Biography
Marc Ziegenhagen (Marc Z.) developed an early interest in playing piano at age 3, and soon began learning music from movies, TV and off the radio by ear. By age 13, he had developed a large enough repertoire to form a band with local musicians. Marc soon discovered a love for Jazz Fusion and Progressive Rock and immersed himself in the music of Yes, Rush, Gentle Giant, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever and King Crimson.
At age 17, Marc joined a traveling bar band playing Classic Rock and the Top 40 music of the day. Having taken an interest in more intricate music than he was able to interpret on his own, and also wanting to be able to write music on paper without an instrument handy, he modeled himself after rock guitarist Steve Vai by enrolling in The Berklee College of Music in Boston at age 19. It was there that Marc immersed himself in the transcription and performance of the music of Frank Zappa. Using "The Frank Zappa Guitar Book" and other transcriptions as guides, Marc taught himself how to transcribe Zappa's music. Over the next several years, he would lead several ensembles at Berklee and elsewhere in performances of FZ's and others' music.
At age 23, Marc was invited to participate in and transcribe music for "Zappa's Universe," a 4-night celebration at The Ritz in NYC involving a 30-piece orchestra and rock band made up of notable Zappa Alumni. The PolyGram CD release of this performance won a Grammy in 1992 for "Best Rock Instrumental".
Marc went on to freelance in music performance and production in the Twin Cities. During this time, he also toured briefly with guitarist Jonny Lang, as well as nationally & in Holland with Mike Keneally, formerly guitarist with Frank Zappa and Steve Vai. He also recorded and appeared on 2 of Keneally's CD's with his at-the-time band "Beer for Dolphins." Marc also went on to participate in the formation and performance of a group presenting the music of Steely Dan, and later the founding of a Radiohead tribute-band of sorts called "What's That? (a Radiohead Project)."
To date, Marc continues to work in music performance, composition, private instruction and studio recording. Marc is also active with "Paranoid Dandroid," a Minneapolis-based experimental/improvisational duo co-founder Daniel DeMuth on drums. Free tracks can be downloaded at their soundcloud web page, http://soundcloud.com/paranoid-dandroid/
Website: http://www.musicindustrybook.com/profile/MarcZ
Paranoid Dandroid: http://soundcloud.com/paranoid-dandroid/sets
City Pages Cover Story: http://www.citypages.com/2009-02-04/news/radiohead-cover-band-seeks-to-unlock-thom-yorke-s-genius/1
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