Brandon Zano | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Brandon Lozano |
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, dance-rock, electronic rock, alt-psych rock, punk |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, guitarist, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, drums |
| Years active | 1997 to present |
| Labels | Reversed Image Unlimited, Epic, OCDB Music |
| Member of | Zaano, Ragers, it’s him or me. |
| Formerly of | This Is a Shakedown!, Downplay, Leo, Dozen Dead Roses, Tender Blind Spot |
Brandon Zano, also credited as Brandon Lozano, is an American musician, singer, guitarist and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio. He first came to prominence in the Cleveland music scene as the singer and guitarist of the dance-rock band This Is a Shakedown!, whose debut album Love Kills was released in 2009. In 2010 he played rhythm guitar in Downplay, and in 2011 he founded the hard rock band Ragers. Now based in Los Angeles, he records as Zaano and fronts the alt-psych rock band it's him or me., and works as a producer for other artists.
Zano began playing with the Cleveland hard rock act Tender Blind Spot in 1997. He went on to join Leo, a band formed out of the ashes of Cows in the Graveyard, which landed a development deal with Island Records and showcased in New York before the deal fell through. He then started Dozen Dead Roses, a band Cleveland Scene described as “AC/DC-meets-Guns N’ Roses”, which drew label interest before dissolving over creative differences. Members of these bands, including Zano, bassist Daniel Lee and drummer Stephen Nicholson, carried on playing together into his next project.
In 2008, Zano, Lee and Nicholson began reworking Zano's solo material, and with keyboard player and programmer Justin Nyilas they formed This Is a Shakedown!, a Cleveland band playing electronics-driven dance-rock. Record producer Michael Seifert offered to produce their debut album and made it the first release on his new label, Reversed Image. The band's debut, Love Kills, was released on Reversed Image Unlimited in 2009, produced by Seifert and mixed by Sean Beaven. Reviewing the album, Rad Bennett of SoundStage! Access praised “Brandon Zano’s powerhouse vocals, which are recorded cleanly without sacrificing their raw power.”
In 2010, Zano played rhythm guitar in Downplay, the Ohio band fronted by Dustin Bates, during the period in which the band signed with Epic Records. Downplay went on hiatus in 2013, when Bates and bassist Ron DeChant turned their attention to a new project, Starset. Zano was not a member of Starset.
In December 2011, Zano founded the hard rock band Ragers, with lead guitarist Matt Jauch, drummer Stephen Nicholson and bassist Caitlin Dorney. The band's six-track debut, the Amnesia EP, followed in 2012. Ragers released no further music for 11 years before returning with the album Death Blow to the Thrones on July 21, 2023, produced by Zano and co-mixed by Ben Schigel, preceded by the single “Kill Your Politics.”
In 2015, Cleveland Scene’s Best Of Cleveland staff picks noted that Zano had launched a crowdfunding campaign for a solo debut. Zano later relocated to Los Angeles, and by 2023 production work had been his full-time occupation for years.
Zaano’s first album under the name, Prequel, was released on November 28, 2017. Zano’s Hollywood-based project Zaano (stylized as ZAANO) released the single “It’s Gonna Be Ok.” in 2020. The single “I Do What I Want” followed in February 2022, featuring Lindsay Manfredi, the bassist of Cold. In an interview that year, Zano described producing and co-writing for other artists as his day job. The six-track EP Salton Sea followed on December 1, 2022, including a cover of “I Only Have Eyes for You”. Further Zaano singles followed, “You’re so cool” in 2023, “I’m On Fire” in 2024 and “Swans Nest” in 2025.
In 2024, Zano began releasing music as frontman of its him or me., an alt-psych rock band based in Los Angeles. The band released the singles “In Your Dreams” in 2024 and “Bones” in 2025, followed by “discordant” in 2026. Happy Mag featured “Ride” on its New Music Radar in September 2026, describing it as a moody rock and roll track. Spotify's credits for “Ride” list Brandon Lozano as lyricist, composer, studio producer and electric guitar player.
Alongside his own bands, Zano has worked as a producer and engineer for other artists. He produced and engineered the self-titled album by Jesse Smith and the Holy Ghost, released on Standby Records in 2016. Zano produced I Only Have a Hundred Years to Love You, the debut album by Moses Mikheyev, alongside David Gavrishov, with David Kershenbaum also working on the album. The album was more than a decade in the making, with its first song recorded in 2012.
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Love Kills | 2009 | Reversed Image Unlimited |
| Title | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Amnesia EP | EP | 2012 |
| Death Blow to the Thrones | Album | 2023 |
| Trainwreck Town EP | EP | 2024 |
Amnesia EP track listing: “Blood On The Dance Floor”, “Glitter Girl”, “It Burns As It Drips”, “Amnesia”, “The Kids Are Alright”, “The Devil Inside of Me”
Trainwreck Town EP track listing: “Trainwreck Town”, “Ohio City Rich”, “The Witch”, “Forever Will Never Come”, “Undertow”.
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Prequel | 2017 | — |
| Prequel (Remixed) | 2019 | — |
| Salton Sea | 2022 | OCDB Music |
Prequel track listing: “Calling It as I See It”, “I’ll Do Anything”, “She’s Just a Stranger”, “Something in the Air”, “Lay Down”, “Let Go”, “Keep Up”, “Search for Me”, “Like a Drug”, “Feels Like”, “You’ll Never Be with Anyone Else”.
Prequel (Remixed) track listing: “Search for Me (Remix)”, “I’ll Do Anything (Remix)”, “Let Go (Remix)”, “Calling It as I See It (Remix)”, “You’ll Never Be with Anyone Else (Remix)”.
Salton Sea track listing: “Lonely Like the Salton Sea”, “I Do What I Want”, “I Only Have Eyes for You”, “Keep Walking”, “Cowboy Song”, “Goodbye”
Singles:
| Artist | Title | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Smith and the Holy Ghost | Jesse Smith and the Holy Ghost | 2016 | Producer and engineer |
| Moses Mikheyev | I Only Have a Hundred Years to Love You | 2025 | Producer (with David Gavrishov) |