h e l l o .
My name is Zavi, pronounced Zah-vee. If you’ve never heard that name it’s probably because it’s made-up. My mom meant to name me Zev, the Hebrew name for “wolf,” but missed some specifics. My dad didn’t push back or further investigate, so I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, as a Japanese-American kid with an odd, fictional name.
As a young boy, I grew up in a very musical home. My mom had moved to America for her love of jazz music and my dad was formerly a touring pianist and now playing in local R&B bands in Richmond. I learned how to play piano and alto sax at a young age and eventually picked up a guitar in middle school and began to play in several bands. It wasn’t until college though that I became more serious about music and eventually joined a psychedelic indie rock band called Spooky Cool (Think UMO, Deeerhoof, Animal Collective). Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to tour nationally and share stages with renowned acts including Lucy Dacus, Deerhoof, J.Roddy Walston & The Business, NOBS Brass Band, Charly Bliss, Girlpool, The Blow, and many others. In my favorite praise of our band, Lucy Dacus said “Spooky Cool should be called Stupid Good”.
From being in the music scene for many years, I’ve taken on just about every role imaginable from band manager, booker, promoter, social media coordinator, etc... Juggling these multiple roles taught me a lot about running a small business and I eventually translated this skill set into the non-profit realm as a marketing coordinator, then a strategist at a music branding & promotions consulting firm, and I’ve even started up my own music production & booking agency which was voted one of Richmond’s top live events in Style Magazine in 2020 and later in 2022, my festival, DAYDREAM Fest was voted the top music festival of the year. Delving into all these positions had to offer sparked a passion for combining musical artistry, strategically sound but fun marketing executions, and forming collaborative community endeavors. These ventures also moved me into the realm of producing and directing videos for artists with the production company, Mikan Media where we worked closely with artists closely to bring their musical vision to life even on the smallest of budgets. We have been fortunate enough to create video content for major clients like Sub Pop and Matador Records.
All of these creative pursuits eventually led me to seek an MS in Business from the VCU Brandcenter for Strategy. After graduating in 2020, I was hired as a freelance post-producer at Arts & Letters where I was able to use my video production experience and love for creative aesthetics to realize the visions of clients like Google, the NBA, & ESPN. Currently, I am working as a content producer at The Martin Agency which was voted the top advertising agency of 2023 by Ad Age where I’ve overseen the production of tv, social, digital & radio campaigns for GEICO, Solo Stove, Hanes, & VA Tourism.
