Gringo Soul - better known as Brandon Giannasi of Dallas, TX - is funky, soulful singer-songwriter. I recently sat down for a phone interview with Brandon to get a better sense of who he is, both as a person and as an artist. First and foremost, I inquired to Brandon how he came up with his performing name. "I was working with a group of Hispanic people, and they referred to white people as 'gringos,' he said. "The word 'gringo' just rang with me, so I just decided to roll with it." Next, I asked Brandon where he finds his musical inspiration. "I get most of my inspiration from the late and great Elvis, as well as Nirvana, Sublime, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and even from artists like Vincent Van Gogh.
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.
This year, Gringo Soul is hosting an event on June 28th called "The Trash Bash Music Stash." The event is a concert held after a volunteer trash pickup along three streets in Dallas, and includes free food and drinks for all of those participating. For the less socially motivated concert-goer, tickets are also available for the concert alone 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.
This year, Gringo Soul is hosting an event on June 28th called "The Trash Bash Music Stash." The event is a concert held after a volunteer trash pickup along three streets in Dallas, and includes free food and drinks for all of those participating. For the less socially motivated concert-goer, tickets are also available for the concert alone 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."
About the Author:
At the time of this interview, Gringo Soul was scheduled to perform on this year's Dallas Music Festival, presented by EagleOne Entertainment and Gorilla Music . Stop by Gorilla Music for more information on this and other events.
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