We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paulie Z. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paulie below.

Paulie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has been The David Z Foundation. DZF is a non-profit organization that I founded that raises money for music programming for kids around the world in memory of my late brother David Z. David and I were not only brothers, but bandmates and best friends. He and I were in an original band called ZO2 for 10 years and toured with bands like KISS, Poison, Alice Cooper, Scorpions, etc. We also had a TV series for two seasons called Z Rock which was based on our real life story of being a rock band at night and kids band by day. Our band The Z Brothers were one of the most sought after children’s entertainers on the east coast.

Rock n roll and education were equal passions for us and we were successful at both. In 2017, David was killed in a tragic car crash and my life was never the same. In 2020 I founded DZF in his memory to keep his legacy alive and continue the work we had done for so many years. It was also a therapeutic outlet for me to cope with what I was feeling. Since its inception, the foundation has done incredible work with schools and students around the world. We have won awards for our work including an Anthem and two Telly awards!

Our programs give kids a chance to write an original song, record it and produce a music video all at a professional level. To tie our work in with rock n roll, we bring in guest artists to work with the students which empowers them even more. The impact that we have on these kids is very real and my brother’s name lives on.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a musician and educator from Brooklyn, NY. What sets me apart from everyone else is that I excel in both the world of rock n roll and education. They are two very different realms, but I realized many years ago that my gift was to combine those two worlds. I am a singer, guitar player, vocal coach, producer, actor, educator and CEO of a non-profit. I am most proud of the fact that I set my sights high and always deliver. For me it’s “go big or go home” and I’ll go above and beyond to make it happen.

My younger brother David and I were in various rock bands together in NYC when we were young. Our first professional group was a power rock trio called ZO2 that lasted for 10 years and we toured with bands like KISS and Poison. We also had a band called the Z Brothers that did children’s music and we did concerts and birthday parties. In 2008 we landed our own TV series called Z Rock which was a semi-scripted comedy about our dual life as a kid’s band by day and rock band by night. That lasted for two seasons on the IFC channel and featured many celebrity guests such as Joan Rivers, Dee Snider, Dave Navarro and many more.

ZO2 released three CDs and multiple singles. I released one solo EP and six kids CDs. I’ve also created multiple music programs for schools around the world. In 2011 I started a non-profit for kids music called Rock Asylum Foundation. In 2013 I moved to LA and started hosting and producing an incredibly successful jam night at the famous Whisky A Go Go called ULTIMATE JAM NIGHT. I did that every week for 7 1/2 years. In 2017 I was recruited by the legendary rock band SWEET to be their new lead singer. In 2020 I changed the name of my non-profit to the David Z Foundation in memory of my brother who was killed in July 2017. Since then I have travelled the world bringing music programming to underprivileged kids as I have dedicated myself to keeping David’s legacy alive.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist or creative person is the human connection. Art, especially music, moves people and stirs up emotion. It makes you think…feel…react. I went to school for illustration so I was a visual artist when I was young, but I realized that nothing connects us more than music. It is a window into our soul and it breaks all cultural barriers including language. It is a heavenly gift and as artists, we get to present this gift to the people. It is quite an honor.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have many goals in my creative journey, but one of the main ones is to combine rock n roll with education. For many years I have been running programs with kids where we write radio friendly pro-level rock/pop songs about educational subjects. I have always felt that I had been given a gift to be able to thrive in these two different worlds and my purpose in life was to somehow bring them together. To me, kids are rock stars and I love empowering them by giving them an opportunity to write and record songs that are not watered down. I love having professional musicians work together with the kids and producing products that are cool and rockin’. In general, I am known for bringing a rock n roll edge to my kids music and a child like spirit to my rock n roll music. Tying these two worlds together is one of my main missions in life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauliezofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pauliezofficial/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pauliezofficial