Folk/Americana, Singer-Songwriter Fiddler
North California Folk/Americana singer-songwriter and fiddler John Roy Zat has a new album, Where Zat. Released in November 2021, the album was produced with Ed Tree (Rita Coolidge, Juice Newton, Al Stewart). It is available on streaming media and for sale on Bandcamp at johnroyzat.bandcamp.com/releases.
It features ten new songs, including: “American Dream Cafe” with small town views on a changing world; “I’m A Salmon In The River” about love from the perspective of a fish; “I Took Hold Of Your Hand” about human love; and “California Is A Dream” -- and more!
Where Zat’s first music video, “I’m a Salmon In The River” was released today -- Friday, January 28. It is a photo essay with images of rivers, fishermen, bears and salmon: “I’m a salmon in the river swimming upstream. I'm a salmon in the river, no one's gonna catch me. A thousand miles I travel, to find love in the gravel . . . ” The video is live on YouTube.
John has been songwriting and fiddling for a while. In 1977, he played fiddle on Kate Wolf’s recording of his co-write with Texas fiddle legend, Luke Thomasson, “Midnight on the Water.” The recording was released on Kate's second album, Lines On The Paper (Kaleidoscope Records), and has since been recorded and performed by Banish Misfortune, Caroline Herring and many others.Born in Paris, John grew up in Saigon, Washington DC, Cannes, Bangkok, and Southern California. He has been a touring artist, band member, and a musician with a day job, raising his family! His last job in the corporate world was as CFO of The Asia Foundation, a non-profit focused on improving government in Asia. As of June 2011, John is back to writing and performing full time. He has some stories to tell.
