Photos: Hunter Carrico
What started as an audition on The Voice with an ‘I WANT YOU’ chair spinning around has now turned into a successful music career, touring the country. Gina Zo, with her band Velvet Rouge, is releasing on July 26 their debut EP Velvet Rouge. During the release party, Zo will wear an exclusive, custom-made piece from UNDONE By Kate, designed by Kate March, known for working with Selena Gomez, Blake Lively, and Kim Kardashian. The band is currently touring to support the release, with stops in NYC and LA.
In 2016, The Voice was in its 10th season, where 17-year-old Gina Castanzo, adopting the stage name Gina Zo, turned Blake Shelton’s chair during the Blind Auditions. Although she wasn’t the season’s winner, Zo took what she learned during this time to heart and continued her music career by creating a band, Velvet Rouge. They have since been spotlighted as Local Shots Artist of the Month by WMMR in March 2023, performed for National Public Radio Day 2022 on WXPN, and were voted ‘Best Rock Band in Philly’ by PHL Live.
Zo reflects on lessons from her time on The Voice. Returning home to West Chester, PA, she had to cope with small-town fame and the pressures that came with it. “…so many people wanted to be my friend after the show, and it made me realize who my true friends were at the time,” she says. Zo also recounted when Gwen Stefani had called her ‘lame’ for not being her authentic self, encouraging her to stay true to who she really is. Zo comments, “It made me deeply think about who I am and how that translates to my performance.”
When creating her band, she posted an ad on Craigslist and found Joe McEnany, their lead guitarist. Buddy Mazzenga, the band’s drummer, was introduced to Zo through a previous bandmate. Together, the three of them make up the rock band Velvet Rouge. The band created its name from synesthesia, where the stimulation of one sense triggers another, to convey a deeper meaning to their image. Zo, who is synesthetic, and her bandmates wanted to make a statement with their name to describe who they are. Velvet symbolizes the curtain typically drawn to conceal the treatment of women in the music industry. Rouge represents the anger, injustice, and pain inflicted by that mistreatment. Zo jokes about how they wanted to make the color red sound ‘sexier’ by translating it into French.
Joe McEnany (left), Gina Zo (middle), Buddy Mazzenga (right)
Influenced by 2000’s pop and 90’s rock, the self-titled EP will feature five songs. Each song explores a different element of life: Earth, Space, Air/Wind, Fire, and Water. Zo brings attention to the last song, “When Did I Become” with the opening line, “When did I become a version of a person that I don’t even like?” that she wrote during a dark time in her life when she realized and admitted that she was suffering from depression. “The song itself ends up becoming hopeful, but it starts off with a line that is just so deeply rooted in that feeling of not liking who you are,” she explains. In “Faking It”, she came out as bisexual in June 2023 with the lyrics as a message to stop faking who you are and be true to yourself. These powerful messages in the lyrics, combined with the elements of imagery, themes, and music videos, are ones that she and Velvet Rouge plan on carrying with them in the future.
Zo is passionate about fashion. For the momentous occasion of Velvet Rouge’s debut EP, she partnered up with Kate March, the founder of UNDONE by Kate. Zo and Kate have been collaborating all year to create the perfect piece for Zo to wear for the EP release party. Zo fell in love with the looks that Kate made for Selena Gomez. “Kate March is a master at what she does…I feel so comfortable in my own skin. As a woman, it has changed the game for my performances because I no longer have to fear if it will look good on me because it is made for me with the intention in mind of what I like and don’t love about my body,” Zo describes. The inspiration behind the look that Zo wanted is from Miley Cyrus’ dress in the music video ‘Doctor’ with the flowing tendrils at the hem. While giving out some ideas, Zo gives all of the credit to Kate for the concept and design of her outfit.
Zo is also a fervent activist, tirelessly advocating for others to raise their voices. She states, “I will never stop fighting for people. It is so important to me that when you feel so deeply part about something, you say something.” She strongly encourages everyone to exercise their right to vote, ensuring they are registered and heard because every voice matters, particularly urging the LGBTQA+ community not to silence their voices. Zo is committed to sharing voting information and resources on her social media channels to help people stay informed and amplify their voices.
Zo and Velvet Rouge have been on tour since the end of May, their July 27th show in Philadelphia being the official EP release concert. They will be touring until the middle of October, including two shows in NYC and one in LA. When asked about plans while visiting the Big Apple, she admits it’s tough, as the band’s hometown of Philadelphia is so close they usually go home after their shows. As for LA, she says that she’s just recently moved there and is still playing tourist in the city. Zo and the other members love finding good places to eat, experience, and travel, so if you find yourself at a Velvet Rouge concert, they would love to take local recommendations!
For more on Velvet Rouge, visit their website velvetrougeband.com/tour , or on Instagram.