MIKE ZITO Source: Grand Rapids Press Date: 06/2008 Writer: John Sinkevics

Mike Zito plays what he calls "American music," a mix of rock, R&B, country and blues representing "a whole big variety" of styles.

But the guitarist and singer also says it all starts with the blues. "It's the root of everything we listen to these days," he said in a recent interview from his record label's California offices.

"That would be like if you go to school and learn a trade, you'd start by building a foundation of information. ... If you're going to play electric guitar and play modern rock 'n' roll, you've gotta have blues. That foundation is necessary."

Zito, 37, brings that foundation -- combined with an expressive, gritty voice, dynamic guitar riffs and all those other influences -- to Michigan for the first time Wednesday when he kicks off the 2008 LAV Budweiser Blues on the Mall series in downtown Grand Rapids.

For its 17th year, the midweek series will feature new faces such as Zito, Deanna Bogart and John Nemeth, along with popular returnees Walter Trout, Ana Popovic, Jimmy Dillon and Anthony Gomes. The series also has expanded from eight to 10 weeks for the first time since 2004.

Zito, a Texas-based musician raised in St. Louis, can't wait to experience the Great Lakes State firsthand. And he's eager to spotlight tracks from a new album, "Today," released in May.

After self-producing his first four albums, Zito signed with Eclecto Groove Records, which made "Today" his first national release.

"It was my first opportunity to work with people who knew a lot more than I did about making records and getting good sound and how to approach arrangements," he said. "It (the CD) is the one you hope for, where you get to work with all these people who can help you make your dreams come true."

Some of those people included veteran producer and drummer Tony Braunagel, Grammy-winning producer David Z, Heartbreakers' keyboard player Benmont Tench and bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson.

"We all met at the studio and everybody hit it off, and it was really fun," Zito said. "It was nice to have other people to work with that I really trusted."

It also helps that Zito -- who began playing as a teenager, eventually working nearly nonstop in clubs and on cross-country tours -- has developed into an imposing songwriter, perhaps fueled by experiences that included drug and alcohol use that nearly derailed his career.

He credits Trout, a formidable blues guitarist, for pulling him aside in his early 30s and convincing him to clean up his act.

"He told me I had a responsibility to this music and to performing and I was throwing away my talent."

"When I did sober up, he was one of the first people I contacted and reached out to. He was really sweet."

Now, Zito, who as a youngster was inspired to play guitar by Van Halen, said he has his "fingers crossed" that he's writing a fresh new chapter in his career.

"Whatever's going to happen will happen," said Zito. "I like that it (new album) is done and it looks good and it sounds good. If people like it, that's great. That's just the icing on the cake. I've been wanting to do this forever."

Even little things about the new album stand out as satisfying milestones for an artist Trout once described as one of the best singer-songwriters and guitarists in the business.

On the day the CD came out, Zito dropped into an Austin record store with his son to look around for the new release.

He found it in a record bin labeled with his name, "right between Zappa and ZZ Top," he said. "Not bad."

If you go

When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays

Where: Rosa Parks Circle on Monroe Center NW