Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin McGuire, Andre Paz, Diego Fernandez and Brandon Pasio.
Our guitarist, Andre Paz, was looking to work and write with a vocalist when a mutual friend connected him to Erin McGuire. The two of us instantly hit it off and our creative work started when Andre sent a track to Erin to write lyrics and a melody.
We both liked each other’s style and continued to write music together. In June 2019, we only had three or four songs written, but after performing an open mic at the Pig N’ Whistle they asked us to come back and play a full show in August. In preparation for this, Andre asked two of his friends to join the band for the show, one of them being our current bass player Diego Fernandez. Finally, after what seemed like an endless search for a permanent drummer, Brandon Pasio was recommended by a friend to Erin in November 2019. Brandon was a great fit for the band both creatively and personality-wise.
Since Brandon’s addition to zenfoo, we have collectively written about an hour of music in just a few months, played consistently at various gigs every month, and gained social media recognition on all platforms. Our goal is to play as many live shows as possible and finally release our music on streaming platforms. We have had a blast writing music together and we hope people will like our songs as much as we like making them.
Has it been a smooth road?
We are young musicians trying to do something we love. Money makes it difficult to release our own music, so it has been a slow process for us to get our songs on streaming platforms at the quality we want. That’s why we do live shows, so people can hear our music in the meantime. But, we have struggled to get more people to hear our music outside of those who have physically shown up to see us.
Booking shows is also difficult for us since Los Angeles has a lot of live gig opportunities that are either pay to play, or they have ticket sale requirements. People we know personally put on shows and reach out to venues, but we have a limited amount of resources and connections to get shows booked. Plus, it is difficult to find venues who showcase the type of music we make. There are only a few places in LA that are known for their neo-soul, jazz alternative scene. All in all, making it in Los Angeles takes a lot of endurance especially as an indie band.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
We are a neo-soul, jazz alternative band influenced by artists like Nai Palm, Richard Spaven, Pino Palladino and Woo Park. We are striving to make our recordings sound like our live performances which we believe goes a long way in the age of digital and electronic music. That is part of the reason why we love our music – it is authentic and vulnerable.
Our songs are who we are as artists collectively and we find the most joy in our work when an audience responds to our unique voices. We are gaining attention in a huge scene and we are proud of that.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We see the industry becoming more indie artist-friendly. Music that can be produced in a home or even bedroom studio is growing more popular, and that means small artists like us will be able to stay in the game. The growth of music and digital streaming means musicians have a better chance to get their music out even if they do not know anyone in the business. The music industry will become more about the art itself rather than the people who know someone who can get them recognition.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zenfootheband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zenfootheband/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/zenfootheband
Image Credit:
Paul Shim, Kirk Cedric, Jade Sadler
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