos or football.
Everyone starts sitting up and looking around. We start sharing our favorite. music with each other.
This is a ritualistic period of time and we hardly think about it....
It's the last hour of the drive.
We've been riding for 12 hours all day and the last hour it gets really fun....
almost as if we don't want it to end.
It's like being held hostage and fearing for your life, only to be set free and strangely missing your ordeal.

So when we say "we're on the road"
we are literally on the road. You might think its a term used to describe the night to night concerts in different cities, but very little time is spent on stage.
This is not a cry for help, a whoa is me,
or even a romantic glimpse. It's just another blog from the tour. I run out of things to write about sometimes and go with whatever gets me typing.
We drive 12 hours today to Birmingham, Al.

"I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind.....you know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find.....
Running into the sun
but I'm running behind"

Peace, Love, Zito

a blue room.......

Hope all is well in your blue world folks.......

I have so much to write about this week, I've kinda been putting it off a little.
It was Labor Day Weekend and that was a hell of a time!
The Royal Southern Brotherhood was back in full force this weekend.
On Friday night we kicked it off at Deb's Blues Farm.
It was the 10th Anniversary of this private blues extravaganza out on a farm in Montgomery City, Mo.

I met Deb Reitz about 8 years ago in Columbia, Mo at the Martini Bar.
Before that I met her friend Donna in Houston at the Big Easy.
I was playing one of the blues jams and Donna introduced herself, said she liked my sound.
Asked where I was from and I told her Saint Louis. She then told me about the Blues Farm.
Having lived in Missouri almost all of my life, I couldn't believe I had never heard of it.
This woman, Deb, was having a private blues fest with Tab Benoit, Preston Hubbard and others.
I said I have to do this Blues Farm.
I met Deb about a year later and begged her to let me come play at her party.
She liked my band and agreed to have us.
This year was the 10th Anniversary of the Blues Farm and it was my 7th year in a row.
The best people in Missouri come out every year for this party, bbq, bring dinners, bake cakes and cookies (you might wanna ask about the brownies before you eat one).
It's a hell of a party and is out on her beautiful farm. It's a mini Woodstock of sorts.
Unfortunately it rained this year, but that didn't stop us and the fine folks from having a great time.
RSB was there along with Anthony Gomes, Tony Campanella, Matt Hill, Preston Hubbard.
Deb is a real fan of music and first rate friend. She petitioned everyone to join the Blues Foundation when I was nominated for the BMA's and I believe single handedly helped me to win in 2010.
I will forever be grateful for her friendship and support.
I look forward to many more Blues Farms!

Saturday, RSB performed at the Big Muddy Blues Fest in Saint Louis.
As I wrote in the past, this was a very big deal for me and the city really came out in support.
The band was on fire and brought the house down!
It was a good feeling to be in my hometown and get such a warm response.

Saturday evening I played a late night set at BB's, Jazz, Blues and Soups in Saint Louis.
This was a special event as well. I didn't have my band with me so I contacted the rhythm section and former bandmates from my first album "Blue Room" Bryan Zielie and Doug Byrkit.
We decided to do a small reunion show and perform the entire album on stage.
The best part, we had not played together for 13 years!
We did not rehearse, we just listened to that old album and tried to play it stylistically to the best of our ability. It was a hoot!!!
First off, I had not listened to this album in a long, long time. I could not help but laugh at myself and how wild I was. The guitar playing is really over the top and crazy sounding and at speeds I could never conjure up again. The singing is not really singing, but more like a talking/screaming vocal.
It really brought back memories doing this show and listening to that album.
Brian and Doug and I were a real band. "Zito" was the band name and we played 5-6 times a week for years in Saint Louis. We all lived in my sisters house on the southside. We practiced almost everyday,
and had parties every night. It was all in good fun in those days, we were all pretty young and just having a blast. Their was no drugs yet or anything ugly, just too much drinking and lots of friends hanging out. Eventually we ran our course. I got more into drinking and yes early drug stages and the guys were looking to do more than just play blues rock. We parted ways and that was 13 years ago.
I have to say, these guys are excellent musicians and super good dudes and if I may say so myself,
I think it almost sounded like the album. I know for me, it felt like it.
below is a short clip of "Lovering" from that show.
Thanks to Brian and Doug for a great night- looking forward to doing it again!

You never know exactly when you're having one of the best times of your life, when you're younger,
until many years later when you can look back and remember it for what it truly was.
3 young guys, trying to play music and get chicks and have as much fun as they possibly could.
We succeeded gentlemen.
It's also bittersweet at this point in my life to know that it will never happen again, not like that.
But it's happening right now at my home with my family and in RSB and I am aware and awake and
very, very grateful. I'm taking it all in.
Peace, Love, Zito

http://youtu.be/0IMlmyEue5I

Swiss Miss Please

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