Hailing from the American west coast of California, Zak Langford-Do is a guitar teacher here at Maunders School of Popular Music. At the tender age of just 23, Zak is the youngest tutor at the school, with additional experience of teaching in the USA and Norway. His guitar playing can be described melodic, with bluesy-undertones, fusing together multiple genres of music.

Growing up in San Francisco to a British mother and Vietnamese father, Zak has always been surrounded by rich cultural diversity. Inspired by watching old footage, he first picked the guitar at age 9 following the discovery of British Invasion bands, such as The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks, whilst also being influence by his parents’ great love for artists such as Macy Gray, David Bowie, Shirley Bassey, Duke Ellington, Elvis Presley and Van Morrison. He continued to expand his repertoire going into his teens, going on to play with the San Francisco Rock Project, both his high school’s jazz band, pit band and orchestra and various original bands gigging venues around the San Francisco Bay Area, including The Great American Musical Hall, Sweetwater Music Hall and The Chapel.

In 2015, Zak took the next step in his musical journey moving to the United Kingdom to study at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. The last four and a half years has seen him become one of the most active people in the Liverpool music scene, getting involved with more than a dozen music projects, including THE IRENES, Caveparty, Ian Janco, Niki Kand, Generation and Gallia. He quickly built a portfolio and reputation as a flexible-guitarist with great effects and tone, multi-instrumentalist, film-composer for small films and co-writer. It’s seen him perform in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall as well as at festivals including Liverpool International Music Festival, Sound City and BBC 6 Music Fringe Festival.

Still based in Liverpool, he currently is the frontman of the three piece garage rock band, Skinner’s Lane, who regularly gig in Merseyside, Manchester and across the UK. The band have built a reputation for their wild, unpredictable sets and their unique, eclectic sound. He has also gone on to also found live music promotion group, Happy Accidents, who have become known for putting on consistent lineups in Liverpool welcoming touring bands and developing local talent across different genres, including indie/alternative rock, funk/jazz/soul, folk and pop.