lundi 7 juillet 2014

Interview With Brandon Giannasi Of Gringo Soul

By Jake O'neil


Brandon Giannasi, better known as Gringo Soul, is a solo artist out of Dallas, Texas. I asked Brandon where he got the name of his band, and he said it he was working with a bunch of Hispanic people and they all referred to white people as "Gringos." The word "Gringo" just rang with him so he "rolled with it," and he is now known as Gringo Soul. He gets most of his inspiration from the late and great Elvis, Nirvana, Sublime, Creedence Clearwater Revival and even from artists such as Vincent Van Gogh. All of those artists fuel to inspire him to write his funky and soulful songs.

Brandon performs with his Korg Keyboard, guitar, loop pedal, K oscillator, and octopad. During a performance, the crowd gets to see him set up each and every component that goes into a Gringo Soul song, one piece at a time. At the time of this interview, Gringo Soul is at a whopping 4 album releases and 34 songs. I asked Brandon what songs ultimately are about. "As an average Gringo," Giannasi says he writes his songs about life lessons, celebrations, hardships, and his growth as a musician. When I asked him about his writing process, he tells me that "there's just something about driving that really gets me thinking, gets my creative juices flowing." He tells me that most of his lyrics writing and creative thinking comes to him while driving.

At this time of this interview, Brandon's been gearing up for The Trash Bash Music Stash - an event he's hosting on June 28th in Dallas. "It's a volunteer event where people will do a trash pick up on 3 streets here in Dallas," he says. "Once the pick up ends, there'll be a free concert with free drinks and food. And for anyone who doesn't feel like picking up garbage, tickets are also available for the concert for only $15."

Brandon says if he could open for any band right now it would be the Stone Temple Pilots because he has a lot of respect for the music they make and it would be an honor for him to be able to play a show with them. "Since I haven't gotten that opportunity, I would have to say my favorite show so far has been at the Woodshed in Fort Worth" Said Brandon. He said it was his favorite because he ended up performing for around 500 people who responded well to him and his music.

As a final thought, I asked Brandon what advice he might have for his fellow independent musicians. "If you're in a band and struggling to find an audience, or if you're interested in starting a band - if or when you get denied to play a venue or bar, you just need to stay strong. Get back up, and get on with your day."




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