John Zay

JJohn Zay aims to bring his listeners on an journey creating epic climbs through lush sonic landscapes. His raw expressiveness is evident in his heartfelt lyrics, passionate vocals and stellar guitar playing. With 3 solo releases and a 4th on the way, John Zay relays direct experiences of deep emotional and spiritual transformation in his music. It was in LA that his albums “Wanderlust” and “Mind's Eye” were conceived and recorded. Influenced by his studies with a modern day Peruvian Shaman learning about Indigenous Plant Ceremonies, he was exposed to the ancient wisdom of nature and spirit which was reflected in the songs. John Zay’s latest release “Shadows” was written and conceived in Hamburg, Germany in the midst of playing 2 years of late night gigs. A mix of Alternative and Progressive rock, “Shadows” explores an artists struggle to integrate his Shamanic experiences with an emotionally turbulent world. John Zay will be releasing his 4th solo album “World's Apart” in late summer of 2019

John Zay Maschio grew up the youngest of 4 boys in the suburbs of New York City where he was exposed to a wide variety of albums from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. He developed his passion for music with groups such as Led Zeppelin, Yes, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Police, Jimi Hendrix, U2, Rush, and David Bowie among others. Later his influences diversified including rockers like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction, Living Colour and PJ Harvey, the soulful stylings of Seal, Curtis Mayfield and Bob Marley, Drum & Bass from Britain as well as Jazz Fusion and Ambient music. All of these influences and more can be heard in John Zay’s current musical stylings. A John Zay show is a unique experience. The music is rich and moving incorporating Progressive Rock with cross-genre elements like Reggae, Drum &&Bass, Ambient Soundscapes, Eastern Melodies and Tribal Rhythms. Both the live shows and recordings feature performances from a steady cast of phenomenal musicians including drummer Tobias Ralph (Adrian Belew, Tricky, The Crimson Projekt), bassist Rico Bowen (Madonna, Julian Lennon, Stevie Wonder), Jan Ole Jönsson also on drums (Die Toten Artze, Boxer), and Dan Policar on Keyboards (Sean Paul).

John Zay began his professional music career in Brooklyn, New York in 2001 where he founded of the group Speed Of Life with drummer Tobias Ralph and Bassist Taylor Bergren-Chrisman. In 2004 the band released their debut album “Mainstay” which was put into regular rotation on over 160 college and commercial radio stations in the spring of 2005. In January of 2007 the band released their follow up album “Catalyst” followed by an extensive 2-month tour across the U.S. Also while in Brooklyn, John Zay opened his studio Activesoundz where he recorded and mixed for many local artists including well known indie singer-songwriters Tom Rhodes, Asi Meskin of Running Still (Warner Bros) and Jen Urban and The Box. John Zay also played guitar with Steve Madden sponsored Rock-n-Sole winner Mehuman Jonson touring in a host of venues around the U.S. Including The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Webster Hall in New York City and the El Ray Theater in Hollywood California.

In 2007 Zay relocated to Los Angeles where he established himself as a producer in his own right. He most notably worked with the legendary Angelo Moore (aka Dr. Madd Vibe) of Fishbone recording and mixing his 2011 album “The Angelo Show” as well as creating and launching his successful Kickstarter campaign. John Zay also had the distinct honor of having Angelo contribute Gospel Vocals on “Step Into The Love” and Saxophones on “Wanderlust” on his “Wanderlust” album release. He also worked with actor David Faustino (Bud Bundy/Married with Children) recording for his new hip hop projects on Old Scratch records. John Zay also worked with his brother Robert Maschio who played The Todd on the hit TV show Scrubs producing his comedic hip-hop track “The Todd Song”. Additionally in LA John Zay produced a wide variety of music for TV commercials for companies, internet campaigns and several documentary films through his production company Natural Sonic.

In 2012 John Zay relocated to Hamburg, Germany where he spent a 2 years consistently playing live shows. He also recorded and co-produced an album for local band “The Mighty Rollers” as well as finishing the mixes on his recordings from LA. John Zay spent most of 2013 in beautiful Sagres, Portugal where he set up shop to continue recording and writing material that would later appear on his albums “Shadows” and "World's Apart" while playing a host of solo and duo shows with local amazing singer Taly Minkov-Louzerio. He spent the last 2 years in Santa Fe and LA producing for film and TV while continuing to finish his new material. Today John Zay is based out of NY and is currently finishing up his 4th release World’s Apart.