Interview - Geri X

The latest Geri X release is a remarkable work of art. Showcasing several genres and showing Geri’s unique style. You can read my review of Work Is The Wolf  to see what I thought. I got to ask the artist a few questions. See the full interview below.

You were born in Bulgaria. At what age did you come to the United States and what were the reasons for leaving?

We moved here in October of 2000. My mom was going to school and we took the whole family here. We were about to move to France permanently (I spent half my life in Versailles, but they changed their mind at the last minute)

You started out with classical training in instruments and vocals. What other styles of music influenced you to make the music you make today?

I’m not really sure exactly what influenced me but right now it’s blues and jazz. At the beginning it was the classics, now it’s the oldies.

Your music stretches across a range of genres. Do you think classifying music into a set genre limits the range of people that will hear your music? Would you rather music not be classified?

I do think that genres do limit the audience but they also really help target the right people at the same time. I am guilty of selecting a certain genre on Pandora because it’s what I want to hear now. But some music is difficult to put into one genre and sometimes it hinders a broader audience hearing it because of a country, or rock, or pop stigma when it’s all 3, you know?

Closing your eyes while performing has become a trademark of your performances. How important do you think the emotional connection between the artist and the song is?

I don’t do it to get a reaction or to make a statement. For me as a songwriter, as someone who writes from personal experiences, I need to go back to where I was when I wrote the song, so I close my eyes. The most important part of any performance is the artists’ connection to the song.If there is no connection, then you’re not playing it correctly, and the performance is useless. If you are writing to make people feel something you feel, then you need to do it justice and deliver the feeling and emotion of why it was written in the first place. If you don’t, then it’s just another song, and you’re just another singer.

You have had several releases so far. Do you think each release is a reflection of where you were in your life at that time? Was there ever a release that you felt was more about what you wanted to accomplish as a musician rather than what was going on externally?

Every release I’ve had has been a complete mirror image of my life at the time it was released – that’s why I wrote it. I’ve released 3 records under record labels. It wasn’t so much about wanting to accomplish something more and ignoring the artist connection part, but more about being better and learning and becoming more professional. As much as those releases were polished and professional, they were still my songs and still my vision. I suppose me being a broke ass musician with no resources has made people expect home recordings of me, but I’d like to give my fans good recordings. And the labels gave me that ability. The opportunity to create better things for the people that support me is my number one goal, and the fact that I will always stay true to my music means something greater will come out of it then me just recording on an 8 track in my shoebox apartment.

What are your short term goals and your long term goal for the next few years?

It’s always been the same goal: make a comfortable living through my music and play in front of as many people as I can, and touch their lives. That sounds sappy, but it is the actual truth.

What would you be content with in terms of success in the music industry?

I am content right now. I play music for a living. I have a ton of fans. I have good friends, loving family. I’d love for all of that to grow bigger. I’d love to be able to pay for an oil change or a tire on my car without having to borrow money from my mom haha. But this is still OK, and I’m still living out my dream. Money comes and goes. It’s about the people in your life, not your stupid bank account.