SUBURBAN AMZ

Reaching for New Heights

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am Suburban AMZ from New York City. My family and I moved to CT for a quieter life. I eventually got kicked out of the fourth grade public school system for rapping Eminem’s (lose yourself) in science class. I ended up getting sent to three different schools two being boarding. I call myself Suburban AMZ because my real name is ARIELLE MAXINE ZWIEBACH, but I feel I am the definition of the Suburbs. I am a product of what it is like to grow up in a small community .. but I also am different from them, I am what they wish they could be. I am the girl next door (like the movie) the sexy definition. I am not afraid to be who I am and I definitely am not afraid to push boundaries and make someone uncomfortable (in a good way) that’s what makes life fun. The mystery I bring is addictive.

What inspired you to begin a career in music?

Eminem. I was coming back from day camp in 2002, and my bus driver was playing (Without Me) on the radio. I remember hearing the line (no matter how many fish in the sea, it will still be empty without me) I asked the bus driver when he stopped at my house who he was listening to and he said Eminem.

I remember laughing and thinking what kind of rapper is named after a candy. I always sang Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera but I became addicted to Eminem since that bus ride. I went inside and asked my mother If she could drive me to the local CD store. My mother had absolutely no idea who Eminem was so she let me scoop up every album he had ever made at the time, including the infamous (The Eminem Show) I would come home every day after camp and school and plug in the karaoke machine (at the time TRL made one by MTV) and I would sing over the songs (Say Goodbye To Hollywood) and (My Dad’s Gone Crazy). I related so much to Eminem because I had a horrible (relationship) upbringing. My dad was married before my mother and had two girls. My two half sisters always had an issue with my dad remarrying and having me. I always lived a split life because my father was always afraid to put them in their place and say (Suburban AMZ is also my daughter) This created a lot of anger which then boiled over into my current years. I still am a very damaged person due to the trauma of always feeling left out and different. My mom through out my life has been my rock. I don’t know what a normal relationship looks like therefor I am always single or only last in a relationship for a couple months. Music is my marriage. Thats why I do music. I don’t think I would really be alive if it were not for music. Music gives me the therapy that I could never get elsewhere. I also get to tell my story to the world through every song I write. Especially on my albums Fantasy Island and Dead Weight. I want to show people it is ok to be different. I am the definition of different.

What differs you and your sound from other upcoming artists in the music industry?

My sound is what I like to call therapy. There is something for everybody. When I write my music (all my own lyrics) I don’t structure things. I don’t like structure. I like people to feel the ups and downs. Whether it’s in my voice or my manic lyrics. I suffer from mania openly and I honestly think that’s what makes me special. I speak to the people who don’t know who they are on Monday and by Friday they are a whole new person. It’s absolutely amazing to me. My brand is just so psychotic. It’s all over the place but at the end of the day my fans and I are all over the place. I notice one similar trait amongst us all , we are all the (outcast) kids. We never fit in. Somewhere in life someone did us wrong. So when they turn on my music. Whether they are 12 years old or 92. They find themselves in my music. I speak on truth, and write on truth. I sing and rap on fantasy but somehow my fantasies at times can be someone’s reality. I am different because I am the truth. I don’t lie. I never give anyone the opportunity to pull the whole (when SUBURBAN AMZ said) it’s always, I know I said it and I stand by it. I can’t lie. That’s why I’m mostly alone. I am an honest person. Not many people like honesty. My fans love it. They have been looking for loyalty. I am their loyalty.

Your latest release is out now. Can you please describe the creative process and explain the meaning behind the single?

My latest release is FANTASY ISLAND. The lead single is TOO YOUNG TO DIE. I wrote Too Young To Die on my bed after we received a foreclosure notice on our house. My dad had always been successful but as a man with many problems he failed to do the one thing that a man should do. Take care of his family. I felt suicidal. Hopeless, completely gone and lost. Living a lie I say in my song. Is the truth. Many people don’t know I go through some of the craziest financial hardships because I always look good and manage to keep on going. I don’t believe in allowing people to see your pain in a way they can use it against you. When I wrote the song, I really meant I am Too Young To Die, but i’d rather die than live a lie. I was living a lie at the time. I am not anymore. I am choosing to come forward with the truth that I have no family aside from my mother, that I suffered from having very envious half sisters. I suffered from no friends and from a sexual assault. I really just did not want to be here. The song pulled me through. The album pulled me through. Fantasy Island talks about my father, my half sisters, fake friends and jealous people. I speak on it in a way where people can still dance but also feel my pain and their own. I am giving people the power to heal. The whole vibe behind fantasy island is me making fun of my family. They all call me delusional. That I live on “Fantasy Island” that I should do something else, that I am not a talented musician. So I took their insult of me living on a “Fantasy Island” , spun it, and made an album. The skits on the album you can hear a woman scream. That is me killing off all the negative people on the (Welcome to Fantasy Island) track. The meaning behind this album is a big fuck you. I get it, want to say I live on Fantasy Island, that’s great, I am going to turn around and write an album.

Everyone experiences good days and bad days, as a musician, when you have a bad day, what motivates you to keep moving and look ahead to the future?

My Mother. I don’t want to end up like her. Where she loves a man who doesn’t respect her. I don’t want to end up where you feel trapped. I always flash right back to the days on that summer camp bus. Where my eyes and ears lit up at the sound of Eminem. I honestly just remember those days and the days I’d get ready and put on fake concerts in my living room. Where I’d use a tape recorder and make tons and tons of tapes which I’d call my albums when I was only in the second - third grade. I cannot quit. I am not a quitter. I’ve had moments where I just wanted to crash and burn but that gets you nowhere. I remember how far I’ve come and how I started with nothing. That’s what keeps me motivated. Knowing where I came from music wise and also my fans. I have the most amazing fans. I call them the Suburban AMZ Cult because they are there through thick and thin. They never have left me.

In your own opinion, what is the most meaningful song you wrote?

The most meaningful song I ever wrote would have to be Barbie World. Seems funny because of the name. I chose to stop talking to my family after being verbally and physically attacked in 2019 of July. In the song I go “drinking martini’s in my bikinis, do you see me touching my body, daddy never loved me, so I got issues, got screws loose, I just want to kiss you” That was me writing about the final straw with my family. They all made it clear they are very jealous of me. My bikini wearing, my musical life, my love of (Jack Daniels) even though I said martini’s. I was making fun of them. For making fun of me my whole life. Yes I love to be in my bikini and yes I know Daddy never loved me. I know I have issues and that’s ok. So now what? What is left to say? I turned all your insults into a song.

What makes you say that one?

Just the feeling I get when I remember writing the song. In the kitchen. With chicken in the oven. Right after the fourth of July. Just that feeling. The bone chills.

Throughout your musical career, have you experienced any ‘wow’ moments?

Not really because I always look at myself as an equal. I believe you can be in a room with a (celebrity or a famous person behind the scenes person) but you should never let that (get you) You always have to remain vigilant and work hard and never for one second stop working. I never gave myself the luxury to have wow moments, even when my records started streaming the most they’ve ever done, I did not stop and give myself a wow moment. A Wow moment for me would be a grammy or a house in the hills. No time for wow moments.

What personal advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue this career?

I would say you really have to have a thick skin. You have to be different. You can follow the trends and it may take you somewhere but it won’t keep you there. You have to believe in yourself and completely ignore any advice that makes you feel sideways. Always listen to constructive criticism but a lot of negative comes disguised as (constructive) 95% politics 5% talent nowadays. You have to know how to work people, connect with people, and love people.

You can’t be a sensation and just have a singing voice. It doesn’t work that way. The industry can put tons of money behind you, and you can have billboards all over the world but if you don’t and cannot connect with people, this is a wasted career for you.

What does the foreseeable future hold for you as an artist?

More and more success. Learning experiences. Moments .. no WOW moments yet though .. until like I said! I’m clutching some award, making some speech, on some radio show … something where I can say WOW .. I need to be able to say it to have it.

Did you learn any new skills during a lockdown?

Yes, I learned that I wasn’t connecting with my fans enough. I didn’t know there was ways to connect with them that I was not doing. I was not doing many lives. I started doing live concerts on FaceBook and selling merchandise and talking with them day in and day out. I love my fans. I am so glad I learned new ways to connect with them.

Anything else you would like to add?

I started in Moscow, Russia. Russia is the country that started to drive Suburban AMZ, I am here because of Russia. Albania and Ukraine, and now the United States and other countries. In 2018 Russia was my top fan base. Even catching the eye of famous Russian celebrities.

Do you have any social media?

www.instagram.com/suburbanamz www.twitter.com/suburbanamz and google Suburban AMZ