Shawn Colvin,
Radiohead,
Alanis Morissette,
Sheryl Crow,
Tori Amos,
Jeff Buckley,
Joni Mitchell,
Joan Baez,
Tracey Chapman,
The Sundays,
Lloyd Cole,
Indigo Girls,
Embrace,
Dance music,
Classical music (Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Korsakov etc),
James Taylor,
Jon Strong,
The Cure,
The Eagles,
Garbage,
Joan Osborne,
Motorcycle
Where to begin... I wrote my first song, 'The Hedgehog Song', when I was six years old and whilst the sad story of a hedgehog getting run over doesn't feature at too many gigs these days, it does mark the starting point for my love of music. It was also around this time that I started to learn piano, which was the main instrument 'til my teens when I taught myself to play guitar - much better for expressing all that teenage angst! I also found that songwriting came much more naturally to me when sat with guitar in hand and that's still the case (though I do still love to play the piano and occasionally write piano based songs too). From there I started gigging at folk clubs, before branching out into the wider music world. Even though most of my songs start out life on an acoustic guitar I don't really see myself as an 'acoustic singer-songwriter' type thing. I write songs for myself and for other people, sometimes I play solo gigs and sometimes I play gigs with my band or sometimes its somewhere in between or mix of the two. I've also been writing and recording with some dance producers including 'The Thrillseekers' and our single 'By Your Side' was a big fav with likes of Paul van Dyk, Pete Tong and Armin van Buuren. Another collaboration, this time with Riley & Durrant, led to several of my existing songs getting a dance treatment and I even got to perform them live in Ibiza!!
All I've ever wanted to do is to make a living from my music and there have been times when this has seemed tantalizingly close and others where it's felt like success would always be over the horizon, but I've been fortunate enough to have people around me who have never stopped believing in me and my music and that's kept me plugging away. As for the future... well, like many people I have a job/career, family and so on - all the distractions of modern life. It's still my goal to be able to give up the career and make a living from music and that's what I'm focusing on now. I've got a manager and 'interest' from the music industry (whatever that actually means) and I'll be doing some more recordings and releasing more material this year. I really want to get more good gigs in and a tour would be great. I'm totally determined to make things happen for myself now, and I'm going to start keeping a blog to talk about my journey - the highs and the lows - and I'm hoping that this will be not just of some interest but also maybe of some use for others in a similar position to me.
I recently visited, and performed for the troops in Iraq! If you follow on the link, below, you can download an EXCLUSIVE track for FREE from my album ‘Live From Iraq.’ Support the troops!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/uzkh5v
I’m currently in the UK touring right now; all upcoming dates are listed on my MySpace page, so if I’m in a town near you, pop down and say hello
'Summer Song' can now be heard exclusively on Jill Bowen's site. . http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=415132783 . I'm listening to your "Magnificent Love." Nice singing, Gina, and it's a pretty progression. And good guitar playing. :) Alan
The Thrillseekers Night Music Podcast is available for free download from iTunes. Check it out its a monthly radio show you don't want to miss. Also check out Steves latest guest slot on Judge Jules Radio1 show! Just visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/judgejules/
Gina, I told you I'd let you know when I posted more. Just finished mixing "Summer Song,' a folk song with a choir for back-up vocals. I think you'll like it. . Keep up the good work, Gina. And have a safe New Years' celebration. Alan
