He was a member of various groups, especially from 1991, where he met Donovan, being enclosed on his staff. He then headed a Queen cover band called Mantras, with which he toured Europe. His “Queen project” continued with his band The Slightly Mad. Gabanizza started a fund-raising program to help fight AIDS that was recognized by the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the organization that was founded soon after Freddie Mercury‘s death.

In 2004, Gabanizza became a member of the Vic Elmes band Christie Again. He wrote the song “Meet me at the river” that became a success and featured in the album Christie Again all the hits and more.

In 2007, Gabanizza tried a solo career. His first album, Du bist meine welt, was not successful as expected under the management of Garrelt Danker.

In 2013, Gabanizza released an album of Queen covers, featuring his own composition Freddie Still lives, the royalties of which were donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

In 2016, Gabanizza produced and recorded a self-penned album, Celtic Bridge (Italian way music), a concept album sold well both in Europe and the United States, entering the American download charts top 100.^[1] In Germany, Gabanizza was seen as a fresh pop/Celtic rock style singer, and was compared to great artists as U2 or Angelo Branduardi.^[2] Gabanizza’s version of “Danny Boy“ that was featured on the album gained him a place on the list of best Celtic performers in Italy. In July he appeared in front of 12,000 people at the worldwide event Celtica among others such as Vincenzo Zitello, Katia Zunino, and Celkilt.

His latter album, Roses in the sky, received good reviews in Italy^[3] and entered the download charts having mentions and airplay from Italy to Texas. The album included, Stefano Guidi, Luca Gabanizza, Beppe Peracchi, vocalist Isabel and Max Gabanizza and credits the Yvor Novello recipient Jeff Christie in an advisory capacity. The band toured with Chuck Berry,^[4] Cristiano de André, New Era Mogol and others.

In 2017, he released a single, “Feeding the Waves of War,” a protest song against Trump’s administration, under the management of John Toso which features on Nobel nominee David Swanson’s website^[5].

January 2018, he released a single, “Demons”,^[6] which enclose a cover of the Linkin Park song “One more light”, and donates all the royalties to the 320 change direction, founded by Chester’s Bennington widow Talinda Bennington.

During summer 2018, he was injured in a terrible traffic accident, which forced him to suspend the works of his album “Out of darkness” which features musicians such as Robby Pellati (Ligabue’s drummer), Max Gabanizza (Mauro Pagani’s bass player), Luca Marcìas (Antonella Ruggiero’s guitar player). The mastering of the album is handled by Grammy recipient and multiplatinum L.A. based engineer Don Tyler, who worked among the others with Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond etc.

February 2019 he get back to work and releases another single “I am wrong” which comes along with a cover of Linkin Park’s “The messenger” and reached 69th on the european top 100 indie charts^[7]. In June, he released a single “Come Back to me”, which features the newyorker musician and producer Craig Levy.

In November of the same year, Lorenzo releases a new single, “Straight to the heart” with the same musicians of the album “Out of darkness” and the Mastering by Don Tyler. The single suddenly entered the European Country charts (#4)and the MTV Usa spotify single (#6). The videoclip of the song, directed by Oscar Serio, with Lorenzo himself and the actress Martina Sacchetti, topped at 6th place on the MTV Usa charts.

Links
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lorenzo.gabanizza/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCMIvHMXPAPAYcK_0631qRdw
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/user-170269089
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/6Fg1ym1kW0i8l0X7Csl3BY

1.) What elements and/or characteristics made you say to yourself that you wanted to do music for a living?

I’ve always wanted to be a musician, and I was a singer almost before I could properly speaking. When I was 3 years old I already sung the hits of the time in English, even if my mother’s language is Italian. Try to picture the scene of a small baby singing around YELLOW RIVER or ELOISE… So, I mean, music was always there in my life and it was almost natural that I should try to do it for a living.

2.) Who are your influences/heroes/role models?

Concerning my influences, I have had a lot, and throughout the whole musical spectrum. I could mention Elvis Presley, Barry Ryan, Kincade, Carter and Alquist, Christie, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Southern Comfort, Johnny Rivers, Kate Bush, Edith Piaf, Linkin Park, Neil Diamond, Queen,Glinka, Sibelius, Mia Martini, Tchaikovsky… and on and on. I guess I’m leaving out of the list many more. Truth is that I am convinced each and every artists give his personal touch to your artistic shape, even if you don’t see it. Everyone of those artists gave me something special. Jeff Christie, the desire to make music, Barry Ryan the will to push forward with my technical skills, Freddie Mercury the passion for glamour live events, Edith Piaff and Mia Martini a sort of deepness, and love for interpretation, etc.

3.) If you could compare yourself to an already established artist, who would that be and why? If you don’t like to compare yourself, then music-wise, what separates you from other musicians?

I don’t like to compare myself to other artists, surely not because I think I am quite special or better than them, but simply because I believe each and every artist is part of a greater “ensemble” and each and everyone of us has a spot within which we couldn’t be replaced by anyone else. I guess that if there’s something that “separates” me from other musicians, that thing is just a matter of goals: I could say, “I want to be famous” or “I want to be rich,” or “I want to be the best singer in the world”…Once I did, when I was a young boy in my teens, but as an adult performer, I only desire to run the right path, I mean, be seen and listened to for what I have to tell. If the audience think about my message, if there was a kind of invisible rope between me and the audience, that’s it. This is all what I’m looking for.

5.) How do you prepare yourself to write certain songs? What is your song-writing and recording process?

I don’t prepare myself at all. I see songwriting as a labor of love. Have you ever prepared yourself for something like this? No. I try to keep it as natural and free as possible. Same story with the writing process. Of course sometimes I have to work with a fixed subject, but this is not the natural way for me. You can see me walking, and being suddenly blinded like Saul on the way to Damascus. This is the common way I get inspiration, like I said in a recent interview, if you’ve ever watched “Jazz Singer” with Neil Diamond, that is how it happens to me, when he jumps out of the bed, grab his guitar and compose the beautiful “Love on the rocks” writing down chords on a white paper.

6.) Unfortunately the music industry is full of talented individuals who just don’t get any recognition for their talent and/or hard work. What do you plan to do to make sure you stand out and get noticed? Would you rather be on a major label or would you rather stay independent? Why or why not?

Well, I am not planning to stand out from the crowd, or to be noticed, I am simply being myself, plain and simple and just like a tree, I am giving my fruits. If people like my fruits, they will eat them and will come back to eat more. I don’t care to be or not to be on a major label or not. What I care, is to be part of a group which believe in me and my work. If this group is an independent label, I’m OK with it.

7.) In regards to the music industry itself, do you think that the traditional music industry model as we know it is dead?

I think the music industry has evolved, that’s normal, as society and the world itself has evolved. Undoubtedly the Majors and the music biz people has lost a bit of their touch with the real place where the great music happens, because where music raise, is not besides “well-recognized people in the music business”, but inside dirty slums, cold lonely nights and stinky manufactories.

8.) Are you able to make a living with your music? If so, how were you able to attain a career doing what you love? If not, what do you do in order to fund your music career?

Well, make a living? I live because of my music. This is all that I’m asking for. Money comes and go.

9.) How do you think the internet and social media affected the music industry and how musicians are able to market themselves? Social media is obviously an extremely important element in today’s world, especially when it comes to business, branding, marketing, etc. With that being said, do you think an artist will be able to survive in today’s music industry if they’re not social media savvy?

I think that the internet is giving to the artists just the illusion to be more exposed. If 10,000 people says “look at me”, you will surely lose someone in the middle… There are of course positive sides on technologies, but I see it coming along with a counterpart: today an artist has a lot of tools on the net to reach his audience, but in the other hand, the crowded field and the dumbness of majors labels are likely to sink him in the flood. You have to push the right buttons… It’s not a matter of cleverness, it’s just a matter of luck.

10.) Artists who try to make music for the general public and make more money are usually seen as “sell-outs.” Do you see it that way and if so, what do you plan to do to make sure your music stays true to your brand and make a good living at the same time without having to “sell out”?

It’s a choice. And it’s not so obvious that it may be the right one. You could end up burned, artistically speaking. However, I don’t like to judge my colleagues. As far as I’m concerned, I will always write the music I love and feel, no matter what the audience may think about it. I guess this is because of the starting point: in my view, I have a message to share and this message can be loved or not, but it flows just as it is.

11.) What are the positives and negatives of the music industry? What is it about the music industry that makes some artists push forward? What do you think makes some artists quit?

Well I see positives and negatives of the music industry as the two faces of the same coin. I mean, everybody knows that with the internet implemented, all the matter for an artists have become easier: lots of platforms, who help them gain exposure, or freelancers and agencies who claim to have deals with majors, etc. But in the end, I would say that this crowded field makes what once was a jungle even a worse and more dangerous jungle, where the talent is likely to get lost or suffocated by the noise of incompetence. Today, for a young artist, it’s more difficult then it was in the Elvis Presley’s times, e.g. Can you imagine today, a young truck driver writing to SONY, WB, etc.? He would receive the same old answer: we don’t accept unsolicited material… To understand the extent of the damage, try to figure out a world without Elvis or The Beatles… I don’t think there is something in the industry that makes some artists push forward. They just push because they believe that they have something to say. On the other hand, they quit for thousands of reasons. Lack of self-confidence, troubled lives and rents to pay.

12.) What trends do you see staying or going?

Is there anything staying? Trends are temporary by nature. In the music world, we just have to look behind and we see things coming and going, returning under other names, or different with the same name. Just think about the genre Shuffle.

13.) With so many people online who are expressing their opinions on any and everything under the sun, how do you know when to take something as constructive criticism or when to see it as trolling?

First of all by the respect. Someone making constructive criticism criticizes something in your production to get you on a higher level, not to bring you down. This is a good start. I should add that, after 40 years in the music biz, I can smell the trolls 🙂

14.) If you were to advise an up and coming musician on how to get more fans, what advice would you give them?

The only useful advice I could give to young musicians, is to keep pushing, no matter what, if they are sure about their craft. But knowing it will be a path of kicks, slaps, frustration, blood, sweat and tears. Playing live as much as possible. Live gigs are the backbone of any successful career. It’s not necessary to fill Wembley Stadium, but it’s enough to keep your name on the spotlight, making shoutouts with social medias, writing letters to editors, blogs, magazines. Be active. Don’t stop.

15.) Professionally, where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Playing my music on the American stages. Plain and simple.