Recently I interviewed Brandon Giannasi, a solo artist from Dallas, TX, who goes by the name "Gringo Soul." Brandon finds a great deal of musical inspiration in acts such as Nirvana, Sublime, Elvis, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, and also finds a great deal of inspiration from art itself, like from the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh for example. Theses artists and more inspire Brandon during his process of writing his songs, which he describes as "funky" and "soulful." Brandon's stage name, Gringo Soul, comes from a time is his past when we was working with a group of Hispanic people who referred to him and other Caucasians as "Gringos." The word rand with him and he decided to, as he puts it, "roll with it."
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."
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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