Zephaniah OHora is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and a pillar of the burgeoning New York City Country-Western music community. Beginning in 2013, he served as frontman and vocalist for Honeyfingers. It was here, through two years and hundreds of performances featuring the music of Ernest Tubb, Ray Price, Marty Robbins and others, that Zephaniah’s own musical vision began to come into focus. It was also during this time that he befriended fellow Honeyfingers collaborator Jim Campilongo. A series of conversations between the two revealed a mutual love for the Truck Drivin’ Country of Red Simpson, Del Reeves, and Dave Dudley. A few impromptu rehearsals later and The 18 Wheelers were born. Initially serving as a great excuse to play their favorite trucker anthems and country classics, The 18 Wheelers soon evolved into a showcase for Zephaniah’s original material. Assimilating a world-class band of musicians and a dozen songs that harken back to the golden age of country music, his debut album, ‘This Highway’ is an album that gives a reverent nod to the past before blazing a brand new interstate through the gridlock of contemporary country. By combining the brash edge of Bakersfield and the slick sonority of the Nashville Sound, Zephaniah Ohora with the help of The 18 Wheelers have forged a new brand all their own. ‘This Highway’ is a modern classic and a tribute to American Music. Fast forward to 2020 and we have a new album to dive into.
I had the chance to catch up with Zephaniah to talk about his new release ‘Listening To The Music’. We get into how the album went from songs he had written well before they were set into an album form, choosing a producer (friend of this proGram Neal Casal) that would take him out of his comfort zone and bring out some new things from within himself and we even let Zephaniah choose one of the new tracks and give us a clue as to some music that would go well with it in a setlist. When talking about our brother Neal, we get into a great story about the title track and how it went from not quite where it should be, into a real cool place that served the song perfectly.
