Bound To Be Bold / Cover Story  0%

Zhu

San Francisco

Back in 2014, "Faded" became a club hit the world over, but the man behind it decided to keep his identity a secret, going only by Zhu. The veil is now lifted, and that musician is known to be Steven Zhu, a Chinese-American artist whose debut album, Generationwhy, released this July. Zhu currently lives in L.A., but grew up in San Francisco. Now that his debut dropped, Zhu is ready for more. "I'm always exploring the future," he says. "With the album, a weight got lifted, and now I am more free in terms of stuff I can try."

Zhu

Venue

One of the last times Zhu played in the Bay Area, he performed at the Fox Theater. The historic building in Oakland served as a movie theater for decades, starting in the 1920s, but after extensive renovations in the 2000s, it reopened in 2009 as a concert venue. Zhu especially likes performing there because of the architecture. "My show," he says, "there's some theatrics to it, so with the height of the ceiling and everything, it really made it a little more epic."

Zhu

Destination

Zhu hasn't gone out in San Francisco in a minute, but he remembers rarely being disappointed in his nights when he spent them bar hopping around the Marina, especially to the bars around Fillmore and Lombard Streets. That area is known as housing the Triangle Bars, which includes Balboa Cafe and Eastside West, among others.

Zhu

Dining Out

Zhu says that the best sandwich he has ever had, anywhere, can be found at Subs Inc. "I don't know what they do, but I've never had a sandwich comparable to that anywhere else," he recalls. What does he get there? "Pastrami," he says. "With the secret sauce." Naturally.