Emily Zuzik

"Emily Zuzik's voice ranges from a sweet and alluring croon to a low growl that would charm even the most world-weary."
- Time Out NY

Emily Zuzik will introduce tunes off her new CD on Friday at Zoey's

By Bill Locey
Thursday, October 4, 2007

She might have been the last name called when the teacher took roll, but singer-songwriter Emily Zuzik out of New York will be near the top of the food chain when she makes her 805 debut at artist-friendly Zoey's in Ventura on Friday night.

Also appearing are B. Willing (do not B. Mistaken — this is an alias of Brendan James of Shades of Day) and Pi, proof that math does matter. Imagine a singing female personification of 3.1416. She's got to be better than algebra.

Meanwhile, fashion-model-by-day Zuzik, who was once a Bond girl on the cover of an Ian Fleming paperback reissue, is touring in support of her latest, "You Had Me at Goodbye." Zuzik, who is busy writing songs, defining appropriate boundaries, fending off weirdos and seeking conduits for bliss, discussed the latest during a recent phoner.

Ever been to Ventura?

I haven't, but I'm looking forward to coming and checking it out.

Is "You Had Me at Goodbye" that stop along the way right before "Drop Dead" and "Your Sister Is Cuter, Anyway"?

No, it's more like you go through relationships, the good and the bad, and sometime you push people away and when they're gone. (sighs) Actually, the title wasn't one that I actually came up with. On a whim at a live gig, I just threw it out there: "I'm going to be naming my album soon, so if you have any good names, write 'em down on the mailing list." One of my friends, a brilliant critic type, wrote that down.

Does bad love make for good songs?

Oh my God, yes. But I think at this point of my life, I've had enough of the bad romance parts.

When you were in high school, Emily Zuzik was probably always the last one chosen in gym class. Was that a problem, or did it lead to patience?

My brother, who is two years younger than me, told me there was a girl that came after him by the name of Anita Zyzita. When you're from southwestern Pennsylvania, there's a lot of that — eastern bloc Europeans imported to work in the mines and mills.

What's the best thing about Pennsylvania?

The good part of being in a small town is nice — knowing your surroundings and the people you live near. Frankly, I find myself re-creating it in every urban area I live in.

How'd you get the Bond girl gig?

A few years back, the guy who lived above me, a photographer and photo illustrator, redesigned and shot all the covers for the paperback releases of the James Bond novels. It was cool, but it wasn't a big-paying job. My part-time day job is fashion modeling, so I did it and he shot a little extra because I needed promo shots for my music gig. It worked out really well.

How do you handle the groupies who want to take you away from all this fame and glory and elope to Burger King?

There are some stalkers out there — people that don't understand appropriate boundaries. Nothing really violent has ever come my way, but I've definitely had some people push my limits. The crazy look in the eye? I'm beginning to spot it a mile away. It's tricky. You're in bars playing all the time, but if you make changes in your life — and I have — it gives you a moment of pause as to who you're going to engage and what can be misinterpreted.

So what does Emily music sound like these days?

Last night, we really rocked out and it was fun. When I say "rock out," I mean I had a Rolling Stones moment or a rockin' Heart moment. It's all sort of classic '70s rock — not like the boys-with-dark-hair-and-eyeliner kind of rock, which seems to mean what rock is on the radio these days.

How has the do-it-yourself scenario changed for you as your career has progressed?

I'm not so strictly married to do-it-yourself anymore. I was for a lot of years, maybe because I didn't know anybody in the industry. These days, I'm not sold that trying to get a record deal is the way to go. I'm a very prolific songwriter and work well in collaborative situations, so lately my goal has been to do as much writing as I can with different people, and to court the publishing route as well as song placement in films and television.

What do you have to give up to be a musician?

One, security. Two, a clear-cut path for your life. If you take a job in a normal field, there's more of a straight-and-narrow path you can take to advance, but with music, it's not always so clear.

Can you describe the magic moment that music occasionally provides?

I call it a conduit for bliss.

Wow, that's good.

I wrote that in a blog once. You're just connecting with something that's already out there and it's not even necessarily musically based. That's how I connect to it. It's like the idea of nirvana, where you're able to tap into some sort of bliss, some bigger-than-you thing that allows you to be entirely true. I think people are intrinsically trying to find that, through spirituality, a creative pursuit, a love affair. When you find who you truly are and are truly happy, goodness in the world comes through you. I honestly believe that. - Ventura County Star--10/4/07

ARTIST: EMILY ZUZIK

ALBUM: "You Had Me At Goodbye"

By David Malachowski

Hailing from Greensburg, Pa., singer/songwriter Emily Zuzik now resides in New

York City. Her band Sexfresh received a modicum of acclaim a few years back,

and as, of late, you can see her on the cover of the paperback reissue of

James Bond's "Thunderball."

Zuzik's powerful, full flexible voice and confident delivery is a

combustible combination, and her tunes have a funky pop edge. Expertly

produced by Joshua Kessler, "True To Yourself" drifts in and out as Zuzik's

sultry voice serpentines around guitars buzzing like hissing snakes on the

lawn. "It Doesn1t Matter To Jesus" is an intriguing tale of love and lies,

"Potential" is an infectious, relentless ride, while the affirmation ode

"Stand Up Stand Out" is a sure highlight.

Zuzik has the power and presence to stand out in a crowd. Seek her out. - Daily Freeman--11/16/07

"On the overly accomplished Emily Zuzik's latest album, The Way It's Got to Be, Zuzik articulately combines smooth jazz with soulful rock. Zuzik's voice is unique; it's deep, sexy, and innate. The album is so affecting, as soon as you hit play on your CD player, you're compelled to listen to every track from start to finish--in its entirety. Her lyrics are contagious, they're filled with realism. However, her songs, while filled with catchy hooks and having the potential for commercial play, seem to have been written to stay within her indie roots, a notable claim to fame."
- ICON Magazine, issue 4

"There are 18 tracks on this compilation, so if I were to talk about each one in turn, I'd be here all day. All I have to say is that after Torpedo Pilots there are 11 more brilliant tracks, my favourite of all being 'That's the Way' by Emily Zuzik. She has a sweet voice and comes across as being cool and confident, which makes the song instantly attractive to Women. As well as this, the music is catchy, the lyrics are great, and song has an overall good-time feel to it. "
- Rock Pulse Magazine (review of Greatest Music You've Never Heard[Mosquito Media breast cancer benefi

New York Doll Shows Strength Through Vulnerability
Emily Zuzik's You Had Me at Goodbye
by Kylen Campbell
September 5th, 2006 12:15 PM

On her sophomore effort, singer-songwriter Emily Zuzik mines the fertile soil of the breakup—from great pain, great art, right? In this case, the art is solid, but it's the artist, strong and confident, who warrants attention. The salty "Potential" delivers on it, her musicologist's ear serves the psychedelic "Segue" well, and a Beatles moment blossoms from "This Time Around." Such genre-checking flows naturally as she cuts a fun-filled zigzag through r&b, blues, pop, and rock, deploying every vocal styling and nailing every inflection, growl, and coo. This range infuses You Had Me at Goodbye's songs with the energy of a powerful voice flexing its muscles, but it's actually best when Zuzik softens. Plaintive and real, "Stand Up, Stand Out" is the winner here—though the song is less glam than its companions, its quiet maturity reveals a singer with real soul. - Village Voice-Sept. 5, 2006

Emily Zuzik: Laid-off and burned-out, the former San Francisco diva left for New York. Five years later, she's back for her CD-release party.

Delfin Vigil

Thursday, September 14, 2006

It took three bands, five years and about a million gigs in the city before Emily Zuzik figured it out.

"You know," says Zuzik with a satisfied sigh, "you can't keep playing one town and expect everything to just happen."

So when the former lead singer of Funkmobile, Sexfresh and a band that rhymes with "Chitty Chitty" Band Band returns to San Francisco for the first time in five years for a record-release party at the Make-Out Room on Friday, it'll be another night in a long journey of making music for music's sake.

It all changed when Zuzik left San Francisco for New York five years ago.

"Music has been my main thing for a long time, but until I left San Francisco, it was never with the vigor and confidence that this is what I'm going to do with the rest of my life no matter what it takes," says the underground diva, who just released her latest solo album, "You Had Me at Goodbye."

With smart, soulful and sexy songwriting, Zuzik will need the rest of her life to catch up to her own creativity, which has been in overdrive lately.

"I just love being a working musician," she says, "whether it's writing, recording, performing, thinking of stuff that could be placed in television or even joke bands -- whatever. I love it. I eat it. I breathe it."

That wasn't happening during Zuzik's last year in San Francisco, around the time of the dot-com bust. Laid off, with no work, high rent and a bit of burnout from playing weekend weddings and bar mitzvahs, she decided it was time to hit the road.

On her way to a new life in New York, Zuzik took the scenic route, making stops throughout the Southwest and Texas for impromptu gigs that each gave back with its own individual energy. When she set up camp in New York's East Village, she immediately tapped into a spirit she wasn't feeling in San Francisco.

But it was more than a case of the grass growing greener on the other side.

"In New York, it's not just the young kids who come out to see live music. There are avid fans in their 30s, 40s and 50s," says Zuzik. "I have a theory about that. People go out more in New York because they can't afford nice places to live in. It's like if you have a really small, cramped kitchen, you'd rather go out somewhere nice to eat."

San Franciscans should plan a date night out Friday, because Zuzik is preparing a feast of homecoming fun in the Make-Out Room's kitchen. - SF Chronicle 96 Hours Section

"A hefty voice in a small frame, and more r&b and pop than folk in her sound, are to this Sexfresh-moonlighting Brooklyn blond’s credit. Still too much Natalie Merchant and too little Taylor Dayne, maybe, but at least she seems aware of the latter." - Chuck Eddy

“What stands out most, however, is Emily Zuzik’s soulful alto that croons, wails and whispers with understated power.” (DIY Pick of Sexfresh's The Fainting Room") - staff, Featured DIY Review

"An accomplished songwriter and modern rocker, Emily Zuzik is well known from San Francisco to Austin to her home in NYC and most points between.

As a member of bands including Sexfresh, Shitty Shitty Band Band and Funkmobile, Zuzik established herself as an impressive vocalist and writer. With this solo effort, she proves to be an artist to be reckoned with.

Zuzik’s melodies are fluid and unpredictable, and the instrumentation over which they glide ranges from the acoustic-driven mid-tempo grooves of songs like “That’s the Way” and the moving closer “No More for Today” to clanking rhythms on “Season to Spend” and the notable semi-industrial track “Trippy Falls.”

Zuzik mixes the urgent intensity of Ani DiFranco and Tori Amos with the easy cool of Kim Gordon, but is still her own woman and an impressive artist."
- Featured DIY Pick Editor