Being a Philadephia Creative with Al Zamora
Photo by Joy Masi
Philadelphia has a rich ecosystem of music that is often overlooked. With Philly native Al Zamora, you don’t have to tell him this twice- especially when he wears his Eagles hat.
Community is everything for this Costa Rica-born guitarist- starting with his family’s support and dad’s musical influence in his upbringing to now within the Philly music scene. Philadelphia is home to many artists he has befriended who inspire him including local bands like Rubber and Dalla Vita.
Knowing that Zamora was a teenager in the digital age, his beginnings on Guitar Hero would not surprise you. After enjoying the game for some time, he received an actual guitar one Christmas with DVD lessons. While the discipline was hard to keep consistent at that age, Zamora found love in playing metal and rock hits for his bedroom walls. Then one day he discovered John Mayer, who proved it was possible to be a singer-songwriter and “badass guitarist.” This example instilled confidence in Zamora to also pursue being a singer, along with his dad’s encouragement. Zamora then joined his high school's creative writing program which taught the young, shy Al how to “organize his thoughts” and finally be able to “express himself.”
Since then, Zamora seizes every opportunity that inspiration sparks- even if it means recording voice memos in the bathroom at a party. He sees his creativity as a surprise attack and never forces it. He always tries to be true to himself and whatever he’s feeling that day in the studio from acoustic to ‘saucy’ to ‘dancey.’ Zamora says “there’s no one way to do it [song writing]” but “I always know another song is coming, I just don’t know when.” This creative journey has allowed Zamora to create songs with sexy R&B chords like “Dance to Deny” to others beyond typical love situations like “All about you” which the artist revealed is about his relationship with weed.
During the pandemic, Zamora has used this time to safely collaborate with his team in recording new music. He is looking forward to releasing an EP this upcoming May.
Check out Al Zamora on all platforms: Instagram Spotify Apple Music Youtube
