We were lucky to catch up with Zoe Berman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Zoe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I think life presents opportunities for continual learning and I hope to never stop learning. That being said, I have benefitted tremendously from the foundation of knowledge I received in music as a child. My parents were very supportive of my early interest in music, allowing me to take piano lessons and dabble in other instruments that piqued my interest over the years.
I attended a magnet school for classical piano study during my freshman year of high school. Although that environment did not effectively nurture my initial exploration with songwriting and improvisation, it led me to an incredible jazz piano teacher who, upon leaving that school, became an incredible mentor to me. In addition to sharpening my abilities as a jazz pianist, he facilitated opportunities for live performance, encouraged me to pursue songwriting further and genuinely listened to my input on the areas in which I wanted to expand as a musician.
Around the same time, I began teaching myself guitar, which opened up an entirely new, captivating sonic landscape that significantly influenced my songwriting style and approach. Although I am grateful to have had the freedom to explore on the guitar unrestrained by the confines of traditional lessons, I think taking lessons would have expedited the learning process and I often which I had acquired that foundational knowledge base. I know it’s never too late, but life is unendingly busy and I enjoy continuously progressing over time with this instrument for the time being.
Ultimately, there’s always more to learn and absorb in the realm of music, as with everything else and I hope to always maintain this process of expanding and exploring in my musicianship, songwriting, and overall human experience.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist originally from the Northeast, but I’ve been living in and performing music throughout Colorado for the past five years. I have been enamored by the process of songwriting for many years and utilize it as a primary mode of externalizing the internal, processing my lived experience and connecting with others. I perform frequently throughout the Denver/NoCo area and recently released a seven-song debut EP entitled “Freezing Heat”, which can be purchased on BandCamp (https://zoeberman.bandcamp.com) or streamed across all major platforms. I am proud of this body of work and look forward to future projects & releases. I think my songs possess a unique capacity to provide cathartic release and a felt sense of shared experience and mutual humanhood between myself and listeners. More than anything, I love connecting with people by way of sharing music and the stories that fuel my lyrics, and I look forward to doing more of that in the months to come.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think fostering genuine human connection is my favorite part of sharing creative work. Performing a song that really resonates with someone in the audience to the extent that they approach me afterwards and share the part of their story the song evoked is a magical experience. It’s affirming for me not only as a songwriter, but as a human being.
I also love exploring and collaborating with others in the local creative community and feel deeply lucky to be a part of such a vibrant, multitalented scene.
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
At the end of the day, I’m going to write songs regardless of whose/how many ears they reach because it’s a fundamental aspect of my being. That said, I would love to reach a wider audience with my music and continue to grow as an artist. I’m always striving for the next step, and never want to find myself in a place of stagnancy where I’m not challenging myself to keep progressing in my creative journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zoebermanmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoebermanmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zbermanmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ27CwLHJ-AbItyZTR5i57Q?view_as=subscriber
- Other: https://zoeberman.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/1JfUyyDtdR9H7r9L8k73lQ?si=BIi_0tfKR1u-f65NrqMSZA&nd=1
Image Credits
IMG_3119: Glenn Ross All others: Jo Babb