We were lucky to catch up with Andy Zamenes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andy, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’ve always had the passion for everything musical, and even studied it formally in college and on the university level (mostly so I wouldn’t get in trouble with the folks) after basically playing by ear up to that point. When I graduated, I wasn’t able to use that degree to start a career in music, but I was able to use the BA degree to get a job as a computer tech (they gave me a shot, and I learned quickly) to support myself and my music. It was the classic work the day job / moonlight as a musician for close to a decade – until I was approached by a friend at a singer-songwriter gig I was doing in San Francisco and asked if I could fill in for the regular music person at his son’s preschool/daycare center.

At first, I asked “Well, what do I play for them, Twinkle Twinkle? Wheels On The Bus, etc..”. And he said “Yeah, that kind of stuff.” (I’m paraphrasing a bit, but that’s the gist of it). When I did play for those kids, i had an immediate, and somewhat unexpected connection with my young audience, and before I knew it the kids surrounded me getting as close as they could – and the teachers were as surprised as I was, in a good way!

It was at that time that I realized that I could may a go of it and pursue a career in music writing, performing for, and even educating children – and soon thereafter, I remembered all the things I loved to do as a child – writing songs, telling stories, doing character voices and making kids laugh – and realized I could do all of these things in the realm of children’s music. So, I took a chance, made a demo, music-centric resume, and reached out to daycares and preschools in the area – and it worked! Now 24 years later, I’m still able to have a career in music, thanks to the discovery that I love performing for kids and they enjoy watching and listening to my music, characters and stories.

Andy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, I already shared how I got into the realm of children’s music, so I’ll move on to what I do specifically, what sets me apart from other’s in my field, etc.

My main focuses are performing and recording music and audio stories for children and families, And the bulk of my income comes from doing those two things, although I do record voiceovers and vocals for hire from time to time (sub-contracting for those BIG YouTube kids channels with millions of subscribers) at my home studio. I am a producer and engineer, so that allows me to do the bulk of my recordings “in-house” – very convenient and cost-effective for an independent artist, but definitely not easy – being the producer, engineer and musician on the creative side, and running the business on the other side. But I’m able to do what i love to do for a living, so it’s worth it to deal with the business side of things. And I’ve managed to become quite competent at it, thankfully!

What sets me apart from other Children’s Performers. I’m not a one-trick pony. I’ve earned my reputation as a children’s music artist and performer who can keep kids engaged and entertained by incorporating multiple aspects of entertainment into my shows – music & movement, finger plays, silly songs – connecting it all together with segues between songs featuring storytelling in the form of a tour through Andyland and incorporating character voices and character puppets. And I have to say quite honestly, I really don’t see a lot of solo children’s artists who do what I do, and are as effective at keeping the littles in it.

That’s not to say that there aren’t other children’s performers out there that aren’t effective at keeping kids engaged doing one main thing, because there are. But combining all aspects of performance works really well for me, and for the kids I perform for. Even adults get a kick out of the fact that I say things on the fly directed to the parents/adults in the audience to keep them entertained too. It’s family fun time!

What I am most proud of is being able to do what I do for a living, when so many children’s musicians/peformers have to have a day job as well to make ends meet – even many of the Grammy nominated and winning ones do. So I feel blessed and thankful for being able to have a full-time career in music – even through the hard times, and there are hard times, believe me. But that’s how life goes, so I go with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andyz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andyinandyland
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andyzmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyzamenes/
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/AndytweetZ
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andyzmusic
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/andy-z-redwood-city
• Other: Reverbnation: (Andy Z and Andy Zamenes music) https://www.reverbnation.com/andyzamenes

Image Credits
Seth Affoumado, Justin Miel