CLICK HERE FOR Zimmer TV Episode #4, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” The fourth installment of my little autobiographical web series about a day-in-the-life of an indie musician in NYC. Hope ya like……
New Limited Edition Poster Available.
Only 25 of these posters from our holiday show here in NYC. Go get em!
Over the next 10 days, I’ll be driving across the country with my best bud Pat (who is moving from NYC to LA) and his dad, Dino. Come along for the ride via Twitter (#nyctola)….its gonna be interesting.
The first in a new project I’m calling 60 Seconds or Less. I’ll post videos like this of new material. Then, you comment, like, share, repost, etc on your favorites. I’ll record the most popular stuff for my next record. Ta da!!
SHOWS! I’m hitting the highway in January, hitting these spots:
1.25: Dallas, PA. Misericordia University (rsvp)
1.26: Cresson, PA. Mount Aloysius College (rsvp)
1.27: University Park, PA. Penn State University (rsvp)
1.28: North Adams, MA. MCLA (rsvp)
“In Depth” Interview with Resonate TV. Shot before the holidays at my favorite LES bar, No Malice Palice. Watch the interview here.
Attention Guitar Nerds of New Jersey: I’ll be performing at GuitarCon this Saturday 12/11 in Piscataway, NJ….around 2:30pm. Come say hello and we can talk about how totally bitchin’ the new Dean Razorback 7 String is….
I was cleaning out my closet yesterday…..
I was cleaning out my closet yesterday, and in a small box on the floor in the very back, I uncovered these…..the last few copies of an EP called Inside My Skin that I released way back in 2003. I honestly thought there were none of these left…didn’t even have a copy myself, until now!
So, I kept a copy for my scrap book and have made the rest of them available at my STORE. Obviously, they are extremely limited in numbers, so if you want one of these last few copies, act fast!
WANT ONE? CLICK HERE TO BUY ONE!
THE BACKSTORY:
The band I led back in Lincoln had just broken up, and I was eager to get something new happening. So, I booked studio time with Mike and AJ Mogis at their (now defunct) studio, Presto! Studios. In the early 2000’s, Mike and AJ were doing all the hottest Midwest acts like Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, Cursive, The Faint…all the Saddle Creek Records acts. AJ and I played most of the instruments, with the exception of drums (played by Scott Rutz) and trombone (played by my Dad, Al Zimmer). My good friend Lee Bowes also helped out a TON with the electric guitars.
What we got out of those sessions became Inside My Skin. I released it myself and made plans to move to NYC, where I live now.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES:
- Favorite lyric: “…read countless pages on the telephone”. I had written that song while on tour with my earlier band. We had equipped our bus with an actually desktop computer. And to access the internet, plugged that desktop into my cell phone….a 13k connection, I believe. That line comes from reading emails from friends and family while on the road. The internet as we know it now was still in it’s infancy back then and I remember being astounded that I could Instant Message while moving on the interstate.
- The entire record is sharp. I tuned every stringed instrument using a tuner for some unknown reason, was set 5 cents sharp. By the time I realized it, it was too late to re-record everything, so it just stuck. When it came time to record piano and organ, we slowed the tape just enough to drop the pitch to tune with the keys. When we had the take, we sped the tape back up, and Pesto!…tuned pianos!
- The cover art: The image was taken by friend Ben Kolar , and the writing on the model are lyrics to a song that didn’t even make it onto the record.
- Radio Play and Entertainment Lawyers: The first track called “Awake” got a good bit of college radio airplay in 2004. By then, I was already living in NYC, and the radio buzz garnered the attention of an entertainment lawyer at a VERY big company. He called to schedule a meeting, and at that meeting told me I was too old to make it in the music business. I was 24.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably my Mother. Otherwise, you’re interested in this old, rare drink coaster….I mean CD. If you think you want one, do it now! They’ll all be gone soon.
Just cracked open boxes VINYL! want one? Go here: http://www.tinyurl.com/azstore (Taken with instagram)
It’s time for me to start giving back! Help me spread the word about my music — post, share, tweetretweet your brains out and I’m gonna give you stuff like CDs, Vinyl, Posters, Patches, Concert Tickets, unreleased stuff, and more. I’m thinking up new stuff to give away right now!
There will be a new winner every week, and a BIG winner every month.
Guys, this is going to be FUN: I’m on the bill THIS FRIDAY at Angels and Kings, a cool little East Village Spot. Its hosted by No One You Know Productions and there is tons of great music going on. Come hang!!!!
