WSM: When did you start writing your own songs? PG: I started creating music at about 15 years of age, but I didn’t begin composing pop-songs, I was too much under the influence of ELP on the rock side and Stravinsky on the classical side. I began to appreciate pop songs from the age of 23 onward. My first hit “Masterpiece” arrived at 25 years of age.
WSM: When did you get involved in the recording and production of music?
rever b! But that PG: At first I couldn’t produce any was all I records by myself, as studio expenses needed to in the ‘80s were too high, so I had to create a get financing from record companies decent through demos I made on a Teac 4sound, track reel-to-reel at home. In the thanks beginning it was really hard to get mainly to any assistance from the record my companies. They told me it was Oberheim ridiculous to even try and make and my records in Italy which were sung in Mini-Moog. English. They told me that I was Because of lack of foolish to try and break into the professional international market and that I should WSM: Dolce Vita, which you wrote interest, “Masterpiece” was pressed resign myself to being an arranger for with Paul Mazzolini, was one of my not by a true record company but a Italian pop-music. I answered that I record distributor, who then shipped favourite songs from the 80's. Tell us would rather starve than to serve the the records to the various record about the synths and the sounds you Italian pop-stars, which I loathed. stores in Italy. Without any real used when recording the track. Eventually I had to find a partner to promotion the record was licensed help me produce. I partnered with a abroad and sold over a million copies! PG: I don’t like the term ‘co-wrote’, it DJ who paid for the studio time The following year (1983) I created can be misleading. I composed, necessary to record “Masterpiece”. the follow-up “I Like Chopin”, which produced, arranged, played and The studio was really small. It had a became a hit worldwide. As far as I mixed the music of Dolce Vita, Tascam 16-track machine with a 16am concerned many record company input mixer of the same make, JBL Mazzolini was limited to writing the people should change jobs! speakers, one delay of which I can’t lyrics and Ryan Paris was the singer. I recall the name and ONE spring am glad that it’s one of your www.WusikSoundMagazine.com
February 2009
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