Photos by Ralph Freso
Eighteen-year-old Andy Zulla spent hours in the basement of his parents’ home, setting up soundboards, organizing musical instruments and mixing tunes, turning the space into his personal recording studio.
It wasn’t long until sky-high musical aspirations and ears made for perfect pitch quickly grew Zulla out his parents’ basement and into a nationally recognized sound mixing and recording engineer. Billboard charts, "American Idol," Grammy, Emmy and Telly award ceremonies all quickly celebrated Zulla’s talent.
The New York native has done it all, and now it’s time to pass the skills and talent to the next generation.
Zulla recently joined Grand Canyon University’s herd as an audio engineering professor in the College of Arts and Media.
“I always look up my teachers before classes,” sophomore Gavin Weiskopf said. “I noticed there is a Wikipedia article as the first thing that popped up, and I started to dive deep into it. Found out he had received tons of platinum (awards). He is well-versed in this field, and it’s a blessing to have him here at GCU.”
Music captivated Zulla from an early age. The start of a rock band in fourth grade marked his first musical milestone. With an electric guitar in hand and premature singing voice, Zulla gathered a few of his friends as bandmates and began performing at local events.
“We used to get these crowds, and I used to think we were that good. But really, we were just a bunch of fourth graders singing ‘Hot Legs’ by Rod Stewart.”
The adrenaline rush of being on stage, music pumping through his veins and feeling the beat in his heart after his first performances, set the tone for Zulla’s future.
By high school, Zulla was producing for multiple bands and mixing sounds for shows. At 16, Zulla’s parents would chaperone his guest appearances at various clubs, and by 18, he built his own recording studio and sound company in his parents’ basement.
“I built this studio and company, but my high school guidance counselor insisted there was no future in the recording business,” Zulla said. “At the time, MTV was launching, and it was huge, so I thought I would go to college for television production instead of music.”
Zulla discovered a hidden talent and, shortly after, added live TV directing and production to his skill repertoire that he continually developed throughout college.
But it was only a matter of time before Zulla’s passion for music reignited.
“Right before college graduation, singer Debbie Gibson, the Taylor Swift of the ’80s, came to do a tour in upstate New York. She comes to the TV station to do her interview, as people do, where I was the director at the time, and she goes to me, ‘Why are you so young?’ I was 19 at the time, and she was 16. I go, ‘I am young? You are 16.’
“So, I tell her I used to have a recording studio in my parents’ house. She asks me to send her a cassette of my music. I sent her a cassette because that is what we had back then. I graduate, drive back to my parents’ house, and there is a message on my tape answering machine saying, ‘Hey Andy, it’s Deb. I just built this new 48-track studio in my house, and I want you to come out and be my engineer.’ I was like AHHHHH!
“I loaded up my Macintosh Plus computer and Juno-60 keyboard in the back of my Firebird and drove out two hours to Lloyd Harbor, New York, got a little apartment and became her engineer. That was the first step into the professional music industry.”
One thing led to another, and before he knew it, Zulla became one of the most well-known names in the music production industry.
His resume includes: recording and mixing the fastest climbing No. 1 single in Billboard history, “A Moment Like This” with first "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson; producing all the pop music for NBC TV show “SMASH” that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Soundtrack chart; winning a 2004 Grammy Award for mixing Rod Stewart’s best traditional pop vocal album; and scoring an Emmy Award for composing the theme music for FOX Sports' “Yankees on FOX” broadcasts.
In addition to Clarkson and Stewart, Zulla has worked with Diana Ross, Backstreet Boys, Jessica Simpson, Clay Aiken, David Guetta, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Chaka Kahn, Dolly Parton and more. He has achieved 20 gold and platinum albums.
After a long, successful career, Zulla decided it was time to start a new chapter.
His passion to share his skills and mentor aspiring artists pushed him to fill out a job application for an audio engineer professor at GCU after moving to Phoenix.
“I looked at the listing, put together a resume, applied, and five hours later, I got the call that the dean wants to meet with me,” Zulla said.
“The biggest thing I want my students to gain is the hands-on stuff so when they come out of here, they can get a gig and say, ‘I know how to do all of this.’”
Zulla teaches audio reinforcement and audio production for television and film courses, where students get to learn how to set up microphones, connect cables, control audio input on soundboards and create the perfect sound mix for successful music and TV production.
By the time students graduate, Zulla hopes they will walk away equipped with the right knowledge and skill to operate their own music companies, multimedia, livestreams, directing and more.
"As soon as we interviewed Andy, we realized how much expertise he'd usher into GCU," College of Arts and Media Dean Dr. Craig Detweiler said. "He has been our CAM 'Rookie of the Year,' as well as an all-star addition to our team. He has brought his award-winning skills to every corner of our college."
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at Izabela.Fogarasi@gcu.edu
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