Long before he was legal, Gianni Paci was sharing the stage with rock stars like Ace Frehley of Kiss, Steven Adler of Guns N Roses and the late Mike Starr of Alice In Chains. He’s been in the studio with the likes of Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Gwen Stefani), Jon Anderson (Yes, King Crimson) and Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai). Gianni even toured with the infamous Butthole Surfers, earning a dedicated spot on their live album, Live At The Forum London, as the band sings “Happy Birthday” to him in front of that sold-out crowd. He even had the privilege of performing at CBGB’s, the sorely missed punk rock landmark on Joey Ramone Place.
Songwriting was a talent that sprouted even earlier, as Gianni wrote his first original piece of music at the tender age of eight. “It just seemed to pour out of me so naturally,” he recalls, reflecting on his propensity towards poetically simple songs that are as alluring in their charm as they are surprising in their depth. Gianni released two full-length albums of original material under his old pseudonym, The Pine Hollows. This work landed Gianni on the cover of Performer Magazine and helped him to establish a considerable presence in the NYC music scene.
Today Glide is premiering the new video for the single “It’s Always A Perfect Journey”, which is on Gianni’s latest EP, I Tried To Right My Wrongs, But I Made A Left, released 11/17/17 via Bandcamp. The song has a fun pop sound with a strong indie rock edge that makes it somewhat reminscent of Spoon. Gianni pulls us into the music with a simple but heavy and infectious beat, which complements his lo-fi yet melodic vocals and dances around a whimsical synth line. The music isn’t complicated and it doesn’t need to be in order to accomplish what it sets out to do, which is put a smile on your face and maybe even get you dancing. Gianni seems to take great pleasure in crafting delightfully simple pop tunes that linger in the mind of the listener long after hearing them.
Discussing the song in an interview a couple of months ago, Gianni called “It’s Always A Perfect Journey” a “special kind of channeling.” He goes on to describe how it “was actually written just days after a very dear friend of mine passed away…that phrase was something she said to me the last time I saw her, which was only days before she passed.” The fragile and exposed track has a pronounced analog warble, akin to the sound of a cassette demo or something of the like. But that kind of low fidelity approach only strengthens the mood, as the accompanying music video features an eleven-year-old version of the artist playing Danny Zuko from “Grease” in the middle school play. The VHS transfer is riddled with fuzz and static, but it’s clear that there was always something special about the kid, even if the path to the present has been fraught with the kind of heartache and tragedy that tests the child within.
WATCH:
