Tag Archives: john roy zat

Who, What, Why, When, Where…Zat!

John Roy Zat

John Roy Zat is a talented singer/songwriter, fiddle player and guitarist from the Sonoma Valley. His songs are relatable and thoughtfully written. John’s songs range from the point of view of a waitress in a small-town café to the point of view of a salmon swimming upriver. All with an Americana feel and sound.

Recently KC Café Radio Music Director Kathy Forste spoke with John via Zoom. He performed songs from his highly acclaimed newest album “Where Zat.” They chatted about how attending songwriting workshops have helped his songwriting over the years. He also talked about how Covid affected his usual recording process, and gave us insight into the writing of our favorite songs on the album “Where Zat.” Check out John Roy Zat’s website at royzat.com.

Watch the interview here:

Who’s Zat? Why, It’s John Roy Zat!

John Roy ZattFor San Francisco-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Roy Zat, the play on words to the question of “who’s zat?” carries significant meaning.  It also happens to be the title of his latest album, which, as Zat pointed out recently, is an exploration through his rich history in music.

Zat grew up listening to, and becoming influenced by the sounds of the British Invasion – BeatlesStones, Donovan, Clapton, as well as the folk music of the likes of Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Neil Young and others.  He found himself playing guitar in high school, and in college, impressed by the sound of American old time music, began taking up the fiddle.

After college, Zat took up a full-time life as a musician, playing with the likes of Asleep At The Wheel, Tanya Tucker, Kate Wolf, Nina Gerber, Queen Ida and Bill Kirchen, among others.  Taking a break from music to raise a family, and establish a financial career for himself, he would later return to music on a full-time basis.

John Roy Zat has released three albums, Solo, Collaborations, and his most recent album, Who’s Zat earlier this year.  Recently, KC Cafe Radio Music Director Kathy Forste talked with Zat about his life and career.  He describes how music has shaped and molded his life and his own musical creation today.

Listen to the interview here:

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FAR-West 2015: Conversations at FAR-West

Folk Alliance Region WestThe saying “birds of a feather flock together” was proven true for us at KC Cafe Radio during the recent Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) Music Conference in Oakland, California.  The miles between Kansas City and Oakland seemed to dissolve away, as we were made to feel right at home among old friends and new at this outstanding event.

As we wrap up our archived coverage of the conference, we extend a heartfelt thank-you to those who were influential in making our broadcast coverage possible: Thank you Far-West President Mark Kaufman and the Board of Directors who allowed us to visit Oakland and broadcast from the conference.  Thank you conference organizers Jeanette Lundgren (who extended the invitation for us to come out to Oakland) and John Roy Zat (who also loaned us his audio equipment to assist in getting a reliable signal back to our broadcast system in Kansas City).  Thank you Official Showcase organizers Peggy Glenn and Jime Van Booven, who graciously worked our broadcast coverage of the shows into their master plan.  To house sound engineer “smilin'” James Heyser and his technical crew who went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure a good clean signal back to Kansas City.  And to all those who went out of their way to welcome us into the far-West family, thank you for your kindness, hospitality and the generosity of your time.  For us, it was an experience we won’t soon forget.

We conclude our archived broadcast coverage with the conversations we aired over KC Cafe Radio during the conference.

Alice Wallace

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Calman Hart and Jeff Berkley

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Cary Morin

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Dan Weber

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David Luning

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Doug Adamz

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Erica Sunshine Lee

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Freebo

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James Lee Stanley

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Jeanette Lundgren 1

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Jeanette Lundgren 2

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John Zipperer

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Joshua Johnson and Reese Douglas

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Karrie Pavish Anderson

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Judy Nazemetz

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Melissa Greener

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Pam Loe and Chad Watson

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Rick Ruskin

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Peter Spencer

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Michael Henchman

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Kiki Wow

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Russ and Julie Paris

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Sarah Frank and Luke Frazer

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Susie Glaze

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Tapia Corel

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Velvy Appelton and Anita Sandwina

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Lee Ferris and Bianca Caruso

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Life Is Good For John Roy Zat

For singer/songwriter John Roy Zat, life couldn’t have him in a better place than he is right now.  “I have worked blue collar and white collar day jobs, with people in many different parts of the world,” Zat says on his website.  “With some mileage on my chassis now and a lot of this planet traveled, I can say that music is one of Nature’s laws. Everybody is moved by music. Everyone has a favorite song, or two, or twenty. One of my greatest joys is making music and sharing songs with people, and the more the better..”

Zat describes himself as “a singer, songwriter, fiddler, and guitar picker,”  He plays both classic American roots, folk, country and bluegrass standards, and also original songs.  It’s the original songs where Zat’s talent really shines brightly.  “I like songs that lift spirits, brighten hopes, make us laugh, and maybe cry a little,” he says.  “I want to celebrate love, mourn loss, ponder mystery, and especially have fun!”

Zat started playing guitar and singing in High School.  He took up fiddling shortly afterward, and began writing music in his early twenties.  His work has garnered the attention of the likes of music legends Caroline Herring and Kate Wolf, who recorded his words to “Midnight On The Water” in her second album.

Zat’s newest music endeavor are two albums.  The first is simply titled Solo, and features Zat playing and singing all his music. The second is an album that is 10 years in making, aptly titled Collaborations.  It features Zat playing his music with other musicians .

Recently KC Cafe Radio Music Director Kathy Forste spoke with Zat.  They talked about his long career, how he got started playing guitar and fiddle, his musical influences and how he chooses the traditional songs he loves to play.

Listen To The Interview:

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Music By John Roy Zat On KC Cafe Radio: