The Zins | Bands We Love

It all began in 2007 when Val Fuentes was renting out future bandmate Jeff Stevenson’s music studio.  Val was an avid musician, starting out in his hometown of Chicago and working his way out west, settling in as the drummer of San Francisco rock band, A Beautiful Day.  Jeff, an accomplished musician in his own right, had been playing music since the age of 7, and had been a part of every band imaginable – funk, 50′s Americana, jazz, rock…

On this particular day, Jeff came down into the studio to jam with him.  The rest, as they say is history.  It was obvious from the start that the two connected musically.  So to test the waters, they booked their first gig at Ace in the Hole.  From there, they sought out their core set of musicians – drums, bass, guitar, keyboard.

“We started out with the express goal of having a funk based group with horns and great vocals, playing tunes we all love and that we felt personified what the music meant to all of us,” Jeff said about the beginnings of the band.  Then they settled on the name Seven Zins (later shortened to The Zins) since they began with seven players, and Jeff happened to make some pretty great Zinfandel as a winemaker.

The band performs mostly covers, recreating funk and jazz songs from James Brown to Dr. John to the Meters.  Performing a 50/50 mix of instrumental to vocals, the band utilizes the longer stretches of instrumental runs to incorporate originality and improvisation.  So while the songs you recognize still hold the same lyrics and music, they still hold an original spin to keep the sound fresh and new.

To find out more about The Zins, visit their website at www.7zins.com.

Band: The Zins
Band Members:
Jeff Stevenson – Keyboards
Val Fuentes – Drums & Vocals
Michael Prichard – Percussion & Vocals
Rob Cunningham – Guitar
David Scott – Sax & Vocals
Jim Stice – Guitar & Vocals
Mark Chole – Bass
Home Stomping Grounds: Santa Rosa, CA
Musical Style: Rock, Funk, R&B, jazz
Band Website: www.7zins.com
Facebook Page
Regular Gigs: Check out their gig calendar at www.7zins.com.