Andy Zamenes, is a multiple award-winning singer/songwriter, arranger, scriptwriter, and voting member of NARAS (Grammy® Awards) from the San Francisco Bay Area - most recognized as family music recording artist and performer "Andy Z"
Andy's music has been heard on NBC's Today Show and his music and performances have been featured in the Pandora Video Series and on the Pottery Barn Kids Stylehouse website. Notable performances include performing with his band at the renowned Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas, San Francisco Symphony's 4th Of July Spectacular at Shoreline Amphitheater, Facebook presents Scare On The Square in Northern California, and Strings Music Festival in Colorado.
Andy picked up piano at the age of 7, and guitar at the age of 12, which quickly became his instrument of choice. He began writing songs and performing while studying music theory with Charles Gustavson and classical guitar with Charles Ferguson at College Of San Mateo. He then transferred to San Francisco State University, where he earned a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Music with coursework in audio production (1993), and studied with renowned composer, performer and vocalist Dee Spencer.
After brief stints with San Francisco Bay Area bands Idiot Savant and Kay Sterling Band, he started his own band Tinman (1994) and recorded various releases in hard rock, alternative, and pop genres, including the 1996 album "Beast". The band (coming soon - see Tinman page for band members and info) gave their first full-length TV concert on MPAC Palo Alto’s (now Midpen Media Center) show, Club Alto, and the concert continued airing regularly on MPAC and other local San Francisco Bay Area stations, long after the quartet iteration of the group disbanded in 1997.
After a brief hiatus, Tinman re-emerged as an acoustic duo with Andy on lead vocal and guitar, and original member Michael Tingen on bass and vocals, made a return appearance to MPAC Palo Alto's Club Alto TV show in 1998. The same year, the duo performed at the “Waves to Wine” bike-a-thon in Sonoma, California to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Their song "Leap of Faith" was used in a PSA for TV to promote the event.
In 2000, Tinman, now an alternative rock power trio (Andy, Michael Tingen and Jay Dold on drums), recorded their self-titled EP in San Francisco with producer Anthony Hawkins. The project was marred by creative differences between the band and Hawkins, and had to be completed prematurely when Andy ran out of funding. The end product was deep, raw and real, but left Andy with a sense of longing - for his interpretation of the songs and arrangements to be shared, and for certain experimental aspects of the recording inserted by producer Hawkins to be removed for fluidity and clarity's sake. The album produced the standout track Princess, a song that spent a year in the Top 20 on mp3.com.
Up to this point, Andy worked in the computer industry to supplement his income while performing and recording as much as possible. When a Silicon Valley downturn a.k.a. the bursting of the dot.com bubble (2000 - 2001) forced him out of the tech industry, Andy saw it as a sign to devote his time to his passion for music and performance. Although he didn't know it at the time, this decision would completely alter his musical path and result in music becoming his full-time career. Supported only by eight weeks severance pay and any savings he had, Andy placed his focus on live performance and recording, and for the first time in his career, Andy started booking and promoting himself as solo act.
He focused intently on performing acoustically, playing coffeehouses and outdoor events, and hosting open mics in San Francisco at the VooDoo Lounge in the Mission District, among others. He also performed solo at the locally renowned annual concert event Nadine’s Wild Weekend in San Francisco. In the studio, his focus mirrored his solo aspirations, shifting to the singer/songwriter genre with his self-titled album release Andy Zamenes (2002) featuring I Found You and Autumn Rain - songs that rose to #1 and #2 respectively on mp3.com's acoustic charts. With the help of these chart-topping tracks, Andy's mp3.com site topped 17,400 plays in just 8 months.
Andy also devoted time to Tinman, calling upon bassist David Eppler and former drummer Lorenz Cornelisen when live performance opportunities arose. He also joined forces and pooled resources with other San Francisco Bay Area bands in Band Summit, a coalition of musicians whose mission was to help promote original music in the Bay Area. As a member of Band Summit, the trio co-hosted the monthly SF Rock Showcase, performed at Band Summit’s concert event in People’s Park (Berkeley), CA to benefit H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education & Awareness for Rockers), and performed at the 2002 Nowhere by Nowhere (NXN) Music Festival, an all-weekend event in which (Western) regional and California-based music acts performed at multiple venues in downtown Chico, CA.
In late 2002, Andy released a new full-length Tinman album titled Trax, a 13 song collection comprised of tracks from two separate recording sessions. This proved to make mastering the album quite difficult, and the overall production took a hit, but Andy's goal of releasing studio versions of his most popular live songs was met.
It was during this time that Andy was approached by a fan at a coffeehouse to fill in for an ailing music teacher at a San Francisco preschool. On that day, the children, parents and teachers were captivated by Andy’s easy-going, fun and infectious musical style – and Andy absolutely loved playing for and interacting with kids. And he realized that he'd be able to combine his passion for music with his love of storytelling, character voices and performance. And, so, Andy Z was born.
Being "Andy Z" empowered and enabled him to finally make music his full-time career - one that has thus far produced 8 albums and 11 singles & EP's, a full-length video, and multiple awards (including NAPPA, Parent's Choice Foundation, Disney Online iParenting Media), and the Andy Z (Children's) Pandora Radio channel with 280,000 listeners. But it did not leave much time for Andy to be "Andy Zamenes". In the late 2010's, he did release the single El Camino (2016), made a music video featuring the acoustic version, and performed a handful of shows with his acoustic group Andy's Alter Ego.
Then came the ultimate challenge that changed life as we all knew it. When the global pandemic hit, artists including Andy, whose live in-person performances make up the majority of their income, took a big hit. His performance schedule dwindled, and he scrambled to keep from having to give up his career in music. But when the world started opening up again, he was able to reflect on the past year plus, and see the silver lining. The extra time has allowed him to do a creative reset - get back in the studio, start recording again, and get into a place where he can once again express all of his creativity, including releasing new music as "Andy Zamenes".
His new single Ride (2021) and official music video, was released July 4th, 2021 and officially released on February 25th, 2022 the EP album "Tinman Revisited" featuring re-imagined, remixed, remastered versions of the most prominent EP in the "power trio" era of the band. Two single versions of tracks from the new album, Lost and Found and Awake, have been released ahead of the official release - and the music video for "Awake" is forthcoming.
Also on the horizon is a new single release and a new Andy Zamenes EP titled "Emergence", and a new full-length Andy Zamenes album "Drawbridge".
Now is a great time for all of us to reflect on our past, and rediscover ourselves and the world around us. And it's the perfect time to announce "Andy Zamenes" is back!
~ Jennifer Miller