Jeanne Zano

Jeanne Pizano, singer in the regional band Flaxy Morgan, who appeared at this year's Pittston Tomato Festival, won the Wyoming County Vocal Talent Search last year. As a result, she was asked to open the Jason Aldean concert this year singing the National Anthem and two original songs.

The concert is Sunday, Sept. 3, Labor Day Weekend at the Wyoming County Fair on Route 6 in Meshoppen. Pizano will be going on at about 7:15 p.m.

She points out her Flaxy Morgan bandmates helped her in writing the songs and they recorded them in bass player Russ's home studio.

"I wanted to have the band there with me to perform at the concert, but they want me to sing to a track, so with Russ's help, we recorded a CD without the vocal track which I will use in my performance," Pizano said.

Jason Aldean is a country singer who won the 2006 American Country Music Award for Top New Male Vocalist.

The other prizes awarded to Pizano from winning last year's vocal contest were $500 and a promotional picture package. - Sunday Dispatch, August 27, 2006

Eleven years ago, vocalist Jeanne Pizano helped form a group called Flaxy Morgan that would soon become one of the area's most popular bands. They played nightclubs, they played benefits, and when the weather got hot, they became one of the region's most in-demand attractions on their annual "Summer Bazaar Tour".

Four years ago, Pizano left Flaxy when she was expecting her first child. She later played with Grand Tour, but left that band when a second child arrived.

Now, after a two-year hiatus from music and four years away from Flaxy, she's back with the band for which she is best known.

Pizano is back with Flaxy Morgan. Pizano has replaced her replacement, Alecia Krashnak, and is back singing songs and playing keyboards with bassist and vocalist Russ Kile, guitarist and vocalist Jason Santos and drummer Richie Kossuth. And, not surprisingly, she's glad to be there.

"I was kind of getting the itch again and they asked me to fill in for Alecia during a weekend in the summer when she was going to be away," says Pizano. "Rather than cancel the job, they figured they'd just ask me. That's pretty much when it all just clicked again"

Soon, says Pizano she was asked if she'd like to rejoin the band. And though she says she was interested, she told the group she wouldn't be able to play two shows every weekend, like many bands do. "Family," she says "now comes first."

"I'd be divorced and never see my kids" she says with a laugh. "We started talking and they said they've kind of toned it down and don't play as much and I thought that maybe I could arrange to do it."

So far, says Pizano, so good. "I love being back with the guys," she says. "We just click. You just know you're in something good. They're just so taented, and they make it so easy. Plus I get to see all of the people that used to come out and see the band. You see all of these people you haven't seen in years."

Kossuth agrees that a special chemisty has returned. "It seems like old times" he says. "We didnt' skip a beat. We got together to take a picture, and it was like Where did 11 years go?"

Pizano says that though some things regarding her return feel familiar, some things have changed. In addition to classic rock, the band now plays more modern rock music and more country. Tunes include numbers by Stevie Nicks, Heart, Janis Joplin, Gretchen Wilson, Bon Jovi, Green Day, Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, Prince, Weezer and Black Eyed Peas.

The biggest change? "Besides the music, I think maybe my attitude has changed," says Pizano. "It's just easier now. Having two kids, I just kind of go with the flow now, I don't get as stressed out with things as I used to do. I have a different perspective on life. Some things are just a little more important than having my hair perfect at a job."

As for the future of Flaxy, Pizano hopes to record some original material. She says bassist Kile is building a home studio and recording their own music seems to be a goal shared by all of the band's members.

"We've pretty much done everything so it's at the point where I'd like to have something, when I finally and officially really, really retire, to have something to look back on," says Pizano.

Pizano, who recently won a vocal contest at the Wyoming County Fair, says she'd like to have some Flaxy originals to sing by next fall, when she'll sing at next year's event. This year her initial entry featured her covers of "Valentine" by Martina McBride and "Crazy" by Patsy Kline. At the competition, she sang McBride's "In my Daughter's Eyes" and McBride's version of "Over the Rainbow."

In 2006, she'd like to play with Flaxy, who by that time, will have done a few dozen club shows, another "Concert For A Cause" and another "Summer Bizarre Tour" - all with her back on board. "I didn't think I'd be able to arrange it, but I really, really, really, missed it," she says. "The way things worked out, it all pointed to that I should be back singing with them."

IF YOU GO:
10/14 Flaxy Morgan at the Staircase in Pittston Township
10/28 at Chacko's Memory Lane in Wilkes-Barre
11/23 at Brews Brothers in Jenkins Township
11/25 at the Woodlands in Plains Township

- Alan K. Stout, Editor ~ The Weekender, October 12, 2006

Congratulations to Jeanne Zano on her taking the "Most Rockin' Woman of 2008" benefit contest co-sponsored by The Weekender. Jeanne was pitted against eight other area women. Proceeds from the show went to the Domestic Violence Service Center. You can continue to see Jeanne perform with Flaxy Morgan throughout the summer at area bazaars as well as solo shows. Check out her latest information, including where to purchase her first solo CD at http://www.jeannezano.com
- Tony Callaio ~ My Corner/Your Corner ~ Sunday Dispatch ~ August 3, 2008

It was a moment not many parents get to experience. During a recent family car trip with the usual kid music playing on the stereo, Jeanne Pizano heard her 3-year-old daughter pipe up from the back seat, "I want to listen to Mommy's CD!".

Listening to her children sing along with her recorded voice was part of a dream come true for Pizano, a Wyoming native. A long-time lead singer and keyboardist for local band Flaxy Morgan, Pizano recently found herself living a dream as she recorded an album in Nashville.

A contest opened the door for Pizano. "In 2005, I entered the Wyoming County Fair talent competition and I won," she said. In addition to a cash prize, the win earned her the opportunity to sing the national anthem and two other songs at the opening of the 2006 fair, helping to warm up the crowd for country singer, Jason Aldean. In 2007, Pizano said she opened for another country singer, Lorrie Morgan. "Lorrie Morgan's keyboard player is also her producer," Pizano explained. "The producer liked my voice and stage presence and asked me if I would be interested in recording."

Pizano took the producer's card but wasn't really considering the option. Besides being busy with her husband and children and performing with Flayx Morgan, she has a full-time job as director provider services at Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Still, Pizano and the producer emailed back and forth, and she found herself checking out her options. Finally, Pizano said, she took a chance on the opporutnity dreamed about by everyone who's ever performed on stage in front of a hometown crowd. "I thought, I'm not getting any younger, maybe this is it," Pizano said.

So in March of this year, Pizano left husband Matt, son and daughter, for five days and headed down to Nasvhille. "I loved it," she said of her first recroding experience. "It was very difficult physicially because you're there all day singing and singing, but I didn't mind. I could do that kind of work all day long."

Some of the recording experience was surprising, Pizano said. "The musicians are just amazing. The producer and I got together in a pre-production meeting to go over the keys and chart out the music." She said the producer used a sort of musical shorthand that told the musicians what key and chords to play. "The musician never even heard the song, they just got together in the late morning" she siad. "The producer would play it once or twice, they would lay down the music, and that was it. Then I would go in and sing it and sing it, and they would pick the best parts. It was all computerized, and they can put it together from the pieces like I sang it that way the first time."

Before she left Nasvhille, Pizano had her first CD with four songs. Back home, her family and friends really enjoyed the music. One liked it so much she wantd to help push Pizano to the next level. "She wanted to invest in me and she asked "what can i do?" Pizano said, "I told her I'd love to record a full CD - 10 songs."

It wasn't long before Pizano found herself in the studio recording six more songs. Her debut album - "Here I Am" - has three songs Pizano wrote, including one about her older sister who died when Pizano was 6 and her sister Cathy was 8. Pizano chose the other seven songs from hundreds and hundreds of CDs submitted to the producer by hopeful songwriters. Though the album was recorded in Nasvhille, Pizano prefers not to label the music as any one type. "Why does it have to be something", she asked. "Some of it is very country, some of it could be any style".

After the recording came the process of getting the CD replicated, handling copyright issues and getting cover art done. There was also the issue of what name Pizano woudl use on the CD. "The producer thought my name was too ethnic," she explained. Pizano puzzled over the choice for days before daugther Anna provided the answer. "One day, my mother told me my daughter was calling her Grandma Zano because she couldn't say Pizano", she said, "I decided that was a sign," she said adopting the professional name of Jeanne Zano.

"When the box finally came with the finished CDs, I showed the first ones to my kids," she said. "I told them, 'this is why Mommy was away'."

"It was just a great feeling to have recorded it", Pizano said. "I've been waiting to do that since I started in music." That start came when Pizano was 6 and started piano lessons. She admits she didn't always like it. "Oh yeah, I had to be coerced to practice," she said. "That's how I got so good at sight reading. I wouldn't practice, and my mother would say, 'Your teacher is coming down the street, and I'd be saying "oh my gosh, I didn't practice". I liked playing, but I'd rather be outside playing with my friends than inside practicing. I still don't like practicing," she said laughing.

For years, her musical talents were expressed at the keyboard including stints as an accompianist at Wyoming Area Secondary Center and at was then College Misericordia. "I was more of a keyboard player than a singer," she said. "The focus was on the keyboards." Then Pizano joined a garage band called Main Event. She sang back-up and one day was asked if she wanted to sing lead. She remembers the song "What About Love?" by Heart. "I was a little nervous trying to sing and play at the same time but I really liked doing it so we added more songs for me to sing."

That was 1987 and it was the start of more than 20 years of performing with such groups as Main Event, Grand Tour, Fallacy, Suspect and a duo called Penny Lane besides years as a lead singer and keyboardist for Flaxy Morgan. She left Flaxy to have her children but three years later found herself on stage again. "I wanted to do something but couldn't be too busy because of the kids. I got involved with Grand Tour," she said because they played more parties and didn't take on as many jobs that would keep her away from her family.

Then the singer who replaced her in Flaxy Morgan had to go away and the band needed a temporary fill-in for a few shows. "They asked me to fill in, and it sort of clicked," Pizano said. Soon, she was back in full swing. Summer is the group's busy season, with church bazaars and other events often keeping them peforming three nights a week. That hasn't changed just because Pizano has a solo album. She's continued performing at bazaars, parties and special events, such a Concert for A Cause and Women Who Rock, a benefit concert for the Domestic Violence Center. In fact, Pizano was chosen 2008's "Most Rockin' Woman" by fans who backed up each vote with $5 donation to the center.

Another thing that hasn't changed is her day job. Other than time off for the actual recording, Pizano has continued to work for Blue Cross as she has for the past 16 years. She didn't even tell her coworkers about the album, at least not at first. "I didnt' say a word in the office," Pizano said "but word gets around." Before long, Pizano could see small posters bearing her likeness in cubicles and hear her voice coming from CD players as she walked through the office. "My coworkers have been very supportive," she said. It's really weird and kind of humbling to see myself everywhere, and it feels weird to have people ask me to sign things."

For Pizano, the most important thing that hasn't changed is her family. "The hardest part of doing this was being away from my family," she said. "I just love being with my kids every moment I can." Both show early signs of musical talent and sing often. And Adam can outplay anyone at Guitar Hero," Pizano said proudly. It's a feeling she hopes her children share. "I'm doing this with the hopes that they'll be proud of me and look back to say 'My mom recorded an album', " Pizano said.

ABOUT JEANNE PIZANO
Native of Wyoming, PA

Graduate of Wyoming Area Secondary Center, has bachelor's degree in health care administration from King's College

Married for almost 8 years

Mother of 2 children, 6 and 3

Musical accomplishments include:

Lead singer and keyboardist for Flaxy Morgan

Voted Most Rockin' Woman 2008

Wyoming County Fair 2005 talent contest winner

First solo ablum "Here I Am" under the professional name of Jeanne Zano, relase party to be scheduled

Future goals: Pizano would like to record a complete album of songs she's written

For more information on Pizano and her album, visit www.jeannezano.com or www.myspace.com/jeannezano
- Janine Ungvarsky ~ Times Leader ~ Wilkes-Barre, PA ~ August 24, 2008

Jeanne Zano (Jeanne Pizano of Flaxy Morgan)
Title: "Here I Am"
Release date: July
Producer: Mark Oliverius
Studio: Mainframe, Nashville; Sonic Eden Studios, Nashville

For years, area club hoppers and bazaar lovers have enjoyed seeing Pizano sing with the popular cover band Flaxy Morgan. This summer, they might be able to see her sing some of her own songs. Pizano's currently putting together a band to help promote her debut CD which she'll release next month. She says the album, which is produced by Lorrie Morgan producer Mark Oliverius fulfills a lifelong dream.

"I have three originals on this CD and finally reached my goal to record originals, especially the song I wrote for my sister, 'Eight Years of Life,' who was taken from us at a very young age," says Pizano. "Little did I know I'd be working with an experienced Nashville producer and recording in Nashville my first time out. I'm truly blessed to have all the support from family and friends and just the opportunity itself."

- Alan K. Stout, Editor ~ The Weekender ~ Wilkes-Barre, PA ~ June 11, 2008

For local singer Jeanne Pizano, the summer of 2008 is a special one. Though she's been a mainstay on the NEPA music scene for years and perhaps best known for helping front the popular band Flaxy Morgan, this month marks the release of her first CD "Here I Am", which she recorded in Nashville. As the title suggests, the music on the album notes an arrival of sorts, as not only did Pizano record songs from some of Nashville's best songwriters but also some of her own compositions.

"I have a lot of songs, " says Pizano. "I should have done this a long time ago, and I just never did. But it is rewarding that I have done it, and that we did it in Nashville. Not that they're any better but it was just great to go down there. I always wanted to go to Nashville, and I guess things happen for a reason."

Three of the songs on the CD, "I Lost the Feeling," "Can't Get Over You", and "Eight Years of Life" were written by Pizano. Six of the other tracks were penned by professional songwriters, and one song, Break Me Down, was penned by her producer, Mark Oliverius, who not only plays keyboard for country star Lorrie Morgan but also serves as her musical director.

Pizano's connection to Oliverius stems from the 2005 Wyoming County Fair, where she won a singing contest, which led to her opening for Jason Aldean at the fair in 2006 and for Morgan in 2007. After the show with Morgan, she was approached by Oliverius, who said he liked her voice and stage presence and gave her his card.

"He was very down-to-earth, and he just seemed very trustworthy," says Pizano. "I started e-mailing and talking to him, then I went down to record with him."

Pizano's first group of sessions resulted in four songs, including the sentimental "8 Years of Life," which was inspired by the death of her sister, Cathy, who died at age eight in 1971. Pizano says she wrote the song many years ago and that the other two originals on the CD actually go back to her pre-Flaxy Morgan days when she played with the band Suspect. Though she's always helped front cover bands, she says recent changes in the NEPA musical climate, which is now much more open to original music, inpsired her to sift through the songs she'd written over the years and consider doing an album.

Pizano made two trips to Nashville to record the CD. The first four songs were cut in three days, and the next six songs were recorded in three days. The sessions were long.

"It's intesne. It's all day," she says of the recording process. "But the way they work down there, it was amazing. The musicians never even heard the songs, then they'd listen to it once, and then (Oliverius) made these charts up for them, and then they played it. It was amazing. I've never seen it before."

Pizano says those in Nashville encouraged her to change her name for the release of the album and thus the CD has been relesed unde the name Jeanne Zano. She adds that though she was initially reluctant about the change, she took comfort in the fact that her daughter used to refer to her mother as Grandma Zano.

"So I had a connection there," she says with a laugh. 'It was like'OK, this will work'."

Despite its Nashville origins, Pizano says the album doesn't fall into any specific genre, which was by design.

"When I went down, I told them that I didn't want twangy country," she says. "I wanted middle-of-the-road, where I could put it on KRZ or 97BHT, or Froggy and I think some of the songs can go either way. I've been in a band that's done everything and that's what I tried to do. I like singing all kinds of music."

One listen to the CD indicates Pizano had great command in the studio and that her years of singing on stage might have made the recording process easy for her. One senses, just from the confidence with which she signs, that many of the tracks may have been cut in just a few takes. She says that is indeed what happened.

"The engineers kept talking about my pitch," she says. "They said I was 'right on' in everything that I sang. That's probably becasue of my piano background, which helps a lot. One of the engineers said I reminded him of Pat Benatar, in how I phrase things, but it just came naturally to me."

Pizano, who is currently putting a band together to support the CD, says the members of Flaxy Morgan have been supportive of the project and that bassist Russ Kile and drummer Rich Kossuth will be playing in the new band. She hopes to have a CD release party sometime in July. For now, fans can pick it up at Flaxy Morgan shows and through her website.

"I hope to have to order more," she says with a chuckle when asked about her expectations for the album. "I've been in the business for 20 years, but 'Here I Am' - I finally have a CD."

- Alan K. Stout ~ The Weekender ~ Wilkes-Barre, PA ~ July 2, 2008

You can find this article at: http://www.singeruniverse.com/competitionwinner65-123.htm

Jeanne Zano, a talented country/pop singer & writer based in Wyoming, PA, has won the February SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition, for her performance of her song, “Can’t Get Over You.” This song is included on her 10-song debut CD Here I Am, which she released independently in July 2008.

“Can’t Get Over You” is a graceful country/pop ballad, which has a pretty melody and a hooky chorus. The recording provides a fine showcase for Zano’s expressive, heartfelt vocals. “Can’t Get Over You” was expertly produced by Mark Oliverius, who played keyboards on this cut. Oliverius is known for being the producer, musical director and keyboard player for country star Lorrie Morgan.

Zano was born and raised in Wyoming, PA, where she started singing and playing piano at a young age. She was inspired by listening to her favorite artists such as Heart, Patsy Cline and Fleetwood Mac. Zano would sing in the church and school choirs, but it wasn’t until college that she regularly performed live and sang with a band. Zano attended Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and she subsequently graduated with a Degree in Health Care Administration.

Following college, Zano played in Top 40 rock bands, and including a band called Flaxy Morgan. Then in 2005, she won a talent contest and was the opening act for country star Jason Aldean. It was in 2006 that she met Nashville producer Mark Oliverius. “I opened a show for Lorrie Morgan, and he came up to me and said he liked what he heard,” recalled Zano. “So he invited me to come down to Nashville to record.”

Zano then recorded her album Here I Am with Oliverius, and she wrote three of the songs including “Can’t Get Over You.” Another song she wrote, “8 Years Of Life” (a touching song about her sister, who passed away at a young age), has been the recipient of two awards. In December (2009) Zano won the Hit Song Finders song contest with this song, and “8 Years Of Life” was also the runner-up in the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest.

Currently, Zanos performs live regularly with her band, The Jeanne Zano Band, playing clubs, outdoor events and fairs throughout Pennsylvania. She is also writing songs for her next album, while continuing to promote her Here I Am album. “I’m looking forward to recording my new material soon,” she said. “I would also like to go back to Nashville, to create more opportunities there.”

- Dale Kawashima ~ SingerUniverse Magazine

SingerUniverse, a music magazine that promotes up-and-coming talent, has named Wyoming’s Jeanne Zano the “Best Vocalist of the Month” for February.

Zano, who fronts local country group The Jeanne Zano Band, earned the honor thanks to the success of her song “Can’t Get Over You,” off her 10-song debut album, “Here I Am.”

A regular voice in nightclubs and at outdoor fairs, Zano recorded “Here I Am” in Nashville after a music producer heard her sing at the Wyoming County Fair.

“I get a lot of nice compliments on it,” said Zano, whose CD is for sale at the Gallery of Sound, Wayne’s World and at www.jeannezano.com.
- Mike McGinley ~ The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA

In the spotlight

July 13
Here she is with ‘Here I Am’
Flaxy Morgan singer Jeanne Pizano releases a country CD
Jack Smiles Associate Editor


If Deana Carter’s country ballad “Strawberry Wine” can make it big and if there is any justice in this world Jeanne Pizano’s “8 Years of Life” should make it big time, too.

The cover of Jeanne Pizano’s CD “Here I Am". It was released this July under the name Jeanne Zano.

Local music fans know Jeanne Pizano as the lead singer/keyboardist for the eclectic, enduring Pittston-based rock band Flaxy Morgan. For 11 of the past 14 years, with time off to have two kids, Jeanne has been belting out cover tunes for Flaxy Morgan at local venues and bazaars all over the Northeast, just as she did Friday night at the Mt. Carmel bazaar and will do tonight at the Holy Family Church bazaar in Sugar Notch.

What fans might not know is that Jeanne is also a songwriter and under the name Jeanne Zano she is about to release “Here I Am” a CD of 10 original country songs, three written by Jeanne and seven written for her by Nashville songwriters.

While Jeanne cut her teeth covering female leads like Heart and Fleetwood Mac she always had a soft spot for country music from the time when she was a kid and wore out a cassette of Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits, whom she describes as “the ultimate voice.” Over the years Jeanne convinced Flaxy to add country songs to their play list starting with crossover songs by Shania Twain.

In September 2005, Jeanne entered a singing competition at the Wyoming County Fair, sang two Martina McBride songs and won. Her prizes were $500, a promotional picture package and the honor of singing the National Anthem and two songs as opening act for Jason Aldean at the Wyoming County Fair in 2006. In 2007, Jeanne was asked to return to the fair and open for Lorrie Morgan, where she met Mark Oliverius, Lorrie Morgan’s keyboard player and producer. Oliverius liked what he heard and invited Jeanne to Nashville to record at his studio.

Oliverius sent her some songs, from which she picked seven and rehearsed them at home. Jeanne went to Nashville in March and recorded four songs and in May to record six more. Oliverius produced all 10 and recorded with Nashville studio musicians and members of Morgan’s band. Among the people she worked with was George Strait’s backup singer.

The anchors of the CD are the title song “Here I Am” and two of Jeanne’s own ballads “Can’t Get Over You” and the gorgeous, heartfelt, personal tragedy song “8 Years of Life.” It’s about her sister, Cathy, who died at age 8 in 1971 when Jeanne was six. The song explores what Jeanne remembers and doesn’t remember about her sister and what might have been.

“Can’t get Over You” is more of a traditional lost love country song, but like “8 Years of Life” it features a hauntingly beautiful melody and stunning vocal reminiscent of rougher, tougher Deana Carter, maybe after a couple power bars.

Jeanne said she was going for more of a crossover than traditional country sound and she succeeded at that, though track four, “Losing at Love” is a foot stomping fiddle fest with a “Rocky Top” feel where Jeanne let the “twang” loose. The best of the other Nashville penned songs are the title song “Here I Am” and “Beautiful Accident” with a catchy country-pop hook that would be right at home on the Froggy play list.

Jeanne said she was amazed by Oliverius, the Nashville musicians and songwriters and the high tech recording process. “They were amazing. Easy to work with. Down to Earth. I laughed the whole time I was down there. Mark charted out graphs of the songs. It was like a secret language or something. They listened to the songs once or twice and played them. Incredible.”

Jeanne sang what are called scratch vocals as the band recorded the music for the songs in two or three takes. Then she let loose on subsequent takes. Oliverius took what he judged as her best vocal parts and pieced them together.

The result showcases her voice in a way that will blow away even the most ardent Flaxy Morgan fans.

Note: Jeanne’s CD is available at Flaxy Morgan shows and on the Web at www.jeannezano.com or www.myspace.com/jeannezano, where there is a link to the Flaxy Morgan Schedule. Jeanne will also be performing songs from her CD at Women Who Rock III, a show which benefits the Domestic Violence Service Center on Thursday, July 24 at the River St. Jazz Caf�. Copies of Here I Am will be available that night and part of the money from the CDs will go to the Violence Center.
- Pittston Dispatch, Pittston, PA

When Jeanne Zano first learned she’d be headed to Nashville to record, she figured she’d return with a three-song CD of originals.

Producer Mark Oliverius had more in mind, and as she prepared to depart NEPA for the country music Mecca, she’d been tasked to pour through hundreds of songs from which to choose. “It came down to the wire so I was really learning them on the plane,” Zano said.

The end result after two week-long visits down south is Here I Am, a 10-track CD that’s a tiny bit rock, a whole lot of country and a tremendous showcase for a true vocal talent.

Zano’s well-known locally after having helped front Flaxy Morgan during two different stints with the band, providing a soundtrack each summer on the marathon bazaar and picnic circuit in the 570. Now backed by Rock-N-Horse, Zano will again make the rounds locally, but this time as a solo artist. She’ll bring with her a decidedly country feel with crossover appeal, certainly a departure from the ecclectic mix of covers Flaxy is fond of.

Among her standout tracks is “8 Years of Life,” an emotional ode to her big sister Cathy, who passed away when the two were little. Zano was just 6 at the time Cathy, then 8, died of cancer. Their bond was strong, Zano wrote in her liner notes, but the memories are few.

“I was just 6 years old when you went away / I miss you so much I wish I could say / I remember those days, I remember the way we played / But the truth is I don’t remember a trace” she sings on the song, the chorus a sequence of questions about their childhood — how they played together, what she liked and what she’d look like today if she hadn’t died so young.

Now a full-time mom and a full-time businesswoman, she’d written the song years ago when she was a teenager and held onto it. Zano said she had tried in the past to do something with the song but the timing was never right. That all changed on her trip to Nashville.

“I didn’t need convincing to sing it,” Zano said. “I was like, ‘Here’s my opportunity to get it done.’”

Zano is also working hard to move her music from the Web to the radio.

"I'm trying," she said of having local stations spin the song, underscoring hte struggle to get the all important airplay before noting Froggy 101 has lent a helping hand thus far. "The new corporate rule is you have to be signed," she said of her experience.

Though Zano's actually had her CD in hand nearly one year and even sold some copies last summer while still with Flaxy Morgan, she's taken to promoting it this spring with four separate CD release parties throughout the 570. The final party will be 9:30p.m. Saturday, May 16, at the Honky Tonk in Dunmore. Apart from gigging this summer, she'll open for Saywer Brown at the Wyoming County Fair on Sept. 6. For more information visit www.jeannezano.com or myspace.com/jeannezano. - Eric Scicchitano ~ Diamond City News Publication ~ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA