INTERVIEW WITH: Gio Levy

During my last visit to Vancity a couple months ago, I checked out the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event, where I got to see some awesome performances, hang out with some cool people, and play with the new phone. One of the performers who took to the stage was local musician Gio Levy, who was the winner of the Galaxy S4 Infinite Possibilities Casting Call.

Gio Levy on the Samsung stage in Vancouver

I recently caught up with Gio over the phone and we had a great chat - check it out:

Q: What have you been up to since the Samsung event?

Gio Levy: I’ve been working on writing as much as I can. The show on August 8^th, I’m trying to raise enough cash to record some music. Yeah, so writing and organizing shows is what I’ve been doing.

Q: I thought that was a great event, how was that experience for you?

GL: It was really cool. I was talking to Jesse Giddings that night, we ended up hanging out there a bit. They offered me a driving service and they didn’t even offer him anything, which was pretty hilarious. I was treated more like a king than Jesse was. He's such a massive rock star, like who is this pretty-looking tall dude? He said he didn’t even get a phone. I got hooked up. Thank you Samsung.

Q: When was that moment you decided you wanted to pursue music as a career?

GL: I used to work in sales and I thought that was the thing for me. I just wanted to have a lot of money. So I did that for a couple years and I had a lot of cash like in my early twenties but I remember waking up in the morning and I hated it. I saved up some money and decided to live off of it and moved back in with my parents to focus on my music. 

Photo via Facebook

Q: Highlight of your career so far?

GL: I had a big show a couple years back. I just recorded an EP and it was the first time I recorded in a studio and I was just being really ambitious and wanted to book a venue before finishing recording all these tunes. And we made it happen. It was awesome.

Where do you find your songwriting inspiration?

GL: I find inspiration through relationships mostly and traveling, inspired just by the experiences you have when traveling and meeting people. It’s mostly interactions. The things I write about are all interactive, whatever happens to me in my life. I also tend to exaggerate. Like I’ll go pick up somebody’s scarf they dropped and as soon as I give it to them I’m like wow, that’s a song right there. The way her hand touched mine even we didn’t touch hands and the way she said goodbye even though she didn’t. I’ll just go on a tangent. I never really know when a song’s going to come, but it just happens spontaneously.

Q: Being from Vancouver, has the west coast influenced you at all as an artist?

GL: I lived in Toronto for three months and I love it over there. It’s so dense with culture. But my influences come from all over the world. So I wouldn’t say that the west coast was a huge influence at least in my song writing. I prefer to be a bit grey if I can help it. I want my music to be international and not have a “west coast” sound.

Q: What role has social media played into where you are today?

GL: Social media has made me who I am. Without it, I would not make it as an artist for sure. Most of my connections are virtual, my fans are virtual and this conversation right now is not even real. Somehow it’s going to show up on a blog. I wouldn’t exist without social media.

Q: Who would you love to collaborate with someday, let's say your top 3?

GL: Bruno Mars, Leona Lewis and Cee Lo Green.

 Be sure to check out his next show coming up on August 8th!

You can find him at www.giolevy.com and on Facebook & Twitter.

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

EVENT | Samsung Galaxy S4 Preview Party

I've left the Toronto hustle and bustle for a two-week trip back to the west coast - but that doesn't mean I'll be putting my blogging on hold. I've got some exciting stuff planned for my Vancouver visit, so stay tuned!

On Thursday I attended the Samsung Galaxy S4 preview party at the Rocky Mountaineer, a cool train station-turned event venue in Vancouver. What made this party unique was that it was happening in two other cities simultaneously across Canada; in Toronto & Montreal. And they were being live-streamed on large screen monitors throughout the night so we could see what was going on.

There were booths set up for the public to see the brand new phone up close and try all of the cool features it offers, which includes:   
- 5-inch screen display
- 13 megapixel camera
- Dual camera - for those moments you're taking a photo and wish you could be in it...now you can!
- Air view & air gestures




Take a look:

Former MuchMusic VJ and west coast native Jesse Giddings hosted the event. I met him back in Toronto and it was nice to chat with him over here in BC.

The musical guest of the night was Canadian indie-pop band Stars, fresh from their Coachella weekend. They played two sets throughout the event and the crowd was loving their fun and energetic performances.

Samsung was also on the hunt for Vancouver talent to share the stage, through the Infinite Possibilities contest. The winner was Gio Levy - such a great voice!

Each city had different musical guests(Walk Off The Earth in Toronto and Dragonette in Montreal), but they all had one in common: Feist was set to appear at all three. At the same time. How does that work exactly, you might ask? Well, a hologram version of the indie-pop singer were presented at each party. It was pretty cool, but definitely not the same as a live show.

Overall, it was a nice welcome back to BC and I had a great time! Thanks for having me Samsung!

Be sure to find out more about the Samsung Galaxy S4 here:  

http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxys4/

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

We Day Toronto 2012 - Part 1

Back in my high school days, I had always wanted to attend We Day but something always got in the way, never allowing me to experience the atmosphere and awesomeness of the event that I've heard all about. So up until last week, I had wondered what I was missing out on and was excited to finally get the chance to check it out - as media though. So, despite the fact that I was no longer a tween on my journey to saving the world, I was still a member of the audience, as a 20-year-old who just wanted to be in the presence of so many amazing speakers and performers.

If you don't already know about We Day, check out this video for some background info:

This year, We Day was expanded to more cities across the country - from Halifax to Montreal and Saskatchewan to Vancouver. And the Toronto event was a great kick-off. Check out some of my photos from the show!

Jesse Giddings

Tyler Shaw, MuchMusic's Coca Cola Covers contest winner

  The Tenors & Divine Brown

Shawn Desman

Marc & Craig Kielburger

Hedley

Justin Trudeau

Martin Sheen

  K'Naan & Nelly Furtado

Romeo Dallaire

K'Naan

Jake Zeldin

Jennifer Hudson

Stay tuned for part 2 with photos from a press conference at We Day ft. Craig Kielburger, Nelly Furtado and Jacob Hoggard

Find out more about We Day HERE.

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

Reunion with Will.i.am!

Photo from newmusiclive.ca

Hey everyone!

On Tuesday July 24th, I made an appearance on MuchMusic's New.Music.Live to be a part of an interview with Will.i.am! He was there promoting his new album #willpower. I was super excited that I would get to meet him for the second time -- the first time was two years ago back in Vancouver for his clothing line launch at L2 (check out my blog post HERE).

So for NML, they were looking for someone to share a story from a past experience with Will.i.am, as well as ask him a question....Click the link to watch the video!

Will.i.am Interview Clip 1

Here's one of my favourite songs from his new album: T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)

Photos from my spot on the NML couch!

After seeing so many people in the music industry branch out into fashion, it really showed me how you don't have to stick to one path and can really do anything if you have the passion and drive. So I told the story of my clothing line side project, all.dun.up (also Facebook page: facebook.com/alldunup), and Will.i.am gave great advice for someone hoping to have longevity in an industry, emphasizing a program called Kickstarter. It's a great way to gain support from the public and get your stuff out there, whether that may be in movies, music, or fashion; it's really for anyone to put their ideas and projects into motion!

I'm so happy that all.dun.up was able to get some exposure on national television! I honestly have been so busy with other things this summer that I haven't had a lot of time to work on all.dun.up, but after this experience, I really want to get back into it! Keep an eye out for more later on this summer hopefully! :)

Anyway, thanks for your support as always!

- Christina

Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

The 2012 MuchMusic Video Music Awards Part 2

Now for the photos from my experience in the crowd at this year's MMVA. I got a pretty good spot by the smaller stage, so although I didn't get shots of the huge main stage, I was pretty satisfied with mine -- Biebs, Cody Simpson, Marianas Trench, Hedley, and more stepped foot on the smaller stage, so I was happy I had a great view!

Enjoy :)

Marianas Trench performs

MuchMusic VJ Jesse Giddings giving some love to the fans

Anjulie, Jesse Giddings & Dragonette

Jesse Giddings & Cody Simpson

LMFAO

Kreesha Turner looked stunning as usual

These Kids Wear Crowns & Kreesha Turner

Hedley performs

Lauren Toyota, Lights, Munro Chambers and...Justin Bieber!

Gotta love the Biebs

Anyways, I hope you all had a great MMVA experience, whether that may be from the audience on Queen Street or on the couch in your living room. Time to wait for next year!

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28