Production is being done entirely by Marc Soucy of AudioMusicVoice (El Kapitan and David Hull- bassist for Buddy Miles, The Joe Perry Project, rock trio Fahrenheit, James Montgomery, and live fill in for Aerosmith), and Surefire Music Group (MTV’s Making of the Band featured artist-Makio, MTV’s featured artist-Brooke Hogan and River Dance lead singer-Hayley Griffiths) Hailing from the historic ‘North End’ of Boston, Massachusetts, Gioia grew up as the product of an Italian family centered on strong cultural values and an exemplary work ethic towards all endeavors. “I was always taught that nothing would be handed to me,” recalls Gioia. “So if I wanted anything in life, then it was up to me to figure out how to attain it and then make it happen.” Gioia was involved in singing at a young age and then, at the age of twelve, he attended a sold out concert with his big sister by the famous rock group ‘Kiss.’ At that moment, he recalls enthusiastically “I was hooked!” Gioia continues, “ I remember it clear as day; the lights, the fire, the elevating stage, the crazy, screaming fans, the costumes and the blaring, ear drum piercing music. For me, that was it. I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to be when I grew up….A ROCKSTAR!” After staying involved with music throughout college, performing in various on-campus shows and graduating with a B.A. in communications, Gioia landed a job at Club Med Florida, as a scuba instructor and vocal performer. After a few months, he then relocated to Orlando where he hoped to launch his career as a pop star. He worked as a waiter and recorded a demo of pop dance music. Gioia was hell bent on succeeding, and being very aggressive with his music career he invested thousands of dollars into a business deal that his producer was undertaking to launch an indie record label. Unfortunately, the deal turned out to be a scam and the producers lending partner was arrested by the FBI for fraud. At that point Gioia recalls, “I was very disappointed and jaded. I just had my life savings stolen from me with no possibility of recouping it. I was broke, my friends were pursuing reliable careers, and my parents were telling me to ‘get a real job.’ Without being able to play a musical instrument, I had reached a dead end and my passion for singing was wavering. So I caved in to all the surrounding circumstances and made the commitment to a full time professional job. I worked for a restaurant franchising company called “Pasta Lovers” as a training manager. After the restaurant openings were all completed, I moved back to Boston, landed a job as a restaurant manager, got married and started a family.” As Gioia’s family became his top priority, the idea of pursuing a successful music career eventually faded away; until one night when the unexpected happened. As Gioia was driving home from a late night of work, he began to doze off and got into an accident which flipped his car over seven times. At the crash scene, Gioia claims to have experienced a supportive spiritual presence. He later spent 3 days on life support. The entire event was a wake-up call for Gioia to be grateful for his life, but it also reignited his gift of music from within, inspiring him to write the song “Angel on your Shoulder”. Gioia had now come full circle. (For more details, read “The true story behind the track ‘Angel on your Shoulder’” at http://www.myspace.com/gioiamyspace.) |
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