As a producer, Fabrizio Grossi has worked with some of the biggest names in the business with the likes of Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Steve Vai all listed on Grossi’s impressive CV. Add into this his successful works as a songwriter & bass player with Supersonic Blues Machine and its easy to see that life is pretty full on for this Italian born, Californian based multi-talented musician, song writing, producer.
But now it’s time for Fab to step forward, front and centre with his latest project, Soul Garage Experience, as their debut album ‘Counterfeited Soulstice Vol 1’ emerges from the studio & mixing desk to be laid bare to the world, and you can read our review to see just how good we think it is. Picking out some of those fabulous soul, funk & blues vibes from the early 70’s, the album is a feel-good collection of tracks that pull in influences from a whole range of genres.
The Rockpit managed to get some quality phone time with Fabrizio to discuss the creation of the album as well as the pressure of fronting that band even after being diagnosed with a chronical vocal cord condition when much younger, as well as finding out just what it was like growing up in Italy and what were the musical influences he was exposed to as a child…
Sean: Hi Fabrizio, it’s Sean from The Rockpit over in Perth, Australia. How are you doing?
FG: Hey Sean, great thank you. Did you want us to put our cameras on?
Sean: Fab, it’s 7am here in Perth and I never look my best at this time of the day [laughs]
FG: Its 4 o’clock in the afternoon and I don’t look my best either [laughs]
Sean: Firstly, congratulations on the new album, ‘Counterfeited Soulstice Vol 1’. It has been on in my house all week and is just giving off such a feel-good vibe.
FG: Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate it.
Sean: I read in the press release that you wish that it had been recorded back in the early 70’s, and it certainly has that feel about it in places. It’s got that real 70’s funky vibe alongside some real cool blues rock.
FG: Once again, thank you so much. That’s very kind. Its funny though because everyone who is liking the record says the same thing – They are saying its such a fun record and yes, it is maybe fun on the musical end but for everything the record is fun but its certainly not a party record. I wouldn’t say Rage Against the Machine but we’re not that far. Obviously, it’s not that aggressive, especially in the words even though they may share the same meaning. Here in the U.S. quite often people disregard the lyrics…not disregard, it’s the wrong word, they learn them to sing along but they don’t always pay attention. I like that the music is friendly & appealing so that people listen to the project and then getting confronted with the lyrics and then hopefully understanding what we are trying to say. The songs back then (in the 70’s) more than today kind of had that like story telling element to them. Its not necessarily my cup of tea but one of the greatest song writers ever, Bob Dylan would have a story within the song. If you transfer that to the world of blues rock and your kind of, get where we are going. My main influences going to this stuff were people like Bob Marley, James Brown not necessarily for the lyric… Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and there was always something political but always in a certain way and it was always positive in the end. These songs on the album don’t shy away from the subject. As long as people like it then I’m ok with that because any kind of liking is good.
Sean: You mentioned Bob Marley there and certainly the latest single ‘Ain’t Giving Up Now’ has that prominent reggae bluesy feel to it and it kind of reminds me a bit of Clapton’s ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ a bit too.
FG: That will be because back in the day there was a lot more definition between the styles whereas now there is a lot of cross overs between the genres like pop and hip hop. Yes, back then there was rhythm & blues and soul, rock and jazz, well if you think about it people like Clapton played different across those genres at times. If you get to hear the music, I’m referring to then you get an immediate idea of what it could be, because that’s what it is. At the end of the day most of the songs on the record, apart for the ones with the funkier arrangements, have the basics of blues tunes. They are blues progressions.
Sean: I love ‘Shit Load of Sugar’. It’s a track I keep coming back to with its funky edge and wonderful guitar solo. One thing I’ve really noticed is the superb harmonica work throughout this album.
FG: Thank you so much. I can really tell you have had a proper listen to this album, so thank you. The harmonica has always been such a misunderstood instrument and its kind of my gateway to the blues world. Sometimes with instruments such as the harmonica or the lap steel can bring in elements of certain genres like southern rock, but sometimes with out those enhancers or enzymes its difficult for people to connect to them being all rhythm & blues or soul songs because there are some many things going on. But they are all coming for the same place and that is why I wanted those instruments in there as kind of like guidelines for the listener to know its blues, rock, soul, Americana, whatever you want to call it, but its roots are in that way. I love the harmonica when it is treated this way. There are some songs from the 80s & 90s where the harmonica is nice and clean sounding, high pitch and all that… I don’t like that, and it turns me off. We worked hard on that and getting that sound right and I’m so glad people like it.
Sean: It’s an instrument I’ve always wanted to play and when I did pick one up, I suddenly realised you have to blow and suck [laughs]
FG: [laughs] Yes, its not like a kazoo.
Sean: You have assembled some wonderful artists to join you on the album but one I’m not too familiar with is Diimond Meeks. What an incredible vocalist!
FG: He’s phenomenal. I’ve known him for almost fifteen years now and have been working with him since he was a finalist on American Idol and then he did America’s Got Talent. He’s got his own story too with CeeLo Green and with Sony Music and he is a phenomenal, phenomenal singer. He comes from a gospel music background with his family and upbringing. Even his organ chops are incredible. As a singer, I just don’t know what to say… he is a different level. You have guitar players then you have Steve Vai… well, you have singers then you have this guy [laughs]
Sean: Well, I read in the press release that the Soul Garage Experience is very much “balls out” for you and that you have nowhere to hide being that you are very much front & centre on this project. Does that increase the pressure on you as a songwriter & performer?
FG: You know what… [laughs] I would say it takes a lot of faith after everything I’ve been doing and at this point in my life to do a change like that because back in my late teens, I was diagnosed with a vocal cord condition and because of that I never pursued anything more than talking with my voice. I never really considered developing those skills and everything because I knew I had this situation that would not allow me to do these things fully. With my other band, Supersonic Blues Machine, since I had been writing most of the music I always prepared the songs, either demos or documented and all of that and so I found myself singing those things… and again, I never really considered that singing, more just documenting like when I take down fresh notes on my iPhone but when Soul Garage Experience was going to become a full reality I wanted to get a full time singer and I had a couple of different choices. So when I was compiling the record, some of the songs are older songs like for example ‘Them & Me’, ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ which goes back… oh my god, something like eight years now but also there are some songs there that were covid songs and some that belonged to the batch of tunes I prepared for our new up & coming record for Supersonic Blues Machine but I felt they weren’t really suited to Supersonic Blues Machine but that they were something else that was trying to get out of me which was more like the record you have been listening to. So, some of the newer songs I kind of went in and sang them because I already had the words down and I don’t know… I kind of just put them down without thinking that I needed to do them perfectly because I just wanted to do the best demos possible for the alleged singer to be able to take it all in and just go for it. Because I’m not a trained singer I just wanted to try to go for the vibe so when I played them to my friends and to my wife… in fact it was Billy Gibbons that said, “Why don’t you sing it?” I was like, “No, dude this is just a demo. I was just trying to deliver the message.” And Billy said, “Well, that’s all it has to do.” So, I was like, “OK” so I decided to go back in a re-sing a couple of tracks and that’s really how the whole situation developed. So yes, there was a lot of pressure, but it was a challenge I am so glad to have taken on because so far it seems to be bringing good things around the record. I also think that when you are the best musician in the band or the room then it’s time to change band or change the room because you are never going to grow more than that. Doing it this way, everyone else is ahead of me so I just need to try to keep up with these guys [laugh]
Sean: [laughs] Well, I’m pretty greedy when it comes to music so I’m already looking forward to Volume 2, which hopefully won’t be too far behind.
FG: For sure there will be a Volume 2. There already is enough material to do a second and even third volume. I can definitely promise a Volume 2, but I cannot promise a chronological release of it. This one (Vol 1) was an extramarital affair that was about twenty-five or thirty years in the making and my other commitment is with Supersonic Blues Machine, however now it seems its not as difficult to do it once you decide to do it. It might give me the opportunity to develop or explore a couple of other things I have on my mind but Volume 2 and 3 will be very much a continuation of what you are hearing now. It won’t be different so when you hear it, you’ll be saying, “Oh my god what is he doing now?” [laughs] With what’s in my head now it could very well be like that [laughs] but we will see how it goes.
Sean: Is this something you are hoping to take out on the road?
FG: Yes, of course. Its very hard now because one day you hear of a big festival announced and then two days later it is cancelled but we are hoping between Christmas and Spring of next year we will be out to do some justice to the record.
Sean: I’m very interested to find out where music first came into your life. Obviously, Italy was home as a child growing up but was it a musical household?
FG: Absolutely not. It’s a long story but I will give you the short version [laughs]. I had my uncle who was a pianist, he was an incredibly good pianist actually and he wanted to teach me the piano but back then, I’m talking about junior high, I wanted to play guitar because I thought it looked way cooler but other than my uncle, nobody in my family played anything. Don’t get me wrong, everybody loved music and arts and all of that, but nobody was a professional artist or musician of anything like that.
Sean: So, what was the music you were hearing around that time?
FG: My mum, my natural mum passed away when I was eleven years old, she used to have the radio on all day and back then, as well as Italian music they were playing stuff from the 50’s and 60’s and it was great. I loved that kind of stuff and still do today. You can hear a lot of those influences on a lot of soundtracks from movies and it very particular and it has that real retro feel but back then it wasn’t retro [laughs] because it was going on at the time. On the other hand, getting down to the international music there were French singers like Charles Aznavour and that kind of stuff, but it was also Sly & The Family Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Tina Turner, that kind of thing so that was kind of a big, big, big thing for me because I did not know anything like this. Zero! I didn’t know what any of these people looked like, what they were doing, what a guitar was, what a piano was, what drums were… but I loved the sound! Then my mum gave me my first two singles – one was The Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’ and the other was The Beatles ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’. I remember the very first record I bought with my own money, with my weekly allowance was Bob Marley’s ‘Babylon by Bus’ and that was a major cornerstone for me. I also remember watching a TV show in Italy that was on every Saturday night which was like a variety TV show with lots of guest & dancers & music & actors, that kind of thing. Well one night the guest was James Brown, and it was his first ever performance in Italy. He was on for fifteen minutes and played something like three songs, you can find the footage on YouTube, and when I saw that show I still remember it now, I was four and half years old. It was shocking because from that moment on, every Saturday night I wanted to watch this show hoping that that guy would come back on. I didn’t know anything about him, about where he was from or anything like that. After a few weeks Tina Turner showed up and that just sold it for me. Then all the rock thing with bands like Black Sabbath, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, AC/DC and all of that… incredible. But even though I ended up picking up and playing bass and I started to become more of a musician and then my transition into production I will always be more associated to rock, hard rock or even borderline metal for a lot of my work, my passion has always been soul, blues, funk, that kind of Americana rather than the folky country stuff, but more like The Allman Brothers kind of vibe. So, if you put that all together you kind of get all that is in this record. Its not only that because being raised in Italy we were also getting a lot of music from the rest of Europe, especially the UK and there is that urban element to it kind of like the educated punk – those punk bands that kind of became that wave of almost pop like Duran Duran those sort of artists and mainly The Clash and I think besides Bob Marley always being one of my favourites I think it was more the reggae feel that The Clash embraced more than Marley that really got me closer to the sound I have now. Marley had the sun – he was having high doses of vitamin D coming from the Caribbean – so even though what he was saying might be harsh, it was delivered in a different way. Those other cats from the harder industrial towns were maybe saying a similar thing but the delivery was going to be totally different. If you take a mid-60’s blues band from the States you have a particular kind of sound, especially in the South but if you go to the UK and try to get the same then you get Black Sabbath. For me Black Sabbath were the ultimate English Blues band, I don’t want to hear from anybody “Oh, but they invented heavy metal!” Sure, yes, they went crazy but that’s what they were. So, it was definitely those European elements that helped me merge these sounds to come up with this album.
Sean: What an incredible collection of bands & genres to build from too. Well, I’ve already taken up so much of your time Fab so if I may wind up with a few of my regular questions just for a bit of fun.
FG: But of course.
Sean: If you could invite three people from the music world, dead or alive, just to join you for an evening around the dinner table, who would you have join you?
FG: Three? We’ll unfortunately I think that they may be all dead. Fortunately, there are some that I would like to do this with that I already do this with [laughs] some of my best friends like Steve Vai and Billy Gibbons, we often have our hanging time together, so I don’t want to waste the opportunity because I’m already blessed to do that. So, some of the best ones I would like to have at my table would be Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix & Frank Zappa.
Sean: That’s a pretty cool group right there. What was the last album you listened to Fab?
FG: In full? Full album?
Sean: Yes, or it could be some tracks from a particular album. I just like to know what you’ve been listening to lately.
FG: Well I suppose because of work I’ve been listening to my album a lot [laughs] however I would say on my iPod or the most common things that come up will be the latest one from Black Pumas, Fantastic Negrito, Vintage Trouble, The Black Keys, U2 and one that keeps sneaking up on my phone is AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’.
Sean: Wow, that’s quite an eclectic collection right there. Love Vintage Trouble. I’ve saved the easiest question until last. If you could be credited with writing any song ever written, what song would you chose?
FG: One song, I can’t. It would have to be three songs – ‘Get Up Stand Up’ by Bob Marley, ‘One’ by U2 and ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ by Procol Harum.
Sean: What a fantastic selection of songs – brilliant! I’ll add them to my playlist. Fab, thank you so much for your time this afternoon. Its be an absolute pleasure to talk to you. We’d love for people to check out the album so where can we find out more?
FG: Thank you Sean. There are the websites www.fabriziogrossi.com or www.soulgarageexperience.com but that’s the hub to our Spotify and our YouTube channel, where you can subscribe & comment and there is Instagram and all of that and of course the more everyone makes noise down there in Australia then the more chance we can have of coming to visit this time around. Since the Supersonic Blues Machine releases, we have started developing quite a following in Australia so as soon as we announced this one, we started getting messages coming in from your beautiful country and hopefully this time we can come down and meet these fine people in person.
Sean: We would love to have you and the band here, so fingers crossed for 2022. From all of us at The Rockpit we wish you well with this Soul Garage Experience album, Fab.
FG: Thank you so much for having me, Sean. Bye.
