A Closer Look into Gina Sicilia by Jennifer Vazquez (Photo Header by Madison Thorn)
On February 29th, prior to the unforgiving Tennessee tornado and just two weeks before Nashville’s shutdown in response to this devastating Pandemic, I had a chance to enjoy a comfortable and carefree conversation with a friend, and an incredibly talented Blues singer and songwriter, Gina Sicilia, at my cozy home in East Nashville. We chatted about life, music, the ups and downs that Gina’s encountered throughout her journey, and most important, about the making of her upcoming album, “Love Me Madly”; produced by multi-instrumentalist and producer, Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars. That album will hit all streaming platforms on May 29, 2020.
For those of you who haven’t been introduced to Gina or her music, you’re in for a sweet ride. I met Gina a few years back after moving to East Nashville from The Bronx to continue my own creative endeavors. Once seeing Gina perform live, I was blown away. Solid through and through, with her deep and dark sultry voice, her hooky melodies and lyrics that reflect her heartfelt emotions around love, loss and the desire to find peace and quiet within herself. Gina has a Cher like vocal tone, mixed with hints of Vonda Shepard like melodies and lyrics. Her live performance lures you straight into her web, while giving space for an intimate listening experience of your own. She’s signed to Blue Élan Records and has five albums, two EP’s, and three singles to her name.
Jennifer: Ok, so let’s begin by going back into your childhood. When did you know you wanted to be a singer, songwriter and entertainer?
Gina: I’ve been singing forever; my whole life. It’s all I’ve ever known. There’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to do. I remember when I was 8 years old, I would tell my brother and sister I was gonna go on a world tour someday. I didn’t get into blues or classic R&B and soul until I was about 14 years old. I grew up listening to a lot of pop music, but also a lot of Doo Wop and music from the 50’s and 60’s; groups like Dion and the Belmonts, and the Shirelles and the girl groups and a lot of music my parents grew up listening to. I’m also a huge lover of Doo Wop; I’d love to do a Doo Wop album someday. And I listened to a lot of Italian music. My Dad is from Italy and he immigrated to the US when he was a teenager in the 60’s but he always kept up with the pop music that was happening in Italy. We weren’t really raised as Italian Americans. We were kinda raised as Italians (Gina’s giggling). It’s a completely different culture. So, he always exposed us to the pop music that was happening in Italy, which was really great. My very first concert was an Italian concert in Atlantic City. And all the Italian artists from Italy would come to Atlantic City, and the Italians in Philadelphia and South Jersey would go to Atlantic City, to Trump Taj Mahal, to see the music. So, in the early 90’s, those were my first concerts.
Jennifer: When you’re sitting down to write a song, what comes first, the lyric or the melody?
Gina: For me it’s the melody. I’ll just start singing melodies. I have thousands of them on my phone. Sometimes, I’ll build off of them and others times I’ll piece different things together. That’s what I did with “Hey Love”, off the new album; it was two different songs I put together. There have been times I’ll write a song and finish it up quickly. Other times I’ll put them away and go back and revisit them.
I used to start with lyrics first, when I was younger. I’d have all these notebooks and I’d start writing lyrics and then build a melody. But I found, for myself, that I’m more limited that way, because once you write the lyrics, it almost kinda determines what the phrasing is gonna be. So, it determines the boundaries of the melody right away and I don’t want to be that limited, you know? I really think the melody is the most important part of a song. Lyrics can be interchangeable. If you have a really strong hook, you can have any lyrics in there, and it will still be a great song. But when you have really great lyrics and a really great melody that come together, it’s even better!
Jennifer: I want to touch a bit on your being signed to a label at an early age, allowing you to be a full-time songwriter pretty quickly in your career. What insight could you give someone starting out in today’s music industry who’s coming to Nashville with no label support or financial backing.
Gina: I would tell any young musician to learn as many skills and instruments as they possibly can. Learn how to handle business on your own, and most importantly, how to book your own show and tours. You’d be surprised at how many artists want to tour but they don’t know how to go about doing it. It’s so important to become as self-sufficient as possible so you are not waiting for some “Knight in Shining Armor”, or record label or booking agent to come along and make things happen for you in your career. If they do, that’s great, but you could be waiting a long time. And if you learn all the things you need to and stay in control of your schedule, you can be as busy as you want to be. And get really good at social media. Learn how to write a press release. Learn how to build your own website. Learn how to do everything, so that even when you do have people helping you, you can still stay somewhat in control and collaborate with them. Be as driven as possible. I can go on and on about this. But the most important things to remember is to stay in control of your own career and know how to book your own shows and tours.
Jennifer: That’s great advice. So, with the music industry continuing to move towards a streaming platform, where touring has been a key factor in how songwriters can make money, where are you seeing most of your income flowing in from?
Gina: Actually from merchandise sales on my website because I haven’t been touring recently. And especially the genre I’m in. In the Blues world, the audience is a lot of older people, baby boomers, and they’ll still buy cd’s; especially at shows. And now it’s kinda like a souvenir; a way to support the artist. But I do sell cd packages on my website. Like I have a $125 cd package which also includes a photo, a t-shirt and a recipe card that I’ll write out. Or I’ll sell all of my cd’s for $50. People still buy them so that helps. But touring has definitely still been a place where you can make money and sell merchandise, even if it’s not cd’s. So, ya, I would say touring.
Jennifer: I would agree. Ok, what’s been your highest high in your life so far?
Gina: My highest high was signing with Blue Élan Records. It was probably the first time in my life I ever remember crying tears of joy. And when the president of the record label called me and offered me the record deal; he was telling me terms of the contract, I started crying. I couldn’t believe it. It seemed too good to be true. I felt like I had gone through so much and I stayed with it; I kept working hard. I never gave up on my career. And when things tend to go bad in my personal life for me, it causes me to work even harder on my career. That’s a way I show that I’m moving on. So, by the time I got signed with them, I felt like I had earned it.
Jennifer: As you continue to navigate your music career, as a Blues artist, how much does Blue Élan Records help you out and how much are you doing on your own?
Gina: The reality with being on a label is having a competent enthusiastic team of people behind you, who want you to succeed and are there to figure out ways to make that happen. They help in branding and marketing you. They help in each project, figuring out how to market it in the most sellable away, so that it will appeal to the most amount of people and do well. Blue Élan also has a marketing and social media team. They have executives that wanna help me get support slots for larger artists. I get tour support. They help me with music videos, lyric videos and promotional material and advertising. They have an in-house publicist and radio promotion. So, they do a lot of things that I wouldn’t be able to do, or afford, on my own. It’s a rare thing these days, though, this label that I’m on. So, I’m very lucky.
Jennifer: I’m interested to hear about your upcoming album, “Love Me Madly.” What was it like working with Cody Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars?
Gina: Well, it was definitely an exciting experience because I had known who the North Mississippi Allstars were for a long time. And I knew how successful they were and the idea that I was going to be going to his home studio in Mississippi and making this album with him was really exciting and kinda nerve-racking. But I had a really good feeling about it. And I was so excited to see how it was gonna turn out; what the reaction was gonna be once it was released. I was just overjoyed the whole time. And Cody has a big personality; it’s infectious. And that really rubbed off on me and inspired me to write a lot. I had already had some songs written for this album, but then, in between sessions, I spent all my time writing; his energy and his enthusiasm and just the idea that it was a new experience really inspire me a lot.
And we worked really well together. We were productive while I was there. But the album mostly got made when I wasn’t there. He played drums, he played bass and rhythm guitar. He played piano. And he would do a lot of that when I wasn’t there. And he arranged a lot of the music without ever writing a single chart. And recorded the music without a single chart. He’s pretty talented in that way. And then, once the mixing started, he did a lot of that while he was on the road. He was very busy touring and we had to fit in the recording of my album with his tour schedule. Plus, the North Mississippi Allstars were in the process of releasing another album, with Jason Isbell and Mavis Staples on it, and that was gonna be a big tour for them. All summer they were on the road. He would be home on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and that’s when I would go to his studio to continue the recording process.
Jennifer: What’s something you wish you could have done differently earlier in your career?
Gina: I wish I had been more patient and realized how difficult it is to get a really good booking agent, one who will book you shows and good tours that pay well. Basically, when I was like 23, I got my first booking agent who really started my career for me; before I even toured. It was a great booking agency. They got me festivals and great shows. This was when I was in Pennsylvania but the booking agent was based in Charlotte, NC. They were one of the main Blues booking agencies. The owner of the agency signed me after I had only done one national tour; for like a week. And then he booked me all across the US and Canada in festivals and really great club dates. He helped me expand my audience but then things slowed down for a couple of months and I got nervous. And I had gotten this agency so easily; I thought, “Well, it’s always gonna be like that!” But obviously it wasn’t. And so I left and I regret it. And then a couple years later, he told me that he would take me back on, but he had cancer and he was going to be going through treatment and he said, “After I’m done with my treatment, I want to take you back on.” But he ended up passing away in 2013. So, that whole situation and how I handled it is definitely a regret. I wish I had been more patient and slowed down a little bit and not been in such a rush to progress and get to the top so quickly. I had plenty of time.
Jennifer: It’s quite clear that you’ve been very driven in your career from the beginning. Could you share some insight on where to draw the line between being determined and too pushy?
Gina: I don’t know. I figure it out as I go. I just do what my instinct tells me to do. When I really want something, I go for it. I’m not scared of being rejected. Because I’ve been rejected and been told “No” so many times, that I figure what’s the worst that can happened, I get rejected? I don’t get disappointed as much as I used to. I just brush it off and move on very quickly. So, that’s the good thing about rejection. You become fearless. Fight for what you want. And if you don’t get it, then you move on.
Jennifer: So, what’s your biggest strength and your biggest weakness?
Gina: My biggest strength is my perseverance. My biggest weakness is my impatience.
Jennifer: Here’s one I’m interested in exploring. Whenever I listen to you or see you live, I always think of how you remind me of “Cher” because your voice is so soulful and so deep and broad. How did you develop your voice? Did you take voice lessons?
Gina: No, never. I had one person, one time, teach me how to sing from my diaphragm and I took it from there and kinda figured it out. I emulated other singers. Or sometimes I found if I was emulating one singer too much, I would force myself to stop listening to them. Because I did not want to sound too much like somebody else. When I was 15, I remember my brother saying if you want to be a great singer you have to have a really rich tone. So, he told me different singers to listen to so I could imitate them. And after that, my voice kinda changed and started sounding like it does now; after imitating Sarah McLachlan’s tone. I kinda had a vision for what I wanted my voice to sound like and I tried to work toward that. I wanted to have a deeper voice with a rich tone and a lot of power that really cut through.
Jennifer: One last question before I let ya go. What’s the worst job you’ve had?
Gina: I worked in a lot of restaurants as a teenager. And then I started working at this diner in my hometown as a waitress. And I was getting trained and it was my third day in. And it was kind of a lot because I had to take the orders, I had to make the salads and make the ice cream Sundays; I was kinda overwhelmed. And the guy that was training me told the boss I wasn’t doing well and they let me go (We are both laughing). And I was like, “Give me a chance here!” There was just a lot going on. But waitressing wasn’t for me. So I ended up just being a hostess. I loved hostessing. I was a hostess at The Macaroni Grill. That was probably my favorite job.
Be sure to follow Gina’s journey:
Listen to Gina on: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, iTunes, Blue Élan Records
