Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Joys of Gioia ( A Lady With Balls )

Gioia Bruno is most remembered for being one-third of the chart topping group Expose. Expose ruled the 80's and early 90's with their hit songs, "Come GoWith Me", "Let Me Be The One", "Tell Me Why", and the classic ballad "Seasons Change."

At the peak of thier fame Gioia (pronounced joy-a) was forced to leave Expose after doctors discovered an inoperable tumor on her vocal cords. This was a devastating blow to the beautiful singer known for her strong powerhouse voice. Doctors told Gioia that she would never sing again, but through meditation and prayer the singer regained her voice again.


Gioia's voice is back and stronger than ever. Now a solo artist, Gioia's performing live again. Gioia's first release is the club anthem "Free To Be." Gioia is hard at work working on songs for a full length album. Gioia has also launched her official web site to support her return. from www.AfterEllen.com
Interview with Gioia Bruno of Exposé
by Lydia Marcus, Contributing Writer



Gioia Bruno made a name for herself as one third of Exposé, a top female singing group of the late '80s and early '90s whose numerous hits included “Point of No Return,” “Seasons Change,” and “Let Me Be the One.” After Exposé, Gioia (pronounced “joy-ah”) sang with the band Wet, worked solo, and even opened the West Broward Performing Arts Academy in Florida. But in late November, Bruno will reunite with Exposé after more than a decade apart, and a tour is planned for 2007.

Last January, the 43-year-old singer, mom to an 18-year-old daughter, revealed that she is bisexual. AfterEllen recently talked with her about the highs and lows of Exposé fame, her bisexuality, queer fans and how she dealt with a throat tumor on her vocal chords.

AfterEllen.com: I was in high school when Exposé was big, so everyone my age I told I was interviewing you was pretty psyched.
Gioia Bruno: It’s pretty amazing how many people remember, and it freaks me out because there are so many markets. Honestly, I think everybody came out of the closet — at least mostly the boys — to Exposé. If they didn’t, then at recent shows I’ve seen all the faces that I remember from before, and they’re finally out. I’m like, “I so knew you were gay.” I could just tell. I love the people that support me so much, let me tell you. Anybody I knew back then, we’re in contact now. Most of my friends are people that I met back then. And all of them are gay or bisexual or transgender or lesbian.

AE: Part of why I’m interviewing you is that you’ve recently begun talking about being bisexual.
GB: Yeah, well, I talked about it my whole life, but nobody talked to me about it in an interview. I really only opened up to that for myself in my life when I was in my 30s. It’s tough to figure out what does bi mean. ... I thought about it in my 20s and being raised Catholic Italian … and I always loved men. I love men and women. The thing is I made some relationships in my 20s and 30s with people, women in my life, that I’ll never forget and that will never end.

AE: What’s your longest relationship with a woman?
GB: Probably about three years.

AE: Did you live together?
GB: We couldn’t 'cause of work but you know, [we] got together all the time. But she — actually it’s pretty hard to talk about who she is — but I respect that. It kind of started out as a threesome, and that’s how I was introduced to women.

AE: To have been in a band that had more than one hit is kind of a miracle. When you were at the height of it, did you enjoy it?
GB: You know they kept us so down, they kept us down.

AE: The management?
GB: Everybody, the whole entire bunch of them.

AE: Were you created? Because you came after there was already an Exposé.
GB: Yeah, there was a three-girl group and they put out the first version of “Point of No Return,” and after they gave the deal to the producers of the group, they said, “Great music, but we want new girls.” And they came in and they found me at a club in North Miami.

AE: Were you dancing?
GB: I was singing. North Miami had just brought me up from New York — I’m a rock singer. I was a rocker, R&B singer, and they needed somebody with a little more of a soulful voice for songs like “Let Me Be the One.” And they came at me and for eight months straight I was not interested. I didn’t know what dance music was, I didn’t want to know about it. And then, of course, it got under my skin and now I’ve got a Junior Vasquez remix, a track for me called “From the Inside,” and that went out on Queer As Folk and got on their CD, and then different little things started happening.

And my whole world is gay. If I have one friend out of 10 — and I have a lot of friends — [one] out of every 10 is straight, it’s a lot. And I wouldn’t be who I was if it wasn’t for the people in my life. And they’re gay and they’re straight and they’re transgender and they’re completely switched over, and I love that about my life. And for me to not be able to say it, you know, that’s who I am and what I’ve done.




AE: So did you actually get to enjoy Exposé when you were at the height of your fame?
GB: You know what? Honestly, there were times that it was great. For me, the memory that always sticks in my head is the sound of the audience when certain songs would start, like “Point of No Return,” and just the amount of screaming, say at the Boston Garden. … And I can get chills just thinking about it now, that it was just so amazing that so many people loved it so much. But it was pretty tough shows. It was like nine shows a week and we were getting paid 200 bucks a show! Some of it was the worst!

AE: You had a benign throat tumor while you were still performing with Exposé. Did that come from singing?
GB: No, you know like anything, any kind of a cancer, it’s from stress.

AE: Oh yeah, and you get it where it really counts because it shuts you down.
GB: Yeah. Stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition. And I was forced to come off the road, and in doing so I had a lot of time to really investigate holistic types of medicines and herbal remedies and basically just shutting my big fat mouth.

AE: What was the signal? Did you feel a lump or your voice was affected?
GB: Actually my voice was affected, that was the first sign. … There was an actual growth in my vocal chord and it was inside, like a node would happen on the outside. So this happened on the inside and just started to swell. They said that if they operated that I would never, ever sing again. We found out that it was benign and I looked up everything; my family and everybody was working on it. And I spoke to a few different doctors. I went to the professor of otolaryngology at [the University of] Miami/Jackson [Memorial Medical Center], and he told me that they can shrink. And it’s completely gone. And I got involved in just really great supplements — I’m like the vitamin whore.

AE: What are the other holistic things you did?
GB: The reason I went to those was because they starting giving me steroids, and I started feeling really wacky. But just all these different herbal remedies — I used Eastern medicine, I did acupuncture.

AE: Were you still touring at that time?
GB: What happened in the summer of '91 [was] I had to stop performing because business and contractual obligations just got really complicated. They kept trying to push me to go back out and I was like, “You don’t understand, this thing is just getting worse.” It was at that point it was just growing, and I was singing worse and worse. How can I get on stage? What can I do? I want to get well and you’re not worth it, sorry guys. Not the girls.

And I wouldn’t compromise. I just said, "If I’m ever going to sing again, we’ll do what I really wanted to do," which was ... I wanted to be a songwriter and sing with a band and have fun and screw the record business. I didn’t want that, I just kind of fell into it, and everybody thinks it’s like some fairy tale thing, but I’m saying it’s a curse. [Laughs.]

No it wasn’t a curse, I can’t even go down saying that, but I can I tell you that three women, three menstrual cycles — I know why I never wanted to be with women in my 20s, because I was with Ann [Curless] and Jeanette [Jurado]. As much I love them, each of them I’m sure they’d say the same thing. We’d want to kill each other every other day. But I embrace them now. I didn’t talk to them for so long, and now we’re talking due to work.

AE: When you hear “Point of No Return,” what do you think of?
GB: The goosebumps I used to get. And I’m grateful for that, and I still get those goosebumps and people still freak out when they hear it. I think that I’m a damn lucky girl, is what I think when I think about those songs, because I really had a great career with it. And when it really comes down to it, was I miserable then? Yes. Am I grateful for it? Hell yes. And would I do it again? Double hell yes, I would just do it a little bit differently.

AE: What would you do differently?
GB: I’d have a hell of a good attorney. And I wouldn’t listen to half to the people that influenced me back then. I’d be a little stronger as a woman and more independent, which is what I feel I’ve become.




AE: You’re very ripped; what do you do to stay in shape?
GB: I pretty much do shakes every day. I have a business that I do — my Usana business — that’s what I’m talking about with supplements and stuff; I found a company that has 100 percent of everything I need for me. And my voice has gotten so much better; it’s so much more consistent. And then I do the shakes because it’s all low glycemic and my blood sugar has to be regulated. When I have too much, I go off the freakin' wall. And I eat healthy. It became like a lifestyle thing for me. I love fried chicken but it doesn’t love me. I love to cook, so I’ve learned how to make things that don’t normally taste good taste really good.

AE: What’s your workout routine?
GB: I lift weights and do cardio just like pretty much everyone else, but I do superset everything, chest and tri's, back and bi's, that kind of routine. Then I’m bad too, I really don’t work that hard. I think what it is, is years and years of doing it. I was 16 when I started, so I’m really blessed. Thank you God that I can even have any muscle left. And I move really fast. So just the energy, I just go.

AE: Your daughter Brianna was born in 1988 during the height of your Exposé fame. How did you deal with being a mom and a traveling performer?
GB: She was born when “Seasons Change” was number one. [Laughs.] She was with me all the time. She was on every stage and every dressing room. Her microphone stand was always set up, and her little white shoes — her poor little feet were all crooked, so we had to straighten them out, so she would always wear these little clunker shoes and she had her little headphones on so we wouldn’t blow her brains out. She was so cute. She knew the dance moves better than we did at 2 years old. She had three mamas; all three of us took care of her.

AE: Does she do any singing or dancing now?
GB: She sings her friggin' butt off. She’s amazing, but she doesn’t want to be a singer, and I guess seeing me struggle so much. She wants to be a writer. … She’s my best friend, I love her so much. That’s my world.

For more on Bruno, visit ">gioiabruno.com and myspace.com/gioiab.


Gioia Bruno, the former lead singer of Exposé, says she has had sexual relationships with women as well as men. She made the announcement during an appearance on Q Television Network's "Brunch," hosted by Honey Labrador and Scott Withers.

"I never wanted to put a label on myself, but, yes, I have dated women," said Bruno. "It's about the person and what's in their soul. Right now, I am dating a man, but hey, but I can still look at the girls. I think everybody's got a little queer in them."


RockYou FXText - Get Your Own





Your Baby Never Looked Good in Blue
by Expose

You should hear what they're saying about you
You should see the way they talk behind your back
Say that you've found a lover and that you're gonna leave
But you wouldn't do that to me

So, say it ain't true, the things that they've been saying
They say that you've found someone new
But don't break my heart cause your baby never looked good in blue

In the morning, staring into your eyes
Your eyes looked everywhere, everywhere but mine
Darling, I've got a feeling that the tears are gonna start
And losing you would tear my world apart

So, say it ain't true, the things that they've been saying
They say that you've found someone new
But don't break my heart cause your baby never looked good in blue
Your baby never looked good in blue

Tell me you still love me
And show me your still mine
Don't tell me there's somebody new
Cause you don't want to see your baby cry

Say it ain't true, the things that they've been saying
They say that you've found someone new
But don't break my heart cause your baby never looked good in blue
Your baby never looked good in blue
No, no, no, no, your baby never looked good in blue



from the Epistle:


This Year, Gioia Bruno decided to accomodate the Epistle with an interview. Below is the first part of this interview, which I conducted via phone.

JRT: First Question, when did you first get interested in music?

Gioia: Okay, well my mom tells me I was singing when I was a very little girl, and I think my first performance was "Me and My Teddy Bear", when I was in Kindergarten. Just like Britney Spears (laughter).

In 8th Grade I did "The King and I", and I was Anna. And then in High School I met an incredible musician, who became one of my very close friends. His name is David Fields. We were hanging out at my house and he started playing the piano and I started singing. He asked me what songs I knew, and I sang "I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet" by Carol King. He just looked up at me and said "Oh My God, you can sing".

I started singing, basically working together on different stuff, guitar, etc. I was in Sophomore Year in Highschool, age 16. I ended up reforming his band when he went to the Berkeley School of Music. The band was called Kickback and we started touring the three surrounding states, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. It was the most fun band. I remember, we played Top 40 stuff and it was great. And my Mom got me a fake ID. So it really took off when I was 16, that's when I got addicted to the whole performance side of things.

The funny thing is that, now that I'm based in New York, after not seeing David for almost 20 years, he and I are working together again. We have recently written 3 or 4 songs. It's really cool. It's gone full circle.

JRT: We all know the history, how you were discovered, but I'm interested in knowing how the actual recording during your time with Exposé came about. Were they short sessions, long, etc.

GB: I can wrap this up quickly for you. The first album-- The production company wanted me to hear me sing in the studio. There is a difference. A lot of people nowadays actually sound better in the studio, because technology has made huge advances.

Back then you couldn't do as much, there was no such thing as auto-tune. But there is a technique and there is a difference, with the microphone and the headset on. I went in, sang 'Let Me Be the One,' and they were like "Okay, you are definitely in." Blah.

I went into the studio--I think I had 3 takes. "Let Me Be The One"--I did 2 lead vocals and I did one extra. So it probably took about a half hour!

JRT: Wow that was really quick.

GB: It would have been a lot nicer if I had more time to work with different sounds, but it is what it is, and people seem to like it enough.

JRT: And I guess with "What You Don't Know" you did a lot more work--or maybe not.

GB: Well I was pregnant for the following album, and I never sang better in my life. They say when a woman's pregnant--that is a positive thing vocally. I don't know what it is exactly, I suppose it's hormonal. I just noticed a difference in my range.

JRT: Did you do a lot of solo tracks, or was it a combination?

GB: What do you mean? Do you mean were we doing background vocals together?

JRT: Did you perform all at the same time together, or all solo?

GB: No, it's impossible for to record like that. It's one person at a time. You do your lead vocal alone. But we would do our harmonies together. Sometimes the girls would come in, though, and back me up. For instance, I remember Jeanette saying she wanted to come into the studio when I did hmmm...I think it was December.

JRT: I was just curious how the whole recording process worked, because I know you have to do a lot of overdubs...

GB: We didn't do that many. Only when we really need to fix something or change a part. We were singing on the road for so long--I think I'd been playing out for 7 years before I joined Exposé, the girls too, and like any professional you go in and you get the job done, and we were definitely on a tight schedule.

JRT: Okay, I was just curious about that.

GB: Overdub (giggles)--I haven't heard the word "overdub" since I was in Exposé.

JRT: I'm not even sure I'm using the right freaking terminology.

GB: Oh no, you're correct...

JRT: Anyway, I did know there is a lot of production involved. I noticed you had more background singers than members of the group for instance.

GB: Oh yeah, there were many different sounds we wanted.

JRT: Singing dance music is different from a band, so...

GB: When you are singing dance music //with// a band, there are certain sounds on the sampler mixed with live instruments. I like it better. The energy is very different. Much more exciting; organic.

JRT: Use of a band prevents people from getting miffed with lip-synching and tracking, are you concerned about that...

GB: Let's talk about that.

JRT: Okay, sure, because it's topical right now, with the whole Ashley Simpson event...

GB: Absolutely, oh my God what a mess. I'm not going to make any judgements on it, but personally if I go into a soundcheck and they have no monitors then there's a ghost vocal on the track. I lost my voice in the past. I won't compromise my instrument because somebody didn't do their job. You can't hear the ghost track over live singing, and at no time is my microphone ever off.

The only time we ever lip-synced was back with Exposé, when we did a TV show that wasn't equipped for live sound.

JRT: Like Rollergames...

GB: Yeah, exactly. So you have to follow the rules, you know...

JRT: I notice that sometimes on TV shows they use it, sometimes they don't. The weird thing for me was seeing Showtime at the Apollo--The two appearances you did, the first time it was live, the second time it was a track...

GB: Never Ever. Showtime was live both times. There's no such thing as never live at "The Apollo"

JRT: There was no band.

GB: Correct, but the Vocal was live.

JRT: No...

GB: Are you kidding? You ever walk your ass into Showtime at the Apollo?

JRT: No, what I was saying that the tape I watched had a track, it wasn't a live vocal feed.

GB: No way Ray. Wait, did you say "live vocal feed"??? You need to get out more John. But's its...

JRT: I know the show was live and the vocals at the show were live, but the syndicated show I have a copy of used a track.

GB: Hmm. I don't think so. They might have messed with it in post-production though.

JRT: Okay. There was one thing I wanted to question you about. In your opinion was Exposé ever a "teen idol" act.

GB: We got a lot of coverage in teeny-bopper magazines, but we had a lot of mom's with they're young kids, and I see them now, and they say "I Loved Exposé".

JRT: That reminds me, I remember a conversation thread on your message board, the official tour book had a quote from you said you liked to do something, and you stated "I never said that".

GB: Something about...

JRT: Watching "General Hospital"...

GB: I lived with 3 girls when I was 18-19, they would run home at lunch everyday to watch. I guess I ultimately caught some of it but I'm not a TV person. And I don't find it really amusing. There are a few great shows like "Seinfeld" or "Saturday Night Live" possibly. And now I'm even busier than I was then.

JRT: I didn't figure you to be a TV person, as you work a lot.

GB: The computer I am digging though.

JRT: What did you think of critics back then, they didn't seem to give Exposé a lot of respect?

GB: You know what's amazing? They were really harsh on us, I had forgotten but I noticed as I was reading some of the reviews my mom had saved. It's really funny, I remember the people at the label would say, "Record sales talk." Back then, we got beat up a lot, but now we're kind of a cult classic. People love us so much, they love our old songs.

I was really hurt by one review in the past, in People magazine...

JRT: I remember that one, something about you being a "third-rate Cher".

Yeah, they called me a "Thrice removed Cher". I was very upset about that at the time. I was young and well, quite frankly, I should have taken it as a compliment. Cher is amazing! To be compared to her in any way should have made me happy but I wanted to be me.

And for the record, I can do Cher very well. But everybody's different. We are all individuals, and it's not a competitive sport.

On my new record, I needed to put together some new press. I got on-line and typed in my name. I haven't read one negative review for this record. I was amazed and grateful. Before "Exposé This" came out I was a bit apprehensive. I thought, "They're gonna rip me apart". I think that people are genuinely happy for me, they know I got a second chance at my dream. So I'm not afraid to read reviews anymore, I'm a big girl now and I can take it.

JRT: I just thought they were harsh.

GB: Well, look at what they are saying about Ashley Simpson. She still has a million people who love her to death. Can she sing live or not--I don't know. I heard her on the radio awards. She might still have trouble with her voice--I wasn't feeling her at all. But damn, can she square dance!

JRT: Well, if she has acid reflux disease, I know it can be a serious problem from experience.

GB: Not for your vocal cords though. Not unless she's actually...I'm not a doctor, so I don't know. Sometimes people go into the studio and that is the beginning of musical education. I'm lucky, I got to be in a band when I was sixteen. I had to learn, and I had to work on it.

JRT: What do you think of Pop music today?

GB: I don't listen much to the radio much its so controlled and over played. I don't know what pop is anymore. I listen to a lot of "chill out". Dance. I like Zero 7 a lot, Maroon 5. I love so much music, but I honestly couldn't tell you who's singing it or what the song name is. I don't have the time to look into it.

I've love my IPOD, I listen to everything from James Taylor, Earth Wind and Fire, to, like I said Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, Tina Arena, and the stuff that I'm working on.

JRT: You're actually more advanced than me. I'm the computer geek and I don't really deal with digital music.

GB: You don't go to ITunes or anything? I've got a remix record on it along with my album.

JRT: I experimented with Napster looking for rare tracks a few years ago, but other than that, no. I did get an XM Radio recently to round-out my stereo system.

GB: You hear my song on XM Radio?

JRT: Actually, I don't mean to criticize, but I can't really listen to the dance stations on XM because dance music today seems to all running at the same beat, maybe I'm an old fart.

GB: You are. That's why I made sure to change things up on my album. So farts like you wouldn't get bored! I didn't limit myself. There are so many different sub-genres. It gets confusing online.

Let me tell you what I am doing now. since you're stuck in the 80's. I've been working at the studio everyday writing, singing and producing. Whenever possible I sit in with different groups in the city. They're called jams or jam sessions. Different musicians run them, some have been going on for years. Like The Dave Mann jam. All types of artists show up and just do what they do. I love NY. I was at "The Bitter End" last Sunday, i'd always wanted to play there. Every great rock act in the history of rock played there at some time. I just wanted to read the walls. I sang a few songs, "Will it Go Around in Circles," Steamroller" and a couple others and they asked me back for their Christmas Show on Dec 14th. Hmmm maybe I'll do a Cher tune! Living in NY again has rejuvenated me. I can wake up any day and sing the Blues or Rock or write a dance track, I've sung all my life and I pull from lots of styles. I'm influenced by them all.

JRT: I knew that--I know you like doing dance, but you like doing other stuff as well.

GB: I love song writing more and more. It's very therapeuticand I do it everyday. It's almost a form of journaling for me.

JRT: How do you go about writing your songs? Do you think melody first or lyrics first?

GB: I do it a lot of different ways, but I'll talk about my favorite way to do it. I like to start from scratch, I just take my baggage, that's usually enough to scare the hell out of anyone who's been hanging out with me. I love to collaborate, you need to be open and secure enough to make an ass of yourself.

I've written a lot of songs by myself, but--I love people, when you find somebody you can vibe with, mess with, collaborations are incredible. It's like the difference between making spaghetti sauce with just a tomato, and creating it using a lot of ingredients, spices, etc.

People get stuck, so when you collaborate, you bring in new ideas. I like to go into the studio, and we start with whatever instrument we're feeling and I start creating --I like funky vibe-y stuff--and I listen to the notes,the chords, and I start to get a melody in my head. Then it's what I consider free association, sometimes a song just happens in record time. All inspiration. Other times it's like listening to my niece Elizabeth tell a story and your holding the butter knife in your hand straining to keep from.... sorry.



RockYou FXText - Get Your Own






I Wish The Phone Would Ring
Expose
(Jay/Morrow)

More than ever you're on my mind
Being lonely ought to be a crime
Watching TV to pass the time
When all I think about is you
And if you're thinking of me too
I know you know what to do

I wish the phone would ring
I'd do anything
Just to hear your voice
Oh Baby, why
Why do we have to fight
Can't we both be right
Wake me from this dream
I wish the phone would ring
Ring

What we're doing doesn't feel so right
And you should be here in my arms tonight
Here in my heart I live all alone
Locked up inside these lonely walls
Can't go anywhere at all
So afraid I'll miss your call

I wish the phone would ring
I'd do anything
Just to hear your voice
Oh Baby, why
Why do we have to fight
Can't we both be right
Wake me from this dream
I wish the phone would ring
Ring

All I do is think of you
And if you're thinking of me too
I know you know what to do

I wish the phone would ring
I'd do anything
Just to hear your voice
Oh Baby, why
Why do we have to fight
Can't we both be right
Wake me from this dream
I wish the phone would ring
Ring

I wish the phone would ring
I'd do anything
Just to hear your voice
Oh Baby, why
Why do we have to fight
Can't we both be right
Wake me from this dream
I wish the phone would ring
Ring

I wish the phone would ring...

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