Meet Joe Zizzo | Drummer, DJ & real estate investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joe Zizzo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joe, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Playing music for a living didn’t seem like a choice. It was just something i knew i had to jump into and build from there.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started touring in 2003 and haven’t really stopped since. It’s been an insane road with what feels like 3 separate lives. It’s been incredibly difficult but undoubtedly rewarding. The incredible highs are the drug that keep me coming back. I left college to pursue a life of performing in 2002 when i had the opportunity to join a well known long island based hardcore band called Skycamefalling. I toured with that band for about a year but was immediately told we were breaking up. Some of the guys still wanted to tour so we started a new band called The Sleeping. With the Sleeping we put about a million miles on 4 different vans and buses driving around the US for almost 10 years. We traveled the world over, released 5 full length records, have songs in movies and video games like Guitar Hero. That band was my 20’s and taught me a ton about this business and this lifestyle. When that ended in 2012 I didn’t feel done with music. I moved to Los Angeles because i needed new surrounding and new inspiration. I had friends in LA and always loved touring there. I moved with one bag and a cymbal case. Slept on couches and in my car for a few months until i found a place. One i’m still at while i write this 13 years later. I started working for a moving company comprised of musicians. It was an ego blow especially after touring the world but it was work. A year and half later i got a call to play for an up and coming pop singer. It wasn’t really my bag but touring in a bus and playing arenas was something i worked my whole life for so i gave it a shot. Now over a decade later I’ve played for a ton of artists, performed on every late night TV show, checked off my venue bucket list after just playing 2 nights at Madison Square Garden and somehow came out mostly unscathed. Persistence is felt in the music i now make. Its what I hope sets me a part. I’m excited most about a Project I have called WORK that is set to release new music in the coming months. If theres a lesson to all of this i think finding balance as soon as you can will save you a lifetime of anxiety and stress. Doing what you can to give your art everything you have while simultaneously recognizing how important life can be outside of art and leaving some gas in the tank for that. Focusing on your physival and metal health from the jump is crucial for longevity in this industry. As far as what i want the world to know……The life or an artist, even one who seems successful is never as it seems. The hour we are on stage is not the work its the 23hrs were not and navigating that with grace is the hardest part.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA has some of the best food of any city I’ve ever been. We would definitely be hitting up most taco trucks on the east side. My favorite being Taco Zone. I would 100% stay out of Hollywood. I’d maybe make an exception if something great is playing that the Chinese theater. Ideally get to the beach, probably somewhere up the coast closer to Malibu. Walk through Venice and hit the boardwalk because not only is a classic tourist spot it just has a thing about it. Watching the skaters rip in the pool is always fun as hell. Theres great venues in my area like The Echo and The Lodge Room. I’d def see who’s playing and consider tickets. If the LA Philharmonic is playing at the Hollywood Bowl or Disney Hall I would %100 get us tickets to that. Museums like the Broad would also be high on the list of things to see. I would embrace the Coffee culture and drag them to about 3 great spots right by my house. Canyon Coffee, 8fold and Stereoscope Coffee all have great options and fun hangs. Id want them to feel like they are really embracing the LA lifestyle…. just hanging, drinking expensive coffee while eating overpriced avocado toast at 11am on a Tuesday.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents let me play an 8 piece drum kit in a tiny house in NY and supported me living on the road for years while building the career of a band. I owe everything to their understanding.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zizakron

Youtube: @workofficial2706

Image Credits
Brandon Gomez
Chelsea Hope