INTRODUCING ZZ WARD - Raised in Roseburg, Oregon, on a musical diet of Muddy Waters and Etta James,ZZ Ward caught the music bug early and started playing with her father’s blues band. Later, she fell in love with hip hop and began performing with local rappers - now she says she’s “married” to both the blues and hip hop. Through a chance click on Youtube I happened upon her latest offering, Put the Gun Down, an unashamedly catchy tune that already has upwards of 68,000 views after being put up only two days ago. Her previous release, Overdue, is about the death of a relationship, conveyed through an angry harmonica and the slaughter of cute little bunny rabbits.
ZZ Ward has been a busy girl: during SXSW she played 3 shows daily and she’s currently touring the US. Acoustically, she is flawless; her voice is rich and soulful and she seems more comfortable slumming it on stage with her guitar and band than she does in some of her music videos, in which, I feel, she’s been polished a little too much. This sort of music craves a certain raw beauty, or, as she describes it herself, “dirty shine” (which she has, in buckets).
Listen to ZZ Ward’s EP Criminal and Eleven Roses Mixtape here. Find her on facebook, youtube, tumblr and twitter.
- Published on www.itno.co.uk on 20 July 2012