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.
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.
Aside from this event, Brandon has played many shows in Dallas and the surrounding area. "I'd have to say that one of my favorite shows I've played so far was in Forth Worth at The Woodshed. I ended up performing for about five hundred people who all seemed to respond well both to me and to my music." Brandon also tells me that if he could open for any one band, it would be Stone Temple Pilots. "I have a lot of respect for their music, and that would really be an honor if I ever get to play s show with them."
To finish up this interview, Gringo Soul had a little advice for people that want to start bands and bands struggling with finding an audience: "When you get denied to play a bar or a venue, you need to stay strong and get back up and get on with your day" said Brandon.
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.
Aside from this event, Brandon has played many shows in Dallas and the surrounding area. "I'd have to say that one of my favorite shows I've played so far was in Forth Worth at The Woodshed. I ended up performing for about five hundred people who all seemed to respond well both to me and to my music." Brandon also tells me that if he could open for any one band, it would be Stone Temple Pilots. "I have a lot of respect for their music, and that would really be an honor if I ever get to play s show with them."
To finish up this interview, Gringo Soul had a little advice for people that want to start bands and bands struggling with finding an audience: "When you get denied to play a bar or a venue, you need to stay strong and get back up and get on with your day" said Brandon.
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Want to find out more about local bands like Gringo Soul, or how you can get your band featured on an interview like this? Visit Gorilla Music to find out more. Gringo Soul was scheduled to perform at this year's Dallas Music Festival, presented by Gorilla Music and Eagle One Entertainment.