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Put four of the best progressive rock musicians in a room, ask them to come up with an album, and in no time they’ll probably produce one. Course, it’ll be chalked full of competing musical interests, clichés, obscene time signatures, mind-numbing lyrics, spectacular production and the best instrumentation available that's powerful enough to send their fans into a music-induced coma. Now put one incredibly talented progressive rock musician in a room and ask him to come up with an album, and you’ll only have to worry about him having to out-do himself.
Aside from the drawback of the latter being a monumental task that will no doubt take more time, the potential of the work of one highly-talented musician to expand the genre also has the power to result in something so real and pure. And that’s where the work of Ron Ziai comes in: devoid of progressive pretension, submission and complacency, it is an album epic in scope and passionate in its execution.
Never adding too much to the point where I want to throw up my hands and fling the album across the room to test the aerodynamics of the album, Ziai weaves together a diverse range of progressive rock isms that are easily described in relation to the likes of Devin Townsend Band, Katatonia, Spock’s Beard and The Tea Party. Ziai is aggressive, raunchy, brutal, hardcore, chill, atmospheric and just a tad off kilter, in the best of sense.
Confrontational in pieces such as “Burn in my Dreams” and completely non-confrontational in the utterly hypnotic “Can’t Come Down”, while treading into the forays of hard hitting riffs used by his peers, Ziai represents a pure, atmospheric journey that prides itself on its auditory detailing.
Be it a melody, or a vocal hook that stands out (or both simultaneously in pieces such as “Southerland”), Ziai has finely crafted each song with an emotional weight that will appeal to all walks of the progressive world. Overall, it is the perfect balance of art – virtuosic and glorious instrumentation tinged with a touch of genius. Doesn’t get much better than this. - Alex Jaspers
The musicians that make an impact are those that go against the grain while still finding a place in the limelight. These are the musicians that redirect the course of music forever. Ron Ziai (pronounced "Z-eye"), songwriter and guitarist for Pittsburgh-based band, Diving For Orchids, is a strong contender to be the next leader in a musical revolution. - Alyssa Choiniere
"Wow. DROWNING is amazing and beautiful, Ron."
Mark Kramer, Producer for Urge Overkill's single in the movie, 'Pulp Fiction' and former member of Butthole Surfers, Ween, et. al. - email from producer, Mark Kramer
Last month, I caught a performance by a guitarist who really caught my attention: Reza "Ron" Ziai, who plays a variety of instruments and gets some interesting sounds out of them.
Today, I received a note that he's posted a new song on his MySpace page, and it really fits the mood of a day when the cloud cover is here to stay and the rain looks to keep on falling. - Sound & Vision
Z-Eye
Fans of Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, and System of a Down should check out new music from Ron Ziai (Z-Eye), who incorporates elements of these varied acts.
Ziai, a guitarist and music teacher at Pittsburgh Guitars, wrote, played, and produced almost his entire self titled CD, which is being released today.
A New Jersey native, Ziai came to Pittsburgh in the late '90s to get a master's degree at Duquesne and played briefly in the bands Cloudmachine and Diving For Orchids.
His music is dark, swirling with guitars and touched with an exotic Indian accent, based on his travels there.
For a sample, go to www.mysapce.com/ronziai.
~Scott Mervis - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Discography
"Ron Ziai" - self released
Photos
Bio
Ron Ziai was born in Englewood, NJ on January 29, 1974 and was given the name 'Reza Ziai'. As a quiet child, he quickly gravitated towards all things of an "artistic" nature. When he was 15 he picked up a guitar that his brother brought home one day and started practicing somewhere from 5 to 8 hours everyday for several years.
During his highschool days at Hackettstown High, Ron played in cover bands acting almost exclusively as a guitar player, singing only on rare occasions. His musical progress continued throughout college as well. During his career at Rutgers University as a pre-med student, Ron spent most of his time playing guitar in his band, Broken Dam, rather than studying. He quickly realized that his aspirations lied in something other than science.
Ron graduated from Rutgers in 1996 and then came to Pittsburgh to pursue a Masters degree at Duquesne University in psychology. During his studies he played djembe and lead guitar in a blues band called "Blue Gill Bob and the Horsebreakers" mostly for fun.
The years immediately following his graduation from Duquesne were riddled with very troubled times which included severe melancholia, self-scrutiny, and various peregrinations around the country. It seems that the seeds planted in him from his trip to Rishikesh, India in 1997 still had some growing to do.
Towards the end of this period, Ron started a downtempo/atmospheric band, that was later called 'Cloudmachine,' with his friends. They played several shows in Pittsburgh, but soon disbanded mostly due to social problems that were within the band stemming mostly from Ron's troubled past.
The breaking up of Cloudmachine was bitter sweet. This forced Ron to actualize the maxim: Necessity is the mother of invention. Being without band members for the first time and wanting to create music, Ron discovered the wonderful world of Digital Audio Workstations and started recording extremely rough demos.
In the winter of 2006, right while Ron's demos were coming to some sort of formal fruition, his neighbor upstairs accidentally set fire to the building, destroying everything. The event was catastrophic, but everyone turned out okay including his friend, Lee K., who Ron pulled from the fire upstairs, his two cats, and his dog, Cheyenne. Ron received an insurance settlement and bought new gear to continue his work.
After moving to the Lawrenceville area of Pittsburgh, Ron formed and fronted a group called 'Diving for Orchids' where he sang lead and played guitar for the first time. The group performed several gigs and received critical acclaim. However, due to musical differences, the group disbanded leaving Ron alone again with his DAW and a roomful of guitars.
Moving once again, this time to Bloomfield, Ron immediately began work on what is to become his first CD release. Aside from some guest appearances from several local musicians, including, but not limited to, former Broken Dam vocalist, Gautam Malhotra, Terry O'hara (formerly of Cloudmachine), and former Diving For Orchids guitar player, Dave Warren (currently in The Satanic Bat), ALL THE MAIN TRACKS WERE WRITTEN AND RECORDED BY RON USING CUBASE 4.0, REASON 3.0, AND HIS CREATIVITY.
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