GAIA MIRANDA OVERVIEW

Gaia has been playing instruments for 48 years and writing music for over 43 years. In 2010 she was nominated for the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. For the past many years working in studio environments and living in the Southern tier of Western New York, Gaia is finally re-entering the live performance arena with her own original music after having performed many years ago doing cover music in the Western New York area. She has composed over 150 songs that are uniquely her own style. Her song material delves into the inner sanctum of human emotions and struggles, some happy, some sad but all are riveting. Both rhythmic and inventive her guitar playing is virtuosic. Coupled with a hauntingly beautiful and powerful vocal style the combination is mesmerizing. Gaia's songbook is full of surprises culminating in over 150 well crafted songs.

Listeners have likened her voice/vocal to the fabulous Nico from the Velvet Underground of many years ago. Gaia also works with Tammy Shannon (original songwriter/singer), Alison Voight (percussionist) and Rebecca Yacobucci (lyricist/vocalist) on occasion. When working together they give full body to many of the pieces and have been described as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young spirited. Gaia worked for 32 years with Greg Switala a remarkable lead guitarist who recently passed 10/12/08. Greg's memorial website is located at http://www.gregswitala.com where pictures and sound clips can be seen and heard.

REVIEWS:

From the Yahoo's Associated Content Entertainment Section

Gaia Miranda "All in Time" CD Review 02/16/2011 by Joseph Militello

"All in Time is a Melancholy Musical Masterpiece" 

1st track "All In Time" has a really great intro, I enjoy listening to the
skillfully fingerpicked acoustic guitar intro, the song has a nice,
flowing, melancholy feel to it, it reminds me of a Fleetwood Mac type of song
but it still has a unique sound and feel all it's own.

All In Time" contains some very well played lead guitar playing provided by
Pat Travers. Pat Travers has been entertaining audiences and releasing top
quality Rock n Roll music since the 70's. "All In Time" is a great opening track.

"Heart of Mine" highlights the unique vocal stylings and talented, excellent,
acoustic guitar playing of Gaia Miranda. Her voice is reminiscent of K.D. Lang
and Tracy Chapman at times. This track has the classic sound and feel of a song
you may have heard on FM radio, or maybe even AM radio, in the 70's.
Think "Soft Rock" in a James Taylor type vein.

The 3rd track "Keep on Runnin" is an uptempo Rock n Roll song
with a unique and somewhat mesmerizing electric guitar intro which doesnt
last very long before the song bursts into a full-out Rockin' tune, this song
features some excellent lead guitar playing by Eron Chambers.

"You Know it's Spring" is another nice, melancholy, mellow song that features
Gaia's unique and soaring vocal phrasing accompanied by another, well executed
and well played acoustic guitar track.

The 5th song, "The Lone Zone" is another uptempo rocker that features
some powerful drumming by Sean Shannon and more excellent lead guitar by
Eron Chambers. The guitar pick scratches sound cool on this rockin' track.

"The Sun is High" is reminiscent of "Heart of Mine" and "You Know It's Spring"
featuring a solo Gaia on acoustic guitar and vocals.

The final track, "Sweetest Part of Heaven (RoughCut)" strikes me as a
Christmas ballad for a former or lost love or maybe a tribute to a lost family member,
either way it's a great closing track featuring Gaia on electric guitar and vocals.

You can more find info on Gaia on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook!
"All In Time" is a winner, pick up your copy online on Gaia's website
or directly @ Buffalo NY's Record Theater today!

Thank You Gaia!

- Joseph Miltello

From the Buffalo News Gusto "TELL ME" 01/01/2010 by Mary Kunz Goldman

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/01/01/909687/tell-me.html

(Photo Credit) Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News
Gaia Miranda hosts open mic Wednesdays at the CPG.

TELL ME
A little Q & A
Updated: January 01, 2010, 6:26 am / 0 comments
Published: January 01, 2010, 12:30 am

GAIA MIRANDA’S open mic is becoming a weekly tradition at the Central Park Grill (2915 Main St.), the historic North Buffalo tavern. Gaia, as her license plate reads, was born in Lackawanna and grew up in Eden. She has a quietly commanding presence. On a typical night, she will sing her own songs, solo, and then invite other musicians to the bandstand. Gaia’s open mic begins at 9:30 p. m. Wednesdays at the CPG. She will be holding a rare matinee session there from 2 to 5 p. m. on Jan. 9. Go for the bar’s famous wings or beef on weck —or just have a beer and listen to Gaia’s music, which has been called haunting and intense. Call 836-9466.

You started playing the CPG in 2004.What do you like about it?

It’s a real great place, people-wise. That brick wall behind the stage, that’s a great sound-reflection-type thing. The way the back room is closed off from the rest of the bar, you can get that quiet setting sometimes. I appreciate that. I love playing other places, too. I loved playing the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. When I’ve played at Nietzsche’s, when fewer people are there, I’ve liked that, too.

I don’t like it when things get loud. For my music, if I’m trying to take a song, which is melancholy in some cases, and try to shout and be louder, get it over the roar of the crowd— that’s what people go to bars for, to meet their friends and talk—it sometimes occurs to me that I’m in their way. Because I’m not ZZ Top. I’m not a rock ’n’ roll band. I’m a single artist. To appreciate what I’m doing, you have to have that quieter atmosphere.

Tell us about your musical background.

I have a real deep appreciation of classical music. I was basically a very sickly child—I spent a month in the hospital at a time. I had respiratory issues, a collapsed lung. I was up in the [Our Lady of Victory] way back when, and I said I wanted a guitar for Christmas. I was in the hospital at the time, and my mother brought a Mickey Mouse guitar to me. I said, “I see that on TV. It’s a toy.” At the time I was 5. At 6 I started guitar lessons. My mother rented me a guitar.

People have called your music haunting and they also liken you to Nico from the Velvet Underground.Did you intend it that way?

The majority of my songs are a sad theme. I have no idea why. I’m most passionate about the sadder songs. Because of that, I’m a niche player. You wouldn’t want to invite me to your birthday party to play mu-sic. I do like the reverb when I’m singing, sometimes I cut the voice short or slur the note up or down. I do get long-standing notes that people have said I have a very powerful voice. People at the CPG ask me to learn some songs from Velvet Underground that Nico sang, that they heard, “All Tomorrow’s Parties.” I’d actually sing that with a German dialect to it.

You must have some ad-ventures at open mic.

You’d be surprised. Once this guy walks in, signs up, we get him up there, he turns out to be the past guitar player for the Four Tops. He was absolutely fantastic. You never know who’s going to show up. Some nights it’s slow. But when it’s slow I get to play more.

\I get kind of enjoyment from watching people come in who are shy — I try to give them positive criticism, because they’re not used to playing in front of people. After a year of them coming around, you watch them blossom into a performer. Dali’s Ghost— when they first came into the bar they weren’t using that name, every week it would be a different name. Now they’ve played in the Square, gotten really big gigs. But they got started here.

What’s it like on a night when everything goes right?

If you can really close your eyes and feel the music, feel the emotion coming from it—all music has emotion, whether it’s joy or sadness, if it’s whimsical, whatever. If you can feel that when you’re doing it, you’re able to be more expressive in the correct ways so balance is right where you need it to be— if you’re in tune, that balance is there, you can go forward with that.

—Mary Kunz Goldman

From the 2005 Buffalo News Gusto article on the Central Park Grill:

"An open mic, led by a guitarist named Gaia, happens Wednesday nights. Tall, slim and no-nonsense, wearing a stiff red leather jacket, Gaia ran a tight ship the night I stopped in. Gaia plays first; you have to get there around 9:30 p.m. to catch her act. One of my friends has, and he confesses he's awed. She sounds as if she's channeling something, as if someone is speaking through her, he says." MKG

Written by an anonymous writer/listenercritic at Nietzsche's while performing on 3/14/05 Songwriter Spotlight

"She Plays"

The crowd is small. The music is live. I write. I drink. Her lyrics are muted, but her voice haunts. My mind quiets, it is moved. My pen stops. I listen. Her guitar work is subtle, darkness edges her voice, a voice that calls the clouds, she rolls them in. They begin to rain. Each drop increasing, they are growing steady, increasing. The rain washes away the ink from my pages. Her rain is cleansing the souls at the bar, they are watching her performing. Her voice is freeing them, washing the filth from them. They leave, the dirt will return and so will they, to watch her play, for her to call the rain. Her fingers glide down the neck of the guitar, her voice deepens into each note. Stillness fills the bar, the stools are turned around. Watching the once young hands moving with ageless beauty and experience. The sky yields. The water comes. The few fans are dancing, splashing, they are refreshed. She is sweating. She is nervous. She feels the weight of her duty. The inductions are slow and shy. Her fingers remain at ease. She steps away from the microphone, it can not handle the emotion she is emitting. The crowd deepens. More people walk into the misting shower. She is calling the rain for them. They await the cleansing storm.
She plays.

BIOGRAPHY

Receiving her first guitar at the age of 6 on Christmas, weekly lessons soon started. At age 8 she was prompted to do the Uncle Jerry's show on WBEN-TV, performing the "Singing Nun" with piano accompaniment. By the age of 10, Carl Bessing her teacher, decided to start her on the Carcassi Classical Guitar method, (she later went on to study the spanish classical style).

At age 11, Gaia studied the Bb Coronet for one year with Robert Kromer, who was a 1st seat Navy Band member at the time. She would later acquire a Bb flute as well, trying to learn it on her own.

At age 12 Gaia was introduced to the Cello by a Buffalo Philharmonic violin performer, James Diehl, who was teaching all stringed instruments in his top rated program at her high school. She went on to be 3rd seat cellist in All-state orchestra for several years, performing the highest grade compositions for her audition, "The Swan" by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns, "The Roman Carnival" by Hector Berlioz, and the "William Tell Overture" by Gioacchino Rossini.

Gaia also studied drumming at age 12 with a local marching group, she went on to be the lead drummer attaining a 1st place trophy for her performance and ability. 12 was also the age at which she wrote her first music compositions both for piano and guitar. These came to her while she was a participant in a band called "The Flag" which primarily did Beatle's material and a few Rolling Stones songs.

By age 14 Gaia studied Music Theory classes I, II and III and by her fourth year of high school studying Music Composition (Fredonia Prep) taught by Gertrude Gangi, attaining an average high enough that she was exempted from the Regents exam at the end of that class year. After school she and several of her classmates/friends had formed a group that was experimenting with the original music that she had been writing.

After graduation Gaia was approached by a percussionist Alison Voight, who she quickly became friends with and then became a member of a cover band named Salsa where she played keys on the Fender Rhodes Suitcase Piano. (Gaia later reunites with Alison in 2005 upon her return from California)

Gaia then grouped together with 3 other area musicians; Greg Switala (guitar), Jim Druzbik (keys), Rick Dranger (Drums) which became known as the Raw Fax Band and performed her original music for local private parties.

Then obtaining full employment in the area, Gaia dropped out of the local music scene, only recording personal reference Tapes/CD's, with Greg Switala (guitar), Dan Mills (bass) and Lon Folts (drums). The group played for a few private parties and mostly experimented with a blend of music styles in original works until the fall of 1990. Gaia didn't return again to live performance until December of 2004.

In 2005 Gaia starts hosting the Open Mic at the Central Park Grill until February of 2006 (started again in 2008 until February 2011), while booking gigs in the Buffalo area. After having retired in 2006 from the "Day Job", Gaia started practicing solo pieces once again for the Cello on her own and studied Classical Piano pieces with instructor Jazz Pianist Joe Brancato for a time. She also starts writing new material and building MIDI supported performances as well.

In 2009 and 2010 Gaia appears on Spy Guys TV show several times on local access channel 20 in the Buffalo Area. Rick Rhodes and Norm Skulski host the show which supports and shares local talent with people in the Buffalo area. Norm Skulski invites Gaia to his Sunday WXRL Radio Show on 1300AM "Polish Blood" for interviews and reviews of her songs both on CD and live on the air. Also this is the time when Gaia is invited to perform at the Elmwood Festival of the Arts in 2009 on the Wilson Farms Stage and was reinvited for a return performance there in 2010.

The CD "All In Time" recorded in 2010 was a dream come true, with additions from the legendary Pat Travers on the title track lead guitar, Sean "Cannon" Shannon on percussion throughout the entire work and Eron Chambers on lead guitar for two of the hot rockabilly pieces. Friend and long time supporting musician Tammy Shannon mostly arranged the entire trip with her brother Sean in Apopka Florida at his RED ROOM AUDIO studio.

Currently Gaia is recording in her home studio and has a few pieces finished toward another CD release for later this year in 2011. So far work on the pieces "Endless Sea", "Touch Me" and "Oblivion" has gone well, these being tunes that were written more recently and well recieved by listeners at local shows.

Picture of the home studio. Gear pictured was simplified/downsized and integrated with a PC and a family of the Korg keyboards and sound modules.

Click on the image for the larger view

Using Cakewalk software so that the material can be reproduced on sound modules during live performance, recording or when playing the guitar and singing live, while using a Korg W0/1 Keyboard for live performance.

The rack setup diagram is at right.

Click on the image for the larger view

INSTRUMENT LIST (past and present)

· 1963 3/4 size Melody Maker by Gibson Guitar
· 1968 ES335-TD 12 (diamondback) by Gibson Guitar
· 1971 ES-335 Custom Dot by Gibson Guitar
· 1980's Hagstrom Fretless Bass
· 1981 Flying V2 by Gibson Guitar
· 1990's SG double neck (6& 12 string) by Gibson Guitar
· 1997 Breedlove Master Class Ed Gerhard Signature
· 1997 Blues King Electro by Gibson Guitar
· 70's Neck through the body (butcher block) 12-string by Bently
· 80's Ovation Model 1814 (6 string acoustic/electric folk
· 80's Ovation Model 1815 (12 string acoustic/electric folk)
· 2005 J-185 EC Custom Shop by Gibson Guitar (#109 of 200)
· 2005 CL-50 Custom Supreme by Gibson Guitar
· 2008 SG Diablo in Red Metallic by Gibson Guitar (#555 of 1000)
· 2009 SJ-200 EC by Gibson Guitar
· Silverburst Les Paul Custom 12-String by Gibson Guitar
· 90's Ovation Pinnacle
· 2006 Johnson Jazz Electric
· Pre-Fender JM5 Tacoma made in USA
· Fender Rhodes 73 Suitcase Piano
· Korg DW-8000 Polyphonic Synth
· Korg M1
· Korg W 0/1
· Korg M1R
· Korg M1R
· Korg 0/1R
· Korg M3R
· Yamaha YPG-635 Electric Grand Piano

EQUIPMENT LIST (past and present)

· Marshall AS80R Acoustic Guitar Amplifier
· Marshall AS100D Acoustic Guitar Amplifier
· Roland JC-120 Stereo Chorus Amplifier
· Eurorack MX32
· Stereo DBX Compressors
· Stereo DBX Noise Reduction
· RODE NDK Condenser Microphone
· Shure SM-57 (4)
· Peavey Adverb Processor (St\ereo)
· Ibanez Hamonizer
· Ibanez Digital Delay
· Digitech TSR-24 Processor (Stereo)
· Mackie 800M Power amp
· 15" Peavey Floor Monitors w/horns
· 15" JBL Loudspeakers w/horns

STUDIO's USED

· Red Room Audio - Apopka Fl. http://www.redroomaudio.com
· Select Sound - Elmwood Av. Kenmore, NY http://www.selectsound.com/5543.html
· Squire Recording - Clinton St. Buffalo, NY
· Creative Sound - Rt. 62 North Collins, NY / Memorial website http://www.gregswitala.com