It's the song, stupid!

Well, he may not be that blunt about it, but Zach Ziskin is definitely a songwriter first these days. Like many Gen X musicians, he was enamored of the '80s guitar gods as a youth.

Now, it's not about how many notes you can play in any given solo, but the bigger picture.

Playing in bands since he was 15, it wasn't until attending Berklee College of Music in Boston that he started to develop into the musician that he is today. Even though he was a guitar major, he learned to use his voice as an instrument.

"If you heard early takes of me singing, I couldn't sing my way out of a paper bag," the 26-year-old Ziskin says. "I honed my songwriting and those were the couple of years that I really developed my voice. I just listened to singers that blew me away.

"For me, one of my biggest influences as a performer and emotional delivery is Jeff Buckley."

While it may be inadvertent, the white V-neck T-shirt and black jacket he wore while sipping a cup of coffee was another nod to Buckley -- it was often the late singer's choice of attire.

Oh, and the falsetto that he worked so hard to develop may stir a few comparisons as well. Lest you think he's single-minded, influences are wide ranging, from Leonard Cohen, to Bob Dylan; from Elton John to Stevie Wonder.

But, in reality, it was all about the Beatles. The seed was planted at an early age with the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. "I'm a fan of anything that is melodic." And even in his guitar solos. "I like the kind that you can sing as well as the vocals."

Ziskin credits open-mike nights to developing his ability as a performer. "You can sit in a room and practice all you want, but there's nothing like being up on stage in front of people with a mike and you can't stop and start over."

It was at this time that he amassed songs that became the Passion Seeds, a project that yielded one album, Release. It was a commendable modern rock effort, highlighted by the jangling hooks of Nevine.

In an ever-constricting music industry, a little creativity to find exposure was necessary. Several of Ziskin's songs were recently featured on the WB network's series Pop Stars 2 and MTV's original series Undressed.

The group played industry showcases up and down the East Coast. And the audience response was encouraging, as the band sold several thousand units. But the inability to get signed was like the proverbial carrot dangling in front of him. On top of that, Ziskin was growing weary by the mounting duties of self-promotion.

"I wasn't finding time to write," he says. "It was a struggle 'cause some of the guys didn't want to do out-of-state gigs, so I couldn't book any tours. I got to the point where I hit the wall, so I stopped the Passion Seeds."

After a yearlong hiatus, the passion returned. But this time it's simply Zach Ziskin.

"I started to miss it. I'd go to concerts and I would be like `man, I want be up there.'"

The result of his newfound vigor is Real as the Memory, which is due to be released next month.

"On the first record [with the Passion Seeds], I shied away from using heavy electric guitars. I think it was an overreaction to my hard-rock shredder guitar past," he quips.

An early preview of the track Figurine reveals a maturing songwriter. Ziskin works as a studio engineer and it shows in much richer production than previous work.

As far as getting that big break, Ziskin isn't so jaded.

"While I was on hiatus, I got a call from Columbia Records wanting to know what was going on with the Passion Seeds. It made me realize ... if you do what you do and you start to achieve some success you'll get their attention."

He's also not concerned with trends.

"The one thing that I think will never go out of style is people's desire to hear really good melodies."