ABOUT SMITTY AND JULIJA
Smitty and Julija are Ojai, California-based artists known worldwide for their beautiful soothing sound, featuring paired vocal harmonies and sensual interpretations of both their original music and songs from their favorite singer/songwriters.
They are renown for their tribute concerts to the music of Leonard Cohen.
Julija Zonic (she responds with a smile to “Julia” or her native “Yooleeya”) is a Croatian-born singer, songwriter living in Ojai since 2008. A professional entertainer since childhood, her rich, sweet vocals and dynamic range cut across all song styles. Julija was a well known young television and stage singer in the pre-war former Yugoslavia, before emigrating to the US in 1999. Her songwriting reflects the complexity and intimacy of relationships, and is influenced by her Eastern European roots.
Smitty West — Pianist, vocalist, songwriter, 2009 MAVRIC award winner for song of the year, comedy – Triple-nominated for song of the year, acoustic, foreign language, and comedy. His dry, humorist writing style punctuates the mellow, dark sound of the Smitty and Julija song poetry sound. He’s the principal pianist for the Ventura Jazz Orchestra, and the founder of Ojai Songwriters Anonymous, an Ojai Valley artist group dedicated to the support of local music.
Smitty and Julija can perform as an intimate duo with piano and accordion, a trio adding bass guitar, or with a full band backing.
Their recently-released album of original songs, Made In Ojai follows their top-selling CD and digital album, To Leonard With Love, a tribute work to the songwriter Leonard Cohen. Their singer-songwriter influences include Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Simon and Garfunkel, Edith Piaf, The Beatles.