It’s time for another Featured Artist! At SongCast, we’re always looking for new ways to help promote YOUR music. Check out this week’s Featured Artist interview with Andrew Zunno.

What’s your first musical memory?
Five years old listening to “Rubber Soul” by The Beatles.

What artist inspires you?
Dan Fogelberg – Because of his ability to play so many instruments so incredibly well and his sensitivity that poured out of his lyrics. He always told a great story. Eric Clapton because of diversity as a guitar player and his laid back vocals.

What’s your latest track or album?
My first and latest album is Somewhere In The Middle. Although I’ve recorded many albums with other artists and bands this one is my first. It took three years to record and write the songs for the album. I had an incredible opportunity to have very talented session players play on the album and worked with some wonderful producers and engineers in Nashville.

What song or album do you HATE?
Hate is a pretty strong word. I don’t really hate anything. Probably the one song that comes to mind is Lady in Red.

What’s a song or album everyone should be listening to right now?
From a recording production view I think Train’s latest album, “California 37” and any album by Green Day. I think Train borrowed a lot of engineering and production ideas from Green Day’s engineers and producers.

I also think anyone who is into songwriting and acoustic guitar playing should listen to Quah featuring Jorma Kaukonen from Hot Tuna. The album was released well over 30 years ago, but it’s a gift that just keeps giving. I saw Jorma recently at the Beacon Theater in NYC and he hasn’t lost a step. He’s 71 years old! The man is a walking guitar clinic.

What profession would you choose if you couldn’t choose music?
Music used to be my full time profession many years ago. I would gig out six nights a week and played in many well-known clubs in NYC such as the China Club, Tramps, and Kenny’s Castaway. I used play all night and sleep all day. If I ever ventured out during the day I would automatically turn my headlights on my car because I had become so accustom to living when the sun went down.

The music business was very different when I was aggressively pursuing a possible career in it. I became very disenchanted with it because the industry executives were looking for a vanilla sound – anything that was hot for the brief moment. It didn’t appear anyone was committed to invest in an artist or a band for the long term. Thank God for the 60s
and early 70s. If the music industry folks I came in contact with controlled the music of those two decades we probably would have never heard of an Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, or a Joni Mitchell.

Today with the combination of the Internet and technology artists have the ability to be extremely creative by having recording equipment in their homes or apartments to write and record what they want and make it available on YouTube or any on line music services for people to listen to or purchase. It’s really opened up the gates and has created so many more genres.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Tell us more about your local scene.

The local scene by me is quiet. Although I live 45 minutes outside of Manhattan. The past 10 years I have mostly focused on songwriting and music for film and TV. I write when I’m inspired to write and I record when I’m ready to print a song and put a stamp on it. I enjoy my free time with my wife, Lori, and my 11 year old son, Anthony.  As a performer, what would be your ‘perfect’ live experience?

Playing at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan and having Eric Clapton, Leo Kotte, and Jorma Kaukonen sit in on a few songs to show me how it’s really done. LOL!

What aspect drew you to the particular genre of music that you now perform/write?

Always loved listening to the artists who really knew their craft and played with so much feel. Those artists ranged from Nat King Cole (my favorite singer) who was an incredibly talented jazz pianist, Frank Sinatra (the best vocal phraser), Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Dan Fogelberg, Paul Simon, Robert
Johnson, Eric Johnson, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Jeff Beck. I always wanted to be a great musician to write and play as well as the artists I mentioned. I realized that goal was pretty unrealistic because all those artists I mentioned landed on this planet from an alien space ship. The ones that have passed on were not from this world. The ones that are still in our presence are not from this world. Seriously, they were given an incredible God given gift. But they gave me inspiration to be the best I could be. I would say I picked some good role models. Many of these artists were introduced to me by parents and my oldest brother, Gerry. I feel blessed that I grew up in house that music was always playing despite the complaints from the neighbors that we were breaking sound barrier.

Share one personal event in your life that greatly influenced a song/album that you have created during your musical career.

song/album that you have created during your musical career.  The song “Pictures Of You”. A very painful time in my personal life. It took me a long time to finish that song because each time I went back to do rewrites it became too painful and I had to walk away from it. After we broke up I continued to find pictures of her and I foolishly thought
if I ripped up the pictures and tossed them in the trash the pain would go away. Pretty pathetic. Everyone grieves in their own way. Basically, two good people who genuinely loved each other, but couldn’t live a life together. We both suffered after the break up. I heard she’s happily married as I am too. Sometimes things just work out.

A big thanks to Andrew for speaking with us this week!  Check out Andrew on Facebook, and his personal website.

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