This week on Thinkin’ & Drinkin’, Bart talks with John Zocco about all things guitars. John talks about making the move from New York to Nashville to pursue his musical dreams. He talks about his career and how he has gotten to where he is now. He talks about life on the road and how he brings his hobbies and passions on the road with him.
Meet John Zocco: My name is John Zocco and I’m a photographer and a roadie.
For those of you not familiar with what a “roadie” is, let me explain.
I travel the world with rock bands as part of the crew that sets up and tears down the show every day. My particular job is as a guitar tech, which means I set up and maintain the guitars and amps for the band’s guitarist. I’ve also worked as a bass and keyboard tech, depending on what band I’m working for. I also play guitar and I’ve toured as a guitarist with several country artists in the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s. It’s a great job and I get to travel the world and visit all sorts of interesting places.
I’m also a photographer, so my roadie job gives me the opportunity to shoot photos of interesting people and places all over the world.
I shoot a lot of live music of course, but I also love to shoot landscapes and architecture while I’m traveling. I also do portraits of some of the musicians that I tour with, and I’ve had shots published in magazines and used by companies in advertisements and catalogs. I’ve shot some CD/DVD covers and booklet images for some of these artists, too.
When I’m not touring, I do some product and real estate photography as well as portraits. I love to shoot, so it’s fun to take on projects in all of these genres.
This website covers both parts of my professional life – there are some photo tips, examples, and advice for those of you interested in photography, and there are some “Road Reports” that offer a look at what life is like out here on the road. It’s a (hopefully) fun little place I’ve carved out here on the internet, and I’m looking forward to hearing from everyone. Please feel free to contact me over on the contact page, sign up for the email list, and give my Facebook pages alike. I’ve got two – one for my photo business and one for The Photo Roadie. I may just go down to one at some point – I’m still trying to decide.
What Bart has to say: John has worked with some of my biggest heroes and we have common friends and interests like drone photography.
In this episode, you’ll hear
Going from playing in bar bands to country bands to guitar tech-ing with rock bands
How he has pulled in his love of photography & drones into his daily work life on the road
Links to Connect: