Biography
Born and bred in Morwell, the industrial power generating capital of Victoria, two hours east of Melbourne, I moved to Townsville several years ago to rekindle the passion in music with a new direction.
Growing up listening to music from a young age I picked up the bass guitar after coming home from a Form 1 social and seeing KISS on a tv show called Polaroid in Concert. Yup I wanted to be Gene Simmons, we all have to start somewhere….
That was the start of a journey that has stopped started and stalled over the years but the passion remained and continues in another guise. From cutting teeth on Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder and any type of music I could get my teeth into, dabbling in Punk when the Sex Pistols arrived on the scene and as I was a rebellious young teen, moving onto Rock, Hard Rock, Metal and a eclectic originals band ALIAS doing twists on Top 40 songs at the time during the 80s. Continually jamming with mates and other high quality musicians from the Latrobe Valley I always wanted more.
After a brief stop I started a band with my bro and mate Woz “Aces are Wild” and captured the imagination of a CBS records rep at a battle of the bands, nothing came of it. Later Woz and I where invited to record Good with the Bad an original and played several gigs in Melbourne, on being the reopened Bell Street Rock and Corner Hotel.
Another hiatus and a return, this time singing due to a workplace shoulder injury, in a band called the Hideous Clowns often playing to a packed Ryans Hotel in Traralgon. After some time we had a complete 45 minute set of originals the punters got behind.
Then the stall, where life simply got in the way. All through this time in the background the passion simmered with a few jams with friends, one being a long time mate Steve from Alias and lets just say we sat down after 20 odd years and it was like it was yesterday, progressive fusion based jamming, 30 minutes tunes travelling where the groove took us.
I then reset my life and moved to FNQ Townsville and wanted to kick the music into gear and bumped into and with the help of mates started singing with a local blues band Tin Pan Alley where we run the Mollys open mike night successfully for several months…. Yup a new employment opportunity got in the way for a short period and once that was over I kicked into high gear.
Never really playing guitar, remember I was a bass player, and having the shoulder injury and recently a trapped ulnar nerve (google that one) I discovered the CBG Cigar Box Guitar. While contemplating a $400 purchase I saw in Big W a $10 box with “learn to play CBG" with a CBG in it…. that was the start of this new journey….
With Juhl from Tin Pan Alley days we started the Blues Bash at the Shamrock Hotel, still going strong after 2 years with an ever growing group of punters now at the Australian Hotel with an ongoing residency. To explain the Blues Bash is a sort of but not quite Blues Jam open mike type thing with a twist of reality television thrown in based on inviting other local muso's in to play and jam and the odd walk in.
During this time in the deep recesses of my head doors slowly started to kick open.
Building a repertoire of basic blues songs I also discovered I can twist and turn current contemporary songs, which people recognise and enjoy. I then purchased 2 resonator guitars and kicked the dream and passion into high gear. The originals started to flow, using the Blues Bash to blood the new songs I was able to gauge if people liked them. What I found and saw was people tapping there feet, being asked to play “that” song.
With the song list ever growing, rediscovering old blues and learning their stories, listening to modern version of blues tunes, new exciting artists with their twists I decided it was time to take what I have on the road.
Taking Juhl, an extremely accomplished guitarist on the road with me to enhance my solo playing as well as playing solo, I have ventured out to the world and share my passions of music with everybody…
Let this new journey begin……
Adrian “AiDZ’ Giannini
Growing up listening to music from a young age I picked up the bass guitar after coming home from a Form 1 social and seeing KISS on a tv show called Polaroid in Concert. Yup I wanted to be Gene Simmons, we all have to start somewhere….
That was the start of a journey that has stopped started and stalled over the years but the passion remained and continues in another guise. From cutting teeth on Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder and any type of music I could get my teeth into, dabbling in Punk when the Sex Pistols arrived on the scene and as I was a rebellious young teen, moving onto Rock, Hard Rock, Metal and a eclectic originals band ALIAS doing twists on Top 40 songs at the time during the 80s. Continually jamming with mates and other high quality musicians from the Latrobe Valley I always wanted more.
After a brief stop I started a band with my bro and mate Woz “Aces are Wild” and captured the imagination of a CBS records rep at a battle of the bands, nothing came of it. Later Woz and I where invited to record Good with the Bad an original and played several gigs in Melbourne, on being the reopened Bell Street Rock and Corner Hotel.
Another hiatus and a return, this time singing due to a workplace shoulder injury, in a band called the Hideous Clowns often playing to a packed Ryans Hotel in Traralgon. After some time we had a complete 45 minute set of originals the punters got behind.
Then the stall, where life simply got in the way. All through this time in the background the passion simmered with a few jams with friends, one being a long time mate Steve from Alias and lets just say we sat down after 20 odd years and it was like it was yesterday, progressive fusion based jamming, 30 minutes tunes travelling where the groove took us.
I then reset my life and moved to FNQ Townsville and wanted to kick the music into gear and bumped into and with the help of mates started singing with a local blues band Tin Pan Alley where we run the Mollys open mike night successfully for several months…. Yup a new employment opportunity got in the way for a short period and once that was over I kicked into high gear.
Never really playing guitar, remember I was a bass player, and having the shoulder injury and recently a trapped ulnar nerve (google that one) I discovered the CBG Cigar Box Guitar. While contemplating a $400 purchase I saw in Big W a $10 box with “learn to play CBG" with a CBG in it…. that was the start of this new journey….
With Juhl from Tin Pan Alley days we started the Blues Bash at the Shamrock Hotel, still going strong after 2 years with an ever growing group of punters now at the Australian Hotel with an ongoing residency. To explain the Blues Bash is a sort of but not quite Blues Jam open mike type thing with a twist of reality television thrown in based on inviting other local muso's in to play and jam and the odd walk in.
During this time in the deep recesses of my head doors slowly started to kick open.
Building a repertoire of basic blues songs I also discovered I can twist and turn current contemporary songs, which people recognise and enjoy. I then purchased 2 resonator guitars and kicked the dream and passion into high gear. The originals started to flow, using the Blues Bash to blood the new songs I was able to gauge if people liked them. What I found and saw was people tapping there feet, being asked to play “that” song.
With the song list ever growing, rediscovering old blues and learning their stories, listening to modern version of blues tunes, new exciting artists with their twists I decided it was time to take what I have on the road.
Taking Juhl, an extremely accomplished guitarist on the road with me to enhance my solo playing as well as playing solo, I have ventured out to the world and share my passions of music with everybody…
Let this new journey begin……
Adrian “AiDZ’ Giannini