Meet Emily Zuzik | Singer, Writer, Rocker Mom!

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Zuzik and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I remember being in my 20s and really pouring everything I had into music. I still had other side jobs, but at the time, my main one was writing/journalism, so even when I wasn’t playing, writing, rehearsing or performing musically, I was still writing and interviewing folks. I was reading the local rags to find out about new art and music and see the schedule of events around town. It was very much a living and breathing existence. I often missed out on other cultural events because of my social and artistic preferences. And at the time, I don’t think I should have been doing anything besides that. It was my Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours period. I was also lucky to be living in San Francisco when it was still a place where many artists lived and it seemed everyone was in a band. I think I was in at least 3 at the time, all in different musical genres.

When I moved to NYC, I felt like it was time to get serious, as many of my musical projects beforehand were tied to parties and Burning Man. Now it was all connections and label interest and getting shows at the hip clubs where you could be seen. I was playing in a number of projects then as well–my own and a couple fun cover bands. The level of competition got very intense so I had to step up my game. I also did more touring and as fun as that was, I found I was not built to tour all the time. I hated to come home and have to deal with a stack of mail and bills. I also began to wonder. I’m living in the greatest city in the USA and touring has me out of town a lot, what am I doing?!? I decided to focus on work in NYC. I sang with some other artists. I began working in commercial music and cowriting with others to that end. I also wanted to marry my love of film and music and focus on trying to get my music licensed for TV and film. This was an income stream that I had mostly neglected and I found that it allowed me to network with other songwriters, work on my craft and then also have more time to be inspired by the city and the world around me because I was not on the road all the time. I began to appreciate being able to drink up the culture and the people of where I lived, and to appreciate the fewer times I was on the road even more.

During the tail end of my time living in NYC, I met my husband quite by chance. The courtship took me by surprise and brought me into a social group where most of the friends were not in music. It showed me sides of the city and its lifestyle that I had not spent much time in before and I found that I enjoyed it. I liked eating at nice restaurants with amazing cuisine. I liked going to screenings. I wanted to see more of what others enjoyed around town to mix it up and keep inspiring me. I did this for a few years and while I was still performing and writing and recording, I had more that I wanted to experience.

Eventually, my husband and I left NYC to move to Los Angeles. Suddenly, I’m in the nexus of Hollywood and filmmaking. It really put my focus on licensing as well as moved my attentions away from nightlight when surprise, I had a baby. I worked throughout my pregnancy and I have photos of me with a sleeping baby on my shoulder as I cut vocal tracks or had a stroller in a control room when doing a session. The thing was as my baby became a person, she began to need more of me and of the world so my time (which you can only slice up so many different ways, you don’t get more) began to shift. I wanted to have a family that I saw. I wanted to also be involved in music. It’s not easy, especially when you’re not the primary earner in a partnership. I also notice that it goes in waves. Some times I need to be more with my family. Other times, I have a room to fly a bit further afield with short tour runs, recording times, writing sessions balanced all with school pickups, evening events with my husband or kid or all of us, and honestly, downtime to refuel the coffers.

Balance was not a topic I knew much about or focused on when I was younger. I kind of ran until I crashed. Then, I’d get up and do it all over again. Now, I am more tuned into my health and wellness and can feel when it’s getting to be too much. I pull back in those times to make sure I don’t get sick or lose my voice or lose my interest in what I’m doing. I’m not perfect at it but I’m better.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a singer, first and foremost. I began writing music around the age of 12 and never stopped. I write to this day, some days more than others now. I cowrite with a range of people in genre as diverse as songwriter/folk, rock and electronic.

I think what sets me apart is I have a very strong sense of pitch and can hear melody and harmonic builds very quickly. I also am usually able to meet someone and quickly get to work on a creative project. I tend to work like a business. I don’t like to waste anyone’s time just lollygagging. If it isn’t clicking, I’m more inclined to stop and go back to it later than belabor the day or just hang out. I also bring a sense of music biz to anything I do. I’ve worked in publicity and tech enough that I can foresee and start to plan for things like social media engagement, visual presentation, photography, music videos (which I also produce) for anything I do. Most of these skills I picked up from years of working as an indie, running a blog and music label, booking my own tours and producing music/merch over the years.

Is it easy? Hell no, but rarely is anything good. I just also pace my input level these days a bit more so I don’t get overwhelmed. Mental wellness and physical health are much bigger priorities for me these days. These were learned over years of doing the opposite. One has to figure out one’s own path. Mine is not the same as anyone else’s. It’s great to find people who support you and who you can in turn support. Mine have traditionally been women, not because men don’t do it, but because there are simpatico life experiences. Motherhood. Creators. Small Businesses. These are shared areas of experience and can help me see a challenge in a different way through different eyes. I don’t try to do it alone anymore. I’m grateful for all the friends, mentors and collaborators, as well as my family, for helping me get where I am.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
OOH, fun. Well, I’m not a big nightlife gal personally. There are some live music events I would consider like Brad Colerick’s Wine and Song series in South Pasadena. Great songwriters and talent, as well as a great way to meet music fans and musicians. I love going to art museums. Some of my favorites are the Broad and MOCA in DTLA. I greatly appreciate the Norton Simon Museum and the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena/San Marino areas for their stillness and proximity to nature. Two great outdoor getaways are the hike to Eaton Canyon falls in Altadena and further out, a visit to boulder at Vasquez Rocks past Santa Clarita. As you can see, I’m a bit of a nature girl. Another fun destination is either walking the arts district downtown and/or driving over the new 6th Street Bridge, which I adore. For the beach folks (not me), one can do a drive up the coast to Malibu and find a less populated shore to walk along the water.

Food and drink: I’m a bit spoiled living in NELA because we have so many great restaurants now. Here are some of my faves–Dunsmoor, Capri Club, Barro Santo, Queen Street, Skafs on York, Mazel, The Grant Bar. Those are all literally 15 minutes at most away. I like going downtown and walking around to see what’s old and what’s new.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First up, Cynthia Brando, for recommending you guys to me and for her support in booking me on shows and podcasts in the past.

My husband, Brad Holmes, who has been a loving supporter of my music through shows and licensing opportunities, as well as been an amazing dad who often takes the heavy when I am gone on the road.

Equal parts Josh Kessler and Tim Lefebvre and Ted Russell Kamp, who all have been instrumental in connecting me with some serious musical badasses. Each I have worked with on musical projects and each of them believed enough in me to welcome me into an esteemed club of mega performers, often in collaborations. I appreciate and honor all their respective talents.

My lady crew (they know who they are) for being the fierce, supportive, loving friends who have helped me through the crazy shit of motherhood as well as the insanity of creative passions. I’m lucky to have one on the east coast and one on the west. Both are fairly unique and all so talented in their own right.

I’m sure there are others, but those are the big ones!

Website: www.emilyzuzik.com

Instagram: @emilyzuzik

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyzuzik/

Twitter: @emilyzuzik

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emily.zuzik.music

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/ezuzik

Other: Bandcamp: http://emilyzuzik.bandcamp.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3BJD3L45vd1fuYjAa4P7It Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/emily-zuzik/4264969

Image Credits
Main image: Don Adkins Image in black hat with fog: Crucible Media Labs Red curtain with suit: Terry Okey Tree shot: Emily Zuzik Red band shot in club: fan