Zupe: Press

 

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As it stands now, the music industry can be like a black hole, sucking in one-hit wonders and underdeveloped musicians, squashing dreams for second and (dare we say?) third albums.

That’s how Zupe, a local musician and songwriter, has seen the industry change, replacing the care once taken with developing musicians with a desire for quick money and fame.

“Now they (record companies) won’t think about signing you until you’ve released your own album and are set up independently,” the 40-year-old said sitting inside his home studio in Altoona recently.  “Where it used to be a performer had quite a shelf life, now if an artist gets a second album, OK, that’s good.  But it’s rare to get to a third album.”

Is Zupe one of countless struggling musicians trying to make his mark in an often unforgiving business?  Not at all.

After honing his musical craft throughout his childhood and even into the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps, Zupe has made his career not releasing album after album in hopes of scoring a hit, but by becoming a successful songwriter and one-man band.  He makes music he finds fulfilling while making a living at the same time.

As people watch reruns of “Malcolm In The Middle,” “Road Rules” and “The Simple Life,” they may hear Zupe’s voice.  He’s written and recorded numerous recordings for television shows, including NBC’s “Dateline” and several shows on such cable networks as A&E and The History Channel.

Now, just for those wondering, yes, Zupe is his legal name.  As he described it, everyone needs a hook.

Before having his voice heard on TV, Zupe was in his childhood home of Cairnbrook, Somerset County, listening to his father play his accordion.

“There was always music around us, especially around the holidays,” he said.

At 8 years old, Zupe started playing the trumpet and was proficient enough at 12 to experiment with other instruments, including the piano.  Instead of asking what instruments he plays, Zupe finds it easier to list what he doesn’t play - the flute and bow instruments.

“Everything else I can stumble or fake through,” he said laughing.

The marching band in Shade-Central City School District - which, when not football season, was the concert band - caught Zupe’s eye.  He was also involved in chorus and after graduating high school, he joined the Air Force for a four-year stint where he was also involved in the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps.

He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1988 as a decorated sergeant and back at home, he started finding gigs as a one-man band.

“It took a while to get established, but once I did, it took off,” he said.

That same year, he met professional guitarist Dave Nichols and the two began co-writing commercial jingles, then original music, something they continue to do when they try to set aside a day a week to work together.

“The sessions are always filled with laughter,” Nichols, who lives in Somerset and owns Nick’s Music, said.  “You have to like and respect the individual or else it’s never going to work.  You have to have a sense of humor and keep at it.”

When not laughing, the duo finds ways to merge talents and ideas into successful collaborations.  “It was always an easy working relationship,” Nichols said.  “We always seem to be on the same page.”

After returning home, Zupe played at bars, clubs and hotels before meeting his wife, Judy, in 1991.  A year later, the couple married, moved to Altoona and now have an 8-year-old son, Ryan.  Not wanting to spend a life on the road, Zupe shifted gears in 1995 and began to concentrate on writing and composing, but he can still be found performing in central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

When he made a shift toward more writing and composing, the American Red Cross adopted Zupe’s song “The Light” as the theme song to their “One Moment of Light” campaign, which benefited disaster relief services.

A few years later, Zupe’s Christmas CD was released and is now available to download on 30 different Web sites.

As if that wasn’t enough, Zupe’s still hard at work, this time working on songs with Orange County, California-based musician Fabrizio Novo.  The two plan to release all the songs for digital download.

“At the beginning, (the collaboration) was an experiment to see how it (would go) with the distance, but then it went pretty good,” Novo said.

While some with a breadth of musical knowledge would get domineering with other musicians, Novo said Zupe’s never let his skills show in a negative way.

“He has a very broad range of expertise, which is one thing I really like about him,” he said.  “He has a lot of experience with different genres and solving practical problems, like a writing problem or an arrangement type of issue we need to solve.  He tries to work with me.  He’s very cool to work with.”

If retirement is in sight, Zupe doesn’t see it.  While he enjoys gourmet cooking, music is still his passion, next to his family.

“The most amazing thrill of all of this is getting what I hear in here (motioning to his head) in your ears and seeing how you react to that,” he said.  “That’s powerful juju to hear it in my head and get it to come across to people.  To make people laugh or even cry because of my music never gets old.”