photo: Audrey A. Fitzsimmons
Members of the local band GSol see every gig as an opportunity to polish and explore. Three of the group’s four members live in Tucson. Its fourth, guitarist, vocalist and chief songwriter, Alessandro Circiello, resides in Oakland.
The distance makes it challenging, especially when Circiello is constantly creating new material that can‘t be fleshed out until he arrives. But that same distance gives GSol an energy and rawness during live sets that you might not find with other local outfits, says bassist Neil Diamente.
“(Alex) keeps us on our toes,” he added. “When he shows up, he’s like, ‘Let’s try this’ or ‘Let’s do that’ right away. I find that I’m learning faster, getting better.”
GSol in its current form, a band that incorporates smooth Latin, jazz and soul sounds into its music, is still new to Tucson. Yet its lineup – Circiello, Diamente, Miguel Bazemore on percussion and Anton Shekerjiev on lead guitar – has already played its fair share of local venues and fests, including this year’s Tucson Meet Yourself, since taking shape in May.
Diamente attributes GSol’s quick growth in part to the history that he and Circiello have together. They met in Oakland a decade ago and became fast friends and collaborators, hitting open mics with spoken word poetry and original music.
“I wrote the poems and he was writing songs,” Diamente said. “I would accompany him sometimes with Spanish clay drums, shakers or finger snaps. People dug it.”
The two eventually moved onto careers and families and Diamente left Oakland, first for Chicago and then Tucson.
It wasn’t until 2008, when Diamente decided to take up bass guitar, that they considered reuniting on a musical level, planting the seeds for the band’s current incarnation. Shekerjiev and Bazemore joined GSol earlier this year. Shekerjiev is best known for his involvement with Balkan Spirit and Bazemore is a longtime session musician whose resume includes work with Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Carlos Santana, Randy Travis and Elton John.
Bazemore’s involvement with GSol began with a chance encounter at Sky Bar in May, when Bazemore, on a whim, sat in with his bongos on the band’s set. The connection was instant.
“(Bazemore) has that experience that brings an extra fire to our music,” Diamente said. “It is fascinating to me that he was drawn to what we do.”
Diamente says GSol is still finding its sound. The group is influenced by so many different genres, that the music is constantly changing and taking new directions. Diamente said Circiello comes in a week before GSol’s KXCI “Locals Only” gig on December 5. He looks forward to seeing what kind of musical surprises Circiello has in store.
“You are constantly in a childlike phase (with Alex), where you are learning and figuring out these new sounds,” he said. “There is a real joy that comes with that.”
GSol's December Schedule
Dec. 1, 3 p.m. at Mercado San Augustin, 100 S. Avenida del Convento.
Dec. 1, 5 p.m. at Geronimo Plaza, 820 E. University Blvd.
Dec. 4, 6 p.m. at the BICAS Art Auction. The Art Gallery, 1122 N. Stone Ave.
Dec. 5, 9 p.m. on KXCI (91.3 FM) “Locals Only” radio show
Visit GSol.net for more information.
