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Nineteen-year-old Zsa Zsa Ward of Roseburg just released her first album ‘Zsa Zsa’. She defines the music on it as hip-hop rock.
The road to fame isn’t always glamorous.
Putting yourself out there, approaching strangers, selling something that’s unfamiliar to many — it’s not always an easy ride into stardom.
But Zsa Zsa Ward does it anyway because she believes in the power of her music.
“The way I look at it is, I’m letting them in on something they don’t know about. I feel like I’m doing a good thing,” said Zsa Zsa, a 19-year-old from Roseburg who just released her first album, “Zsa Zsa.”
Zsa Zsa, who only uses her first name as a performer, graduated from Glide High School in 2004 and is now a sophomore at Umpqua Community College.
The blues/rock singer defines her self-engineered album as hip-hop rock with strong rhythms, live instrumentation with rock and Spanish guitar, lots of harmony and a powerful storyline.
Zsa Zsa is also the lead singer of blues band Homebrew, which will perform Saturday in Oakland. She’s sold her CD in Roseburg and in downtown Eugene and Portland, unloading about 400 CDs from street sales and also selling it in stores.
“They’re basically buying it from me without listening to it. I’m comfortable selling my music because I’m proud of my product,” Zsa Zsa said.
She says she’s gotten a number of comments through her Web page from people saying they didn’t know what they were getting, but they’re impressed.
“I’m honest as a writer. I don’t try to write about things I don’t know about.”
What she does write about, she said, is relationships, love and learning.
“A lot of people can relate to love and love gone bad. It’s a universal thing,” she said.
“If I have anything that bothers me or makes me feel good, I have to keep writing. It’s how I let it out. It’s my outlet.”
She said this method of composition is positively reinforced because when she sings, people enjoy it.
“It makes me want to go back and write some more,” she said.
Putting yourself out there, approaching strangers, selling something that’s unfamiliar to many — it’s not always an easy ride into stardom.
But Zsa Zsa Ward does it anyway because she believes in the power of her music.
“The way I look at it is, I’m letting them in on something they don’t know about. I feel like I’m doing a good thing,” said Zsa Zsa, a 19-year-old from Roseburg who just released her first album, “Zsa Zsa.”
Zsa Zsa, who only uses her first name as a performer, graduated from Glide High School in 2004 and is now a sophomore at Umpqua Community College.
The blues/rock singer defines her self-engineered album as hip-hop rock with strong rhythms, live instrumentation with rock and Spanish guitar, lots of harmony and a powerful storyline.
Zsa Zsa is also the lead singer of blues band Homebrew, which will perform Saturday in Oakland. She’s sold her CD in Roseburg and in downtown Eugene and Portland, unloading about 400 CDs from street sales and also selling it in stores.
“They’re basically buying it from me without listening to it. I’m comfortable selling my music because I’m proud of my product,” Zsa Zsa said.
She says she’s gotten a number of comments through her Web page from people saying they didn’t know what they were getting, but they’re impressed.
“I’m honest as a writer. I don’t try to write about things I don’t know about.”
What she does write about, she said, is relationships, love and learning.
“A lot of people can relate to love and love gone bad. It’s a universal thing,” she said.
“If I have anything that bothers me or makes me feel good, I have to keep writing. It’s how I let it out. It’s my outlet.”
She said this method of composition is positively reinforced because when she sings, people enjoy it.
“It makes me want to go back and write some more,” she said.
Zsa Zsa plays piano and guitar and has collaborated with Michael Kay, a hip-hop artist, producer, and DJ for Top-40 radio station KDUK out of Eugene.
Together, the two composed and performed “Wait A Minute,” a song that appears on Kay’s album, “The Balance.”
Kay played the song on KDUK just after his album was released.
'Zsa Zsa said her music is for everyone.
“The kids like it ’cause there’s a hip-hop backbone. The adults like the hook and the passion. There’s stories they can relate to.”
Like most artists, Zsa Zsa’s felt the highs and lows of performing.
“I’ve had microphones go out on me. People understand that you’re a person just like them, so you just roll with it.”
That’s Zsa Zsa’s style.
Kay said, “It doesn’t seem like she gets deterred or discouraged very easily. She takes what’s there and makes the best out of it.”
He said Zsa Zsa’s soulful voice can go real deep and noted she can belt it out on the high range as well.
“I can wail and I’m proud of that,” Zsa Zsa said. “That’s why I like Etta James, ’cause she has a low voice and then she just wrenches you.”
Others who’ve inspired her musical passion are Bonnie Raitt, Mary J. Blige and Muddy Waters.
Her new CD is just the beginning, she says.
Growing up in the heart of Philadelphia, Zsa Zsa’s learned what is necessary to achieve an end. She and her family moved to Oregon when Zsa Zsa was 10.
“I’m very happy to be in this town and represent this town,” she said.
Her goal is to establish a fanbase in the Pacific Northwest and get signed with an independent label. An acoustic album is in the works and another hip-hop rock album will follow.
“I would like to maintain control of what I want to write about,” she says.
Zsa Zsa credits her parents Charles and Susan Ward for instilling in her, from the time she was young, the belief that she could do anything.
“When you learn that as a child that you can do big things, that doesn’t go away,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Jennifer Mathis at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
Together, the two composed and performed “Wait A Minute,” a song that appears on Kay’s album, “The Balance.”
Kay played the song on KDUK just after his album was released.
'Zsa Zsa said her music is for everyone.
“The kids like it ’cause there’s a hip-hop backbone. The adults like the hook and the passion. There’s stories they can relate to.”
Like most artists, Zsa Zsa’s felt the highs and lows of performing.
“I’ve had microphones go out on me. People understand that you’re a person just like them, so you just roll with it.”
That’s Zsa Zsa’s style.
Kay said, “It doesn’t seem like she gets deterred or discouraged very easily. She takes what’s there and makes the best out of it.”
He said Zsa Zsa’s soulful voice can go real deep and noted she can belt it out on the high range as well.
“I can wail and I’m proud of that,” Zsa Zsa said. “That’s why I like Etta James, ’cause she has a low voice and then she just wrenches you.”
Others who’ve inspired her musical passion are Bonnie Raitt, Mary J. Blige and Muddy Waters.
Her new CD is just the beginning, she says.
Growing up in the heart of Philadelphia, Zsa Zsa’s learned what is necessary to achieve an end. She and her family moved to Oregon when Zsa Zsa was 10.
“I’m very happy to be in this town and represent this town,” she said.
Her goal is to establish a fanbase in the Pacific Northwest and get signed with an independent label. An acoustic album is in the works and another hip-hop rock album will follow.
“I would like to maintain control of what I want to write about,” she says.
Zsa Zsa credits her parents Charles and Susan Ward for instilling in her, from the time she was young, the belief that she could do anything.
“When you learn that as a child that you can do big things, that doesn’t go away,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Jennifer Mathis at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
If you go ...
WHO: Zsa Zsa, blues rock singer with blues band Homebrew
WHERE: Tolly’s, 115 N.E. Locust St., Oakland WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday COST: $5 cover charge INFORMATION: 459-3796 NEXT HIP-HOP PERFORMANCE: Zsa Zsa will perform at Summer Jam Aug. 26 at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene. DEBUT CD: The album “Zsa Zsa” may be purchased at Fred Meyer, Michael James Photography, A Classic Touch and Mystic Earth, all in Roseburg. It may also be purchased through her Web site, www.zsazsa.org. The CD costs $14. |
