about Zoo1973

I studied classical piano for undergrad. U2 was the first non classical music I listened to after taking up piano seriously. A girl I was into loaned me Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum, which got me interested. I walked into a Walmart, it was 1992, and Achtung Baby was on an end cap display. I was like, “Hey, these are the guys I’m listening to. I’ll check this out.” It changed my life. It was the best sound I had ever heard. I listened over and over and over. 30 years later, I’ve listened to this album literally thousands of times, never tiring of it. It has been the soundtrack of my life, the wisdom of the father I didn’t have, the pathway through the heartbreaks I didn’t know we’re coming, my school of lyricism and my sounding stone for what was possible in non-classical artistic achievement. It defined for me a personal sonic aesthetic, the rich layering of the production kept me listening. Even many years later, hundred and hundreds of listens in, I would still hear something new, some detail, layer or sound would present itself to me, fresh and new. It is like a sonic diamond, sparkling in the light of my admiration. It has never let me down. I taught piano for 19 years while I played in rock bands, played worship music for churches and ran the studio. I always loved writing quirky art-pop/rock songs, and fell in love with recording. My original band was called Joe Next Door. My recording studio was called Zoostation Recording Studios, and my years of engineering and producing music for other musicians was the highlight of my working life. It was the work I lived most. These days, I still play every piano and lead a band every week for a church, and still song-write and record in my home studio, even though I eventually got an MBA and took a position with a normal company as Continuous Improvement Manager. I dream of running a public studio again, one day.