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Zella Day spreads musical wings on debut
By John Benson
No longer feeling tied down as an open-mic night coffee shop singer, Arizona’s Zella Day is all about making new friends.
“It’s so cool being on the road,” said Day, calling from Los Angeles. “My debut record, “‘Kicker,’ is taking me places I never thought I would visit because I don’t know anybody there. But now I’m about to, and hopefully a lot of people will come to my show.”
Day makes her Northeast Ohio debut Friday with a gig at Cleveland Heights’ Grog Shop. The folk-based performer first garnered national attention with her 2012 cover of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
“I never did hear anything from Jack White,” Day said. “It always makes me giggle when I think about it because that’s kind of what got me on the radar. And I know he’s had to have heard it because it’s on satellite radio.
“Maybe he hates it, and that’s why he hasn’t said anything. That’s fine.”
These days Day is feeling good about her career, which includes the “Insurgent” soundtrack song “Sacrifice.” Overall, singles such as the alternative “East of Eden,” the folky “Sweet Ophelia” and moody “High” have enjoyed more than 39 million streams on Spotify.
Day’s maturation as a songwriter can be heard (and seen) on her single “Hypnotic.” The upbeat track stands out from other “Kicker” tunes for its contemporary pop sensibility, which includes synths and programmed beats. One could imagine hearing the song on the radio following a Taylor Swift anthem.
The stylistic digression doesn’t stop there. The tune’s music video is a hot-and-heavy affair finding Day mesmerized by a shirtless cowboy with a long snake draped over his shoulders. The video fails the subtle-message test.
“‘Hypnotic’ is about losing yourself in a shallow, sexual relationship so in that, the music video has the right to be a little darker than say ‘Sweet Ophelia’ or ‘Jameson,’” Day said. “I make music because I love to make music. I never started playing to seek fame or money.
“But there was also a part of me when I was writing this record where I envisioned playing big stages and how amazing it would be to kind of push myself. That’s where you get songs like ‘Hypnotic,’ that are a little bigger and poppier.”
If there was one theme Day employed when recording “Kicker,” she said it was feeling confident enough to step outside of her comfort zone. Furthermore, being a young artist, the singer-songwriter embraced the freedom associated with spreading her musical wings as far as possible.
“The record is very much who I am,” Day said. “I tried to take everything that I love and I do, and kind of set me up for future records. I don’t think I boxed myself into any specific genre on ‘Kicker,’ which I’m proud of.
“I want to make a lot more music, and I don’t want to feel tied down.”