Raised in Pinetop, Arizona, a small mountain town of 7,000, Zella embraced creativity early on inspired by a vast backdrop of natural beauty. Surrounding herself with other musicians, Zella's family-owned Mor Mor Coffee House became a sanctuary for budding artists where she first performed sets of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Bobby Darin songs with only a guitar. Pulling dually from such songwriting legends and her old-West, Clint Eastwood-clad surroundings, Zella began writing songs with a distinct raw grit that continues to define her sound today.