Thank you for talking with us! You recently released your new single, "I guess I am the only one." Tell us about the writing process and where the idea came from. The idea came to me as a reflection on what I had to endure while having a normal work and being a musician too. It wasn’t easy at all, because prejudices are high in certain close environments; musicians are all junkies, they said. And I sadly realized how people were happy to see my failures and hoped to see me fail even more. There was one, for instance, which made fun of me all the time and, smiling, always asked “Hey, genius, when do you start for Nevada?” Thinking that I should have died inside that manufactory. But this is only the genesis and the personal angle of the story. Because enduring this and other things it would be too much long to list, I thought about all the other people out there who were breaking their noses against prejudices, racism, bullying etc. And I realized the patterns are always the same. The offenders are always the most supported, and seems to be printed together, if we can say so. When you’re different they ask you to align with them, to change yourself just to please their idea of “What it should be”. So, they do with women. Or with the idea they have of how a woman should be. That’s the core of the message of this song: don’t ever change to please others, stay close to yourself, be who you are, because the only person who you don’t have to deceive is yourself. Don’t betray your nature or your culture. That goes in gender field, race, religion etc. It’s a universal message.
Let me tell you who are the musicians, because I want to thank them for having accepted to be involved in this project. First, on the lead vocals and background vocals, Jeff Christie, the multi-platinum iconic singer of “Yellow River”. We are at collaboration #2, and the previous single did very well peaking at #1 in South Africa. Keep an eye on his job: he’s currently working to his own album, a beautiful list of old (but revised) and new stuff which will give you goose bumps! On bass, there’s Kev Moore, who was member for B C Saxon, Christie and Gonads. He is a terrific singer and guitarist too. On piano, the great Chris Lydon who can play every genre with no worries at all. He's based in Manchester and worked also with Steve Bonham. On the lead guitar and electric guitar, the billboard charter Rusty Wright. He is not only a hell of a guitarist: he is just THE ONE I NEED. There’s a special artistic connection and I would never choose anyone else if I have to trust they don’t mess with my stuff. Last but not least, an epic drummer, someone who made history with Christie and followed the magic with T-Rex: Paul Fenton. Having him and Jeff, the two survived members of the original Christie line up, was a dream above the dreams…Let me end quickly with the engineer. Two Italian guys on the pre-mix work, Stefano Bedini and Giorgio Canini. Mix by Peter Hall (the one who mixed Gallagher’s album The muse and the poet) and Mastering by two legends: Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone. You’ve got to use a calculator to count how many Grammy's they credits. This current year they won for mastering Lady Gaga.
Who have been some of your biggest musical influences growing up and do the same artists currently continue to influence you now? Biggest influences, among the others, Christie, Barry Ryan, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Kate Bush, Dawn (I never liked the fact that Tony Orlando added his name upfront), Johnny Rivers, Bread, Beatles, Donovan…Absolutely yes, they all still influence what I like. Well, just hear my single…
What is one thing you can tell us that most people don't know about you and might surprise us? I love sports and horror movies. And I like WWE Wrestling. I was a fan of Eddie Guerrero, and I am a fan of Ronda Rousey and Roman Reigns.
If you could only perform one of your songs for someone who has never heard of you, what song would that be? Well, there’s a song which I think is a bit overlooked in my production, it’s called “Our everlasting love." I think this song is a classic and one of the most perfect songs I wrote till now, with change of tempo, different bridges and tonalities. Take a listen!
At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? I hope that it makes feel good the listener. And that, somehow, it makes them feel better then how they felt when they awoke in the morning.
Was there ever music playing in the kitchen growing up? You bet! Mom and dad were music enthusiast, so, all kinds of music, were resonating in the whole home, not only in the kitchen. Mom, who was the one cooking, surely had her favorite music on the turntable, and while slicing salami, hams and tomatoes, she sang with the song in line.
Home cooking or going out for dinner? It depends on who is at home. If I have a romantic evening, I prefer to go out for dinner, in a cozy place, where there’s no much noise or confusion, and slide quietly with the evening. If I am alone at home, I cook myself something easy and simple.
Where is your favorite place to eat in your hometown? It’s a beautiful spot in Verona, with a terrific view of the town, on the river Adige borders. It’s located in the old part of the city, so you can feel the touch of that middle age where history was made. I cannot go often cause of my schedule, but each time I go, is a trip to the roots.
What's on your pizza? Do you fold your pizza or eat it straight on? I like very much a pizza called “Mari e Monti” (Seas and mountains) which is half straight and half Calzone – that’s the right way to cook it, not fully straight, because it has to represent the name she’s got and also preserve the ingredients from mixing; indeed, in the straight part, you have all the shellfish, while inside the calzone you have mushrooms.
If you could be sponsored by one food/drink brand who would it be and why? Whoever shows me that they have solid work ethic and green policy.
Lorenzo Gabanizza was a member of various groups, notably a Queen cover band called Mantras, with which he toured Europe. His "Queen project" continued with his band The Slightly Mad. Gabanizza started a fund-raising program to help fight AIDS that was recognized by the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the organization that was founded soon after Freddie Mercury's death.
In 2004, Gabanizza became a member of the Vic Elmes band Christie Again. He wrote the song "Meet me at the river" that became a success and featured in the album Christie Again all the hits and more.
In 2016, Gabanizza produced and recorded a self-penned album, Celtic Bridge (Italian way music), a concept album sold well both in Europe and the United States, entering the American download charts top 100.[1] In Germany, Gabanizza was seen as a fresh pop/Celtic rock style singer, and was compared to great artists as U2 or Angelo Branduardi.[2] Gabanizza's version of "Danny Boy" that was featured on the album gained him a place on the list of best Celtic performers in Italy. In July he appeared in front of 12,000 people at the worldwide event Celtica among others such as Vincenzo Zitello, Katia Zunino, and Celkilt.
January 2018, he released a single, "Demons",[6] which included a cover of the Linkin Park song "One more light", and donated all the royalties to the 320 change direction, founded by Chester's Bennington widow Talinda Bennington.
During summer 2018, he was injured in a terrible traffic accident. February 2019 he get back to work and released another single "I am wrong" which comes along with a cover of Linkin Park's "The messenger" and reached #69 on the European top 100 indie charts.
In November of the same year, Lorenzo released a new single, "Straight to the heart" with the same musicians of the album "Out of darkness" with mastering by Don Tyler. The single suddenly entered the European Country charts reaching #1 and the MTV Usa spotify single at #6. The videoclip of the song, directed by Oscar Serio, starring Lorenzo himself and the actress Martina Sacchetti, topped at 6th place on MTV Usa charts.
2020 had a strong start for Lorenzo. His Ep, "All the words we never said" reached 8th on European Indie Charts, 1th on MTV USA, 48th on Italian indie charts. On the day of twin towers attacks, September 11, he released the Ep "Someone waiting to their door" which reached Number one on the EACM Charts. The title track features Grammy fiddler Ian Cameron.
On October 22nd, he will release a new single featuring Jeff Christie on the lead vocals, along with stellar musicians: Snake Davis, Katey Brooks, Max Gabanizza, Rusty Wright, Bruce Hoffmann, Hale White, Darrell Nutt. Mixed at Breakneck Studios, Philadelphia by Peter Hall (Liam Gallagher's engineer) it willbe mastered at Sterling Studios by 62 times Grammy Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone. “You’re Not There” is on MTS Records.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Gabanizza
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