Page 14 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2018 Issue

MH: So, is it fair to say that your music is your voice?

Gabriel: It is. Like I said earlier, when I started playing guitar, I thought, “This is going to be my voice without
having to physically say something.” Unfortunately, not everybody speaks the language of music. So, I had to
train myself how to be a public speaker. That's so scary. Because in reality, we hide behind our desks. We hide
behind our computers. We hide behind our baseball bats. Those become what we try to portray ourselves as.
But ultimately, we're human beings, and if we don't use our voice, then all the work and everything that we're
trying to do goes unheard. The best thing that I've learned is to always speak from the heart. Don't write stuff
down. Don't go by cue cards. Don't go by a speech. Just go up there. Know what you're going to start with and
know what you're going to end with. Other than that, see what happens. That's the way I play music nowadays.
I show up with my musicians and say, "Alright, this is the first song of the night." "Cool, what are we playing
second?" “I have no idea.” And then they're like, "Oh God. Oh no!" We're ducks in a pond the whole night.
(laughing). We look cool on the surface, but underneath, our feet are going a mile a minute. That's the beautiful
spontaneity of it and the “real” of it. Because if you try to rehearse a speech, it's so fake and rehearsed, even
though the audience would never know it. You're not being genuine to yourself. If you're not genuine to yourself
then you have no business speaking and being a positive influence on people. And most people can see through
that. You got to jump head first into the swimming pool knowing that there's no water there and you're gonna
get hurt. And you still jump because you believe in yourself and you believe in it.

MH: That’s a great quote. I really like that. This next question is in two parts: What do you think about
downloading music online? And what's your outlook on the record industry of the past and today?

Photo credit: Marty Haviik