Since the week before Christmas of  last year through all of January, I hadn’t had a single day off. Not only did I spend every day making music but it seemed that I wore a different hat every few days. Mixed a few, recorded a few, played a whole bunch of guitar, bass on a few, a few live shows and a trip to NAMM. I feel blessed to be rocking it hard but by the time February came around it was if my body was telling me to slow down. Not only did I wrench my back at a rehearsal (playing to gigs in mega pain), but I came down with the Flu not once but twice! So my February is off to a slow start. I sit here recovering from the second go around of a nasty flu and anxious to get things rolling again. This month I’ll be mixing my next cd entitled MENTAL NOISE which should be out in the world this summer. MY TENTH RELEASE! Yeeesh… Later this month I’ll be shooting a promotional video about the album as well as shooting a music video for one of the songs. CAN’T WAIT!!!

In the meantime, I’m playing this weekend with a new band I’m in called DEEPCUTZ . Overall life is good. My wife is doing well, and my happy six year old drummer boy is fantastic. Hope you all are well too!  Look for all the upcoming music and videos at www.saulzonana.com.

till next time..

SZ

Of course the events that occurred on September 11th 2001 permanently changed the lives of so many people. So many of us suffered loss of a loved one or a friend. Just knowing what happened and getting through it has to have impacted almost everyone. So many of us have a story about how that day changed our lives forever.
This is my story of September 11th 2001.

During most summers from 1992 through 1998 I was part of a group led by a great musician and old band mate of mine Steven Wright-Mark, that were responsible for putting on lunch time performances on the plaza of the world trade center, directly in between the twin towers. At that time I lived in NYC and the view of those two larger than life buildings was a part of everyday life for me. Anyone who was famous on the oldies stations, classical, smooth jazz or even kid shows came through and played on the plaza during those summer afternoons. It’s where I met a lot of great NYC musicians and made some good friends. In 1993 after the original World Trade Center bombing which blew a hole about 50 feet from our stage, security tightened up a bit, but otherwise they patched up the hole and the afternoon shows kept going. Attached is the pass I always carried with me that got me everywhere I needed to go backstage and beyond. The World Trade Center became a very familiar place for me. I got to know the people working in the health food store below building 1 that would fix me my usual protein shake, or the guy in S’barro that knew to almost burn my Pizza, and the lady at Chase bank below building 2 that would always smile and wave me over to deposit my check. I also I got to know the folks that worked behind the scenes for the performances like the electrician that powered us up every morning etc.. and so on.
Fast forward to 2001. My Father had been living in Florida on his own and had not been doing well. My fiance (now wife) and I had just visited him a few weeks prior and relocated him into an assisted living facility. That in itself was quite a journey. On September 9th 2001 I received a phone call from a neighbor of my Fathers. “Saul, you’d better get down here. Your dad is driving erratically and he’s going to hurt himself or someone else. He’s also talking Gibberish. You need to get down here” My mother and my brother had passed away a few years prior. I was the only one who could care for my dad so I flew down that day. (Later we would find out that my dad had a growing tumor in his brain that was impossible to treat and was slowly damaging his ability to reason or even know what was going on around him). I spent September 10th with my Father and the first thing I managed to do was get his car keys away from him and convince him that he can’t drive. I told him it was “just for now” but I knew his driving days were over. Ironically, a few months prior he had just purchased an Olds-mobile ’98 which was the biggest car I’ve ever driven. It was kind of like driving a boat on land. Anyway I monitored his behavior and I could see that he was getting Ill. He was walking funny, talking strangely and he was obviously extremely frustrated by all of it. After I spent the day with him and had settled things down a bit, I went back to his old condo, which was now for sale. I remember wondering how I will be able to look after him in the condition he was in, while he lived in Fla., and me in NY.
The next morning, 10 years ago today on September 11th 2001, I woke up and turned on the TV. Whatever I was watching was immediately interrupted by the news of the first plane hitting the building. We all know how the next several hours went down. As it all unfurled, the reality of how many friends I had in and around those buildings were flashing in my brain and getting worse and worse as the day went on. I made as many calls as I could and could not get through to anyone. I did get through to my wife who was at home, hysterical and scared. But through it all I had to check on my dad and figure out what to do next. When I went to see him that day, he was already worse. In fact at that point it was dangerous for him to be alone at all. He was disoriented. He did have one interesting moment when he looked up at the TV while all the terror was taking place and he just shook his head and said “those sons a bitches” speaking of course about the terrorists who were behind this. Then he said “my God those people” speaking of the victims. It was as if he came back to his original self just for a minute to reflect on what was going on. That day, despite my urging him to let me help him get around, my father got up to go to the bathroom and fell badly. It was time for me to get him into the hospital. I called an ambulance and he was taken to the nearby hospital. He was barely conscious and pretty unaware of what was going on. All the while I’m wondering if a bunch of my friends are alive or dead, and I’m receiving calls from friends and relatives making sure that I myself am still alive. After settling my father in to the hospital, and spending all night with doctors and nurses I made a difficult decision.
For now, I had to get home to be with my family and try to figure out what to do. My ultimate goal would be to somehow get my father to NY with me. So after already being up all night, I hopped in my fathers Olds 98 and from Florida, I drove that boat all the way home to NY. During that drive home I had a tire blow out. I remember calling a tow truck and explaining that I’m stuck on Rt 95 with a blown tire and I’m missing friends in NY and need to get back on the road asap. The tow truck arrived in about 3 minutes, my tire was changed in about 10 minutes and I was back on the road in a heartbeat and no one charged me a dime. You see that was the day that most Americans were looking out for one another. That was when we were all putting someone else’s troubles before our own. I’ll always remember how we treated each other during the several days that followed the tragedies. And I still wish it felt like that today. To this day, I’m still amazed at how quickly we went back to being the greedy ego based people we could be sometimes in this country. I still think that a lot of us forget what really happened on September 11th.
A few days after returning home I learned that some of my buddies ran like the wind as soon as the second building was hit and got away ok. I learned that two fire fighters from my neighborhood and a husband of a friend of mine were gone.
I also learned that some of the folks that I came to know over the years, like the electrician that turned our power on, the lady in the bank, the folks in some of the stores, and even parents and family members of friends of mine were all gone. And those buildings that I came to love. Those incredible buildings that I looked at every day when I glanced down 7th ave in NYC were gone. It was surreal. NYC would never feel the same.
Through all of this grief, I had to focus on my Father. Since all air travel was suspended, how would I look after him? Even though I could drive back, how will I continue to look after him and get him the best care possible? I made another serious and extremely expensive decision that I’m so glad I made. I hired an air ambulance to fly my father from Florida to a great hospital in Westchester county where I visited him every day. Those were the only planes permitted to fly. He was mostly unconscious but we did have a few moments during the next several days that made it worth every penny in getting him to NY. He passed away in that hospital bed a couple of weeks later. Beyond losing some friends, the last of my family was now gone.
That old cliche of the old guy who worked 5 jobs and walked up hill to school each way, my dad was that guy. He rolled up his sleeves and worked hard from the day he was able. He supported his immediate family including his mother and was quite helpful to his extended family as well. He respected hard work and expected hard work. This was the USA that my father grew up in. The land of opportunity. Not the land of entitlement that we live in today. When he looked up at the TV and said “those sons a bitches”, he was feeling the wounds of a country that he was given the chance to work hard in and become successful. He loved and respected his country. As do I.
Never forget 9/11. Never forget what it did to us and how it SHOULD have made us stronger and even more united, as in the UNITED states of america. And never forget that it’s each individual persons work ethic that will bring us back to the land of opportunity. It’s up to us to get back the work ethic that my father and his generation once had.
I dedicate this blog to all the heroes of that day who ran toward the buildings when everyone else was running away. I dedicate this to the families and friends of those who lost their lives. I dedicate this to the members of the military who risk their lives to protect ours. And I ask that in honor of all of these true heroes, we stop the political crap and get on to the good old idea of working hard and looking out for one another.
If anyone responds to this with any political nonsense, you’re missing the meaning of this blog and I wont read your response. Thanks for reading this.

When I moved to TN from NY over 3 years ago, I basically started over. My move here was not based on music. It was more based on my wife’s work and economics. Basically we were seeking a better/easier lifestyle. We did accomplish that but not without making some big adjustments.  I had been pounding away at the NY, NJ, PA, MD and DC scenes for almost 20 years,playing with everyone and everywhere. Some great times and great memories. Even the not so great gigs are now great memories. Somehow though, even when I toured around the entire US, I rarely ever played in Nashville TN. Not for any other reason except that the tours never took me here. (To this day I’ve never been to North or South Dakota either). Well now I find myself living here. The adjustment of moving from NY to TN has of course been interesting. Having nothing to do with music, it does amaze me sometimes that you can get in a car and drive to NY in one day, yet the difference in people and culture sometimes feels as if I got into a rocket ship and traveled for weeks to another galaxy.  This is not to say that one way is bad and the other is good, nor am I saying that I don’t like it here because I do. I’m merely saying that this was not a small move. It was a huge one. Getting back to the music scene, that’s where I really feel like I started over. It’s been roughly 3 years and I’m just starting to get comfortable with the music scene here. As I continue to filter out what’s NOT lame about it, I’m figuring out what venues fit for me, people are turning up at shows, I’m finding more and more fine musicians with similar taste in music to play with and it’s just starting to feel good again in that way. All of these things were the norm for me in NY. By the way I of course go back to NY 3 or 4 times a year for live gigs, sessions etc… and it too reminds me of what I love and don’t love about it. And though of course I play in many other places besides TN, I think it’s important to have some local roots.  So what do I LOVE about TN? The weather, the cost of living, the bigger focus on family, much better place to raise my son, how much house I got for my money, no state income tax,  and the good friends I’ve made here. What are some of my least favorite things about TN?  Hmmm…  well… how shall I word this …  Let’s just say that though my town of Murfreesboro TN is building , trying, and getting a wee bit better with time,  they still have a LONG way to go to arrive in the 21st century.  Bottom line, life is what you make of it no matter where you are. So I wish the best to alls yalls.  Shhit I mean you people..!  Damn it I said it again!

These last few month’s have been some of the busiest months I can remember (though keep in mind that my memory is shot). The studio work has been a runway for some truly great artists artists to land in, work on music with me and then take off on their way to the next city. It’s been somewhat non stop which has been rewarding, but it’s time for a little break. I’ve been doing a few shows with my trio in Atlanta and VA but the last one in Nashville was about my favorite so far. I’m about to play a post NAMM party at 3rd and Lindsley on 7/23 which promises to rock pretty hard. The studio is currently shut down and will start up again on July 12th. It’s going through an overhaul of sorts. New sound treatments on the walls and ceilings, new Pro Tools HD 9 system, new Mac tower, lots of new plug ins, and moving gear around to make things more concise. Thanks to my good friends and colleagues Daniel Rowland, and Rob Polivka for their assistance on this project. When we’re done in a few days the studio will be on a new level of serious. The Live album IT’S ALIVE, will hit CDbaby and retail stores any second now and I’ll be sure to make a big announcement about it. I’m proud of the album and it makes me love my NY pals even more than I ever have if that’s possible. Over the 4th of July weekend I went into the AI recording studio in Nashville (great SSL room) with a super talented drummer Wes Little and monster engineer Daniel Rowland and recorded what I think are the last few songs for my next studio release which I hope to complete by the end of 2011. So yeah, things have been rollin along in the music world. But that’s all small potatoes compared to the news that my wife Nicole is getting better with each day, my son is happy and my family is cool. Hope you all are cool as well.

Hello again. So it’s been more than a week since my last post but I have an excuse. You see myself and some friends were kidnapped by aliens in a purple space ship and taken to a far away planet where they studied me. The aliens determined that humans from earth are relatively dumb but we’re pretty ok musicians, and we like milkshakes. So they sent me back but not before I recorded a new live album which is available everywhere June 3rd. Lot’s of friends showed up and a great evening was had by all. We all travelled back to earth on the very same purple space ship that got us there. I hope you dig the new live album.  It features crazy musicians  such as Aaron Comess, Richard Hammond, Teddy Kumpel and Jack Petruzzelli. By the way there’s a dish we ate on the planet we visited called pppptoingsnafnitblooken which was delicious! It was mainly made with broiled flying alien monkeys feet. Tasted like chicken.