For Connections Academy advisor Ted Zakka, the day isn’t over when the Sacramento school district bell rings. He meets up with a lawyer, a teacher and other professionals to do one thing: make some music.
Zakka is the mastermind, songwriter of self-ascribed Americana band Ted Z and the Wranglers. He graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2010 with his master’s degree in education curriculum and then received his teaching credentials for English in 2011.
The band formed in “2013-ish” and has had quick success, playing at venues such as the Orange County Fair and the Los Angeles County Fair.
The band is composed of Zakka as lead singer and guitarist, Mike Layton on guitar and harmonica, Bass player Dan Mages, a Craigslist “blessing in disguise” Mike Myers on drums, Rob Torres playing banjo and lead guitarist Jackson Leverone.
Zed Z and the Wranglers record at a Costa Mesa studio called The Beehive, where the band has been recording on and off for the past ten years, Zakka said.
The band recently released its third EP “Like a King” and will be going on tour in Southern California this fall. Zakka also said Ted Z and the Wranglers are expected to finish their fourth album, “Ghost Train,” within the next month.
The Daily 49er met up with Zakka to find out how the band came to be.
Q. Is this currently a [side gig you do exclusively at night]?
Ted Zakka: Yeah during the day, most folks are busy. But we’re just making it happen, playing at night as much as we can, playing on weeknights. We still have work the next morning, but we don’t care. We just get up in the morning and go to work.
Q. What’s the big [dream] for the band?
TZ: To turn this into a working career for us. We don’t need to be rich. We just want to make enough money to pay for our livelihood and families by playing music, and writing music. And being able to have the time to do it during the day to do it.
Q. What has been your proudest moment for the band so far?
TZ: The CD Release party was pretty sweet for this “Like a King” album. We put a lot of hard work into it. We wanted it to be a big success. We thought it was a pretty good success. The shows were packed and we got a bunch of sponsors.
Q. What is the band’s message?
TZ: I think there used to be more of a message when this first started. When I’d write a song — I don’t want to make it sound political– but there used to be an idea behind them. But then it got a little bit more country and folk and fun and now I just want people to leave and have a good time with the show. And if the words mean something to them, that’s great. The lyrics are important to me, but I don’t know what they’re going to mean to folks that listen to the songs.
Q. If you could give one piece of advice to college students or aspiring musicians, what would it be?
TZ: Oh boy – um, just keep working. Don’t stop, don’t give up. No matter what anyone says, don’t stop. If you’re passionate about something, continue doing it. Your goals are in your own mind. A lot of people won’t respect what you’re doing or believe in what you’re doing so you have to believe in it yourself. Be persistent, consistent, all those words, I guess.