Say ZuZu is an
alternative country
Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...
band originally based in
Newmarket,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. The group was formed in 1992 by brothers Jon and James Nolan, and their longtime friend Cliff Murphy. Though they achieved little commercial success in the United States, the band developed a strong following in Italy where they toured for several years.
Career
Say ZuZu "got its start on the
Seacoast as a group of boys playing guitars in the bedroom of a little red
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
house in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
in 1988."
[Portsmouth Herald Local News: Say ZuZu says bye-bye after 14-year tour]
/ref> Those three boys were Jon and James Nolan and Cliff Murphy. The band originally chose the name ZuZu's Petals, after a scene from the movie ''It's a Wonderful Life
''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...
''; however, after discovering that several other bands out there had already chosen that name, they decided on "Say ZuZu," which references an old 1930s Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco's ...
ad.
The band released the album, ''Highway Signs and Driving Songs
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
'', in 1995, surprisingly, without the help of a record label. The album was a roots-rock
Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...
fusion of country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
, rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, and folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
. Despite its critical success, the album did little for the band in the United States. In 1997, however, it ended up in the hands of Paolo Caru
Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Paolo
Art
*Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter
*Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American ...
, an influential rock critic in Italy, who became an instant fan. Caru's influence shot the band to relative success in Italy and they quickly began an international tour, beginning in Canzo
Canzo (; lmo, Canz , locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Italian province of Como. It is the last town north of the historical Brianza region of Lombardy, capital of the Lake Como Triangle community and a regional tourism destin ...
.[Say Zuzu proved a hit in Italy – December 1997](_blank)
/ref> The band's next album, ''Take These Turns
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.
Film
In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...
'', was released in 1997 and became a very successful follow up to ''Highway Signs and Driving Songs''.
In 1998, Say ZuZu released their most critically acclaimed album to date, ''Bull''. The release of ''Bull'' signaled a more mature Say ZuZu than the band that had come on the scene in 1995, and earned them several nods from record companies as well as more commercial success in the US. The next year, the band released a live album entitled ''Live''.
After much touring, bassist James Nolan decided it was in his best interest to leave the band in pursuit of a graduate degree in international relations. He and drummer Steve Ruhm left the band in 2001 under good terms. The band forged on, and Jon Pistey and Tim Nylander joined the group on bass and drums respectively. In 2002, they released their studio album, ''Every Mile
Every may refer to:
People
* Every (surname), including a list of people surnamed Every or Van Every
* Every Maclean, New Zealand politician in sunda 19th century
* Every baronets, a title in the Baronetage of England
Other
* Suzuki Every, a ...
''. The band toured behind the album, during which time '' Live in Germany'' was recorded prior to the group deciding to retire.
In 2021, the band reunited and signed with Athens, GA, based label, Strolling Bones Records. In 2022 they returned to the world of Americana music with ''Here Again: A Retrospective (1994-2002)'', a roadmap to their 5 studio albums recorded from 1994-2002.
"No Time to Lose
"No Time to Lose" is a rock song performed by English- Australian rock group Tarney/Spencer Band from their album ''Run for Your Life'' (1979). It was originally released in March 1979 through A&M Records, with a shorter re-release in 1981, durin ...
", the band's first album of new material in over twenty years, will be released in March of 2023 on Strolling Bones Records.
Members
* Cliff Murphy - vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
, harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
* Jon Nolan - vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, pedal steel
The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...
, lap steel
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...
* Jon Pistey - bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
* Tim Nylander - drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
* Steve Ruhm - drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
Discography
*1992: '' Say ZuZu to the Grocerman''
*1993: '' Tribal Moans''
*1994: ''Say ZuZu
Say ZuZu is an alternative country band originally based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, Newmarket, New Hampshire. The group was formed in 1992 by brothers Jon and James Nolan, and their longtime friend Cliff Murphy. Though they achieved little comm ...
''
*1995: ''Highway Signs and Driving Songs
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
''
*1997: ''Take These Turns
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.
Film
In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...
''
*1998: ''Bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
''
*1999: ''Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
''
*2002: ''Every Mile
Every may refer to:
People
* Every (surname), including a list of people surnamed Every or Van Every
* Every Maclean, New Zealand politician in sunda 19th century
* Every baronets, a title in the Baronetage of England
Other
* Suzuki Every, a ...
''
*2004: '' Live in Germany''
*2022: '' Here Again: A Retrospective (1994-2002)''
*2023: ''No Time to Lose
"No Time to Lose" is a rock song performed by English- Australian rock group Tarney/Spencer Band from their album ''Run for Your Life'' (1979). It was originally released in March 1979 through A&M Records, with a shorter re-release in 1981, durin ...
''
References
{{reflist
External links
The Official Say ZuZu Website
The Official Jon Nolan Website
Strolling Bones Records Website
Say ZuZu Instagram
American alternative country groups
Musical groups from New Hampshire
Musical groups established in 1992
Newmarket, New Hampshire