Dr. Zog

Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas a musically cultural town on the border of Louisiana and Texas and a hotbed of good times zydeco music. Zog took his swampadelic style of music to Austin, Tx. in 1989 and began performing at the roadhouses and festivals of Central Texas. He has a deep fried understanding of roots music and plays music to uplift and funkify the folks with fun, upbeat music with a positive message. Put on your alligator shoes and crawfish shuffle to our funky zydeco grooves.

Listening to the music of the Dr. Zog band is like traveling to Cajun country. This upbeat, positive music with a driving beat takes your taste buds and heart to Louisiana and Southeast, Texas where gumbo, crawfish, and beer abound. Having grown up in Port Arthur, Texas, a hotbed for musical talent, Dr. Zog was infused with music from a young age. Music was always around his home, in the kitchen as his mom cooked and flowing from the living room where his grandparents played piano and accordion. With so much music around, it felt natural for Dr. Zog to have an instrument in his hands. What was surprising though was his innate ability to take a tune he heard and recreate it. There was no doubt music was in his soul.

After dabbling in music as a child, Dr. Zog traveled to San Marcos for college at Southwest Texas. It was no surprise that music became both his outlet and his means to finance his English degree. He began his college years as a harmonica sideman and quickly increased his instrumental ability to the acoustic guitar, bass and banjo. Upon graduation it became clear that music would be his road of choice. Beginning with an improvisational band that he performed with in the subways of Manhattan with some Julliard students and taking him west to Los Angeles were he played a few shows as a sideman with the guitarist of The Doors. His family and his heart belonged to Texas though, so he headed home and settled in Austin, where he formed a world-beat band that traveled throughout Central Texas.

Never far from his mind was the accordion. An instrument he saw around his house and hometown. Dr. Zog has a fond memory of meeting an infamous accordion player while hunting with his father. “I will never forget the time my father and I were looking for a place to stop while going on a duck hunting trip in Bridge City. We pulled over to this establishment where there was a large trailer filled with instruments. We went inside and lo and behold there was the king of zydeco, Mr. Clifton Chenier. He called me over to him and said you like this instrument? I quickly replied yes, to which he played me a few of his tunes on the accordion. “At that moment I knew I wanted to learn how to play the accordion.” A pivotal moment would have to been when Dr. Zog opened for Beau Jocque at a festival. The emotion and energy of Beau’s music and raw sound of the Cajun button accordion spun his musical direction down the zydeco road.

The accordion became a part of his life in a time of grief. His father was ill with lung cancer and his heart was heavy. As a gift his father bought him his first Cajun accordion. He could think of no time but the present to learn how to play and play he did. Dr. Zog just released his 8th cd recording and he has a documentary film in the works on zydeco music. He credits zydeco music as his muse and sense of joy when times get tough. “Zydeco music makes you forget your troubles and celebrate the joys in life.”

Dr. Zog’s music has hit the world stage. You can find his music everywhere from Internet radio to popular television networks like the Food Network, Discovery Channel, and The Daytripper. Dr. Zog continues to make music a priority in his life. He writes frequently and is never without an instrument in his hands. His love for music makes for a real party on stage. “There is no feeling like music. Music has the ability to make you feel. To take you to a place where everything is all right. I love making music and watching people dance!”