He's a longtime Canfield Middle School history teacher.

She's a 2020 Coeur d'Alene High School graduate who goes to the University of California Berkley.

He plays guitar. She plays violin.

For Tony Cox and daughter Zoe Cox, academia and music run in the family.

"Zoe started playing violin at age 4," Tony said. "She started taking lessons from Cathyanne Nonini, who inspired Zoe and gave her a strong technical foundation."

At age 8, Zoe, now 20, began taking fiddle lessons from JayDean Ludiker in Spokane, Tony said.

"JayDean and her family are famous in the fiddle world," he said. "JayDean encouraged Zoe to participate in fiddle contests, which Zoe really enjoyed. The Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area is a supportive, friendly and talented fiddle community."

The daddy-daughter duo plays together under the band name ZCTC, a play on their initials. They began performing at local assisted-living facilities when Zoe was about 10.

"Since then, we have played various locations around the Coeur d'Alene area," Tony said. "The Snake Pit and the Post Ride Bar have been some of our favorite recent venues. Tom Richards at the Snake Pit has been a huge supporter of our music and joins us on stage regularly, adding vocals and bass."

Zoe said it's the best thing ever to perform with her dad, who instilled in her a love of music.

"It’s amazing to be able to share a stage with him," she said. "We have a great connection when we play that’s extremely difficult to find when I play with other people — we’ve been playing together for so long that we can understand each other without saying a word."

She said her dad makes performing entertaining and fun.

"I’m super comfortable playing with him because he knows my songs and my style better than anyone," Zoe said. "Sometimes we butt heads, especially the days leading up to a gig when the pressure’s really on, but there’s no one else I’d rather have backing me up."

Tony said he feels fortunate to play music with his daughter by his side.

"We love sitting around at home jamming old tunes that we’ve been playing for years, as well as new ones that we want to try out," he said.

ZCTC plays a variety of old-time fiddle tunes, bluegrass and a mix of popular covers.

See Tony and Zoe perform live as ZCTC at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Post Ride Bar, 314 N. Third St., Coeur d'Alene.