Elizabeth Anne "Z" Berg (born June 28, 1986) is an American musician. She was a founding member, guitarist, and lead vocalist of the indie rock group

the Like The Like was an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Its final lineup consisted of Z Berg (vocals and guitar), Tennessee Thomas (drums), Laena Geronimo (bass), and Annie Monroe (organ). The band released three extended plays ( ...

. Berg's father is former Geffen Records A&R exec/record producer

Tony Berg Anthony Rains "Tony" Berg (born October 21, 1954) is an American musician, record producer, and A&R representative, in which role he has been described as an "industry guru". Berg's music career began in the late 1970s as a session guitarist who ...

Musical career

Berg co-founded

along with members Charlotte Froom and

Tennessee Thomas Tennessee Thomas (born 17 December 1984) is a British drummer. She is best known as the drummer of bands The Like and Nice as Fuck. As an actress, she has played drummers in fictional bands. Early and personal life Thomas is the daughter of P ...

at the age of 15. Following the hiatus of the Like in 2011, Berg formed the band

JJAMZ Phases (formerly known as JJAMZ and pronounced ''juh-jamz'') is an American indie pop band from Los Angeles, California composed of Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley / Bright Eyes/ Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Plane ...

along with James Valentine (

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

), Jason Boesel ( Bright Eyes/

Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consists of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel. The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landing ...

Alex Greenwald Alex Greenwald is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the California rock band Phantom Planet. Life and career Greenwald is American. In 1994, Greenwald formed Phantom Planet in his teens with four fri ...

(

Phantom Planet Phantom Planet is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is bes ...

), and Michael Runion. Their debut album, ''

Suicide Pact A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. In England and Wales, a suicide pact is a partial defense, under section 4 of the Homicide Act ...

'', was released on July 10, 2012, via

Dangerbird Records Dangerbird Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. The label is home to artists from around the world and part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. The label has had international success from its small roster of ...

. Following Valentine's departure from the band it was renamed

Phases Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform *Phase space, a mathematica ...

, and a new record, '' For Life'', was released under the new name and lineup on September 18, 2015. Music critic Dan Cairns described her voice as "

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

meets

Harriet Wheeler The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol. The band's lineup consisted of lead vocalist Harriet Wheeler, guitarist David Gavurin, bassist Paul Brindley, and drummer Patrick Hannan. Percussionist Lindsay Jamieson was ...

". In 2018, Z Berg released four songs as a solo artist, "I Fall For the Same Face Every Time" and "

I Go to Sleep "I Go to Sleep" is a song written by Ray Davies which has been covered by numerous artists. Peggy Lee, the Applejacks and Cher recorded covers in 1965 without chart success. The Pretenders released a cover in 1981 which reached number seven o ...

" (released February 25, 2018) and "Time Flies" (released 11 May 2018). She also directed the music video for "Time Flies." Z Berg released the music video for her song "All out of Tears" on 26 September 2018 and the single was released on music platforms on 2 October 2018. In December 2018, Berg collaborated with

Ryan Ross George Ryan Ross III (born August 30, 1986) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work as the former lead guitarist, backing and lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the American rock band Panic! at the Disco b ...

on the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

single "The Bad List". September 30, 2019 marked the first show of The Dead End Kids Club tour, a 7 show tour that she performed on alongside

, Dan Keyes, and Palm Springsteen. The tour concluded with a Halloween show in San Francisco on October 28, 2019. Berg released her first solo album, ''Get Z to a Nunnery'', in July 2020. In 2024, she released the original motion picture soundtrack to the film

Strange Darling ''Strange Darling'' is a 2023 American thriller film written and directed by JT Mollner and starring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, and Ed Begley Jr. Set in rural Oregon, the film focuses on a man and woman who have a one-ni ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Get Z to a Nunnery'' (2020) * ''Strange Darling - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2024) ;EP * ''Covers and Love Letters: Screaming into the Void'' (2021) ;Digital singles * "I Fall For the Same Face Every Time" * "

" (2018) * "Time Flies" (2018) * "All Out of Tears" (2018) * "The Bad List" (featuring

) (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Z Living people American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California 1986 births Crossroads School alumni 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Phases (band) members The Like members