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Gone are the days of the innocent. The small gestures of kindness and willing to put yourself on the line for a gal with a beautiful smile. Today, many types of interactions can be misconstrued or interpreted to be old fashioned. When it really is a sign of deep respect. I can recall when just a kiss, would be considered the next step in a long-term relationship or marriage. Times have certainly changed. Not for the better mind you.
You hear it often, why are you so strait laced? What is so important about having morals or a code of conduct? Going steady and making small covert moves to entice a woman has dramatically changed. You even hear it in the songs that are written. Even the genres of music have changed to accommodate a different way of living. Brash, bold, or direct are lyrics of variations of songs (very sad). It is almost unbearable or offensive to listen too. This isn’t just a specific genre of music. Offensive lyrics can be found in any genre of music. Though the difference in folk and blues music, and the other genres of music, is “truth”. It’s nostalgic, and its straight up. Folk / Blues impart good times, and family bonds. Even sad reminders of days gone by. There are great stories told and memories of that first kiss. This is open for debate. It comes down, to what the genre of music means to you. However, you can’t deny the warmth and feeling that comes from your small-town vibe.
The artist we brought in today, knows a bit about metaphors in music. She designs her music with a vivid image in view. Eileen Rose is impeccable and has talent that will last a lifetime.
It’s not a new story but an unfinished one: a captivating singer-songwriter from Boston, Eileen Rose, establishes and builds a critically acclaimed career in Europe, then comes home with music virtually new to North American audiences.
Eileen Rose Giadone was born in Saugus, Massachusetts, a blue-collar suburb north of Boston that the city’s many first and second generation Irish and Italian immigrant families called home. With a Sicilian father (Eileen speaks Italian) and an Irish mother, Eileen was second youngest of 3 brothers and 6 sisters. She remembers growing up in a small house which was a former hunter’s cabin - “...3 bedrooms, one bathroom, one phone and LOTS of noise.”
Eileen’s musical education started early. “There was always music on in the house. My mom is a big music fan and, now that I think about it, had eclectic taste: Dean Martin, Irish traditional music, Johnny Cash, Kate Smith, polka music, country, big band... My dad was a great dancer and he and my mom would get dressed up and go dancing every Saturday night at the Moose Lodge. We would have big family cookouts that always involved my aunts and uncles having a few highballs and sitting around in lawn chairs for hours singing - silly songs, Irish songs, patriotic songs, songs from popular movies – they had a blast. Music looked fun.”
“I was lucky, growing up how and when I did, when radio was still great. We’d ride the bus to school with the radio blaring and on the way, you’d hear Bowie, into the Ohio Players, Jessi Colter into Sweet, War into Elton John and wrap it up with a Glen Campbell, Linda Rondstadt... or maybe a little Disco Tex and The Sex-O-Lettes. All that incredible song writing...radio and music was exciting - how could you not want to start a band?”
Inspired to play and sing by her older brother Tony - “He had a real nice voice and touch on that acoustic guitar. Who wrote good songs too and took me out to a couple coffee house shows where, I guess, I got the bug...”- Eileen borrowed his guitar and wrote her first song at the age of 14. “It was predictably about a boy I thought was dreamy...”, she laughs. Around the same time, she discovered Kate Bush, and taught herself to sing by trying to emulate her and started sitting in with local bands here and there. When she finished high school, Eileen went off to college and began to study criminal law. But the inclination to write and sing was too strong, and she quit to pursue her passion. Using just her first name, which is Eileen-Rose (“Giadone is hard to remember and tough to pronounce”) Eileen started a band and cut her teeth in the Boston music scene. Her first musical venture was a self-released acoustic folk album with her band, Daisy Chain which would eventually grow into her first signed band, Fledgling.
“We did well, for a local band, though not as well as some. Still, I remember walking into Tower Records on Newbury Street and seeing a big poster for our record on their wall. Pretty thrilling the first time that sort of thing happens to a musician. Makes you think your songs might be REAL songs”.
GT: Hi Eileen, I would like to start out by mentioning how intrigued we are with your style of music. In addition, is your belief in yourself and motivation. There are some similarities with other artists, but there are too many that are passive. Willing to give up way to early. What is your viewpoint?
Eileen: Hello. Thank you for including me in your cool mag. The idea of “giving up” never really crosses my mind in that it would mean giving up who I am. I love what I do. I spent twenty years living in London, making records, touring Europe, and the US, over and over, then another fifteen years in Nashville playing four-hour shows (no breaks), five or six shows a week on Lower Broadway. I can’t quit. I’m just starting to get good. Ha ha!
I’m grateful that my years of dues-paying were fun and exciting. I’ve always known I was a lifer, not a tourist. However, I do have a lot of compassion for musicians and artists who abandon the pursuit of finding a bigger audience. It. Is. Tough. These days, you must spend WAY too much time doing things you’re not interested in, that aren’t really about your art.
It’s true that with the advance of home recording set-ups and digital releases, the “gatekeepers” are disempowered in terms of recording and releasing music to the greater public – and that’s a very good thing. But now, musicians must be adept at creating artwork, photos, videos, booking, and, dear God, social media. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong, I love people, I love chatting, I love cute videos of dogs and funny clips of people falling. But I don’t want to spend half my day posting “content” and coming up with witting little snippets of nonsense to keep followers engaged – I’d rather be writing songs. But that’s the requirement now if you want to connect and keep people interested in your work. I’d like a club to book me because of my talent and ability to hold an audience, not the number of followers I have on Instagram. I do understand that venues are struggling badly these days, which is a shame. They need full rooms to stay in business. But I do wonder how young performers are ever going to get the chance to learn their craft when they’ve got to focus on so many things that have nothing to do with performing. And if they don’t, they’ll never get the chance to perform. It’s kind of a mess.
But yeah, I like to say that on the day they bury me, I hope I’m missing a gig.
GT: What will you do with that song when you find it? This question is a bit more involved. That is, if you really get the sense of it.
Eileen: Not to be cocky, but I’ve found “that song,” as in written it, a few times now. If I understand your question correctly. Have they become hits? No. But I refuse to think less of them because they haven’t made me rich.
When I moved to Nashville, to work locally (when I wasn’t out touring my own material), I had to shed for about year and put some work in. Not only on my playing – Nashville is the best musical bootcamp on the planet – but to learn hundreds of traditional country songs to play and sing. I dove headfirst into a deep pool of songwriting craft that blew my mind. I learned SO much as a songwriter and singer. I also learned, quickly, that there are hundreds of spectacular, poignant, gut punching, heartbreaking, uplifting, profound, cinematic pieces of songcraft that never charted, never sold and barely found an audience. I dug them up like rare jewels and they inspired me beyond belief. So much of it is luck and timing. And that’s the truth.
I keep writing and I keep trying to get better. Maybe one day the planets will align, my work will be heard and loved on a big scale, and I’ll slide into my little spot in the canon. Maybe it won’t happen while I’m still walking the earth. But I hope it does.
GT: I believe you have your head in the game. Which will help ensure your success in the music industry. No one has that one formula for guaranteed success. However, there is a pattern that you must follow to give yourself that opportunity. Have you found the tools and resources that will enable you to succeed?
Eileen: I’ve found many tools. Here is an incomplete list: Define and embrace your own version of success, stay curious, work hard, listen, take risks, learn from the young, steal from the greats, find the radiators, avoid the drains, every audience deserves your best performance, remember it’s called PLAYING for a reason, consider yourself both deserving and lucky, and don’t be a jerk.
GT: What is the biggest drawback from working in the music industry? How have you been able to counteract it?
Eileen: The biggest drawback of the music industry is inherent in its name. There is an antithetical clash in commodifying artistic expression. I’m not saying that musicians, writers, actors, dancers, painters don’t deserve to be paid for their work. But the creation of great art is not dependent on a dollar sign. It would exist regardless of its ability to be sold. But then, you got put that piece of your heart into the machine, if you want to make a living. And the machine has teeth. I haven’t found a way to counteract it. I just keep gritting my teeth and doing it.
GT: What kind of feedback do you get from your fans? Do you ever receive negative vibes from them?
Eileen: I’ve got to say, I get fantastic feedback from my fans. Every once and a while, as female player, I’ll get that certain kind of male “fan” who wants to explain to me how to better voice a chord, or critiques my strumming pattern, or something like that. Yes, I know I have a hole in my guitar. I like it. I’m proud of it. That’s thousands of hours of strumming like I mean it. I respect highly skilled, disciplined players. But there’s something to be said for wild abandon. And for forgetting rules that have no business being in my head in the first place. Remember, it’s called PLAYING for a reason.
“The biggest drawback of the music industry is inherent in its name. There is an antithetical clash in commodifying artistic expression.”
GT: We can only expect positive comments from your fans and audience. If they do not, then they are not worth your time. You are extremely gifted, and you need to focus on that.
Eileen: That’s very kind. In truth, I really do want to give my fans something meaningful that adds value to their lives. About criticism, I grew up with eight brothers and sisters. I can take an emotional punch. And I’m excellent at ignoring that which attempts to drag me down.
GT: Writing in general takes creative thinking. Painting a vivid image, is important. It helps readers, or hearers get the sense of the message. How do you incorporate metaphors in your music? Also, do you find it difficult?
Eileen: I find that if I keep a sincere, inspired channel open when I’m in the process of writing, then the metaphors just come. They’re all around, just waiting to be plucked from the ether. The hard part is recognizing when you’ve grabbed something that’s been overused or is just plain lazy. Equally, sometimes you’ve got to let a beautiful but simple song be and not try to reinvent the wheel with every line. You can get so hung up in critiquing that you stunt your own process. I’ve choked a lot of songs with self-doubt before they’d even had a chance to breath.
GT: Tells us about your instruments of choice, and why?
Eileen: I play piano, harmonica (and to be honest, I play them both like a “songwriter,”) and as for guitar, it’s me and my mahogany top, 000-15 Martin all the way, baby. And has been for years.
GT: Where do you perform regularly, or where can fans come to see you perform live?
Eileen: I perform as a full band when I can but more often tour as a duo with my husband, guitar virtuoso, The Legendary Rich Gilbert. He is a jaw-dropping guitarist and pedal steel player. He’s also a stunning songwriter/composer with a long history of his own highly beloved bands and records. (www.thelegendaryrichgilbert.com)
For the last few years, we’ve been touring in Europe more than the US because I’ve been more successful at finding an audience there. In fact, I’m off on tour in Europe next week. I’ll be in The Netherlands, then Italy (my favorite place in the world) and then to my old stomping grounds, England. I play lots of shows in the Northeast throughout the years, as I’ve moved to Maine recently. BUT I do have a new record in the can, recorded with my dear friend and fellow artist Andrea Parodi at a fantastic studio in Italy called The Shelter Recording Studio.
The new album is scheduled for a January 2024 release. It was recorded in Italy this past February, featuring a band of world-class Italian musicians, including The Legendary Rich Gilbert, beloved singer/songwriter Bobo Rondelli, other guests include harmonica great Charlie McCoy, Dylan violinist Scarlet Rivera, and Texas singer-songwriter and violinist Carrie Rodriguez.
GT: We really hope the best for you. I want to assure you, that you always have a place to come and speak your mind. If you want to promote your work, just let us know. We always have space in the pages of Guitar Thrills Magazine. Thank you.
