Gioia Bruno

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Gioia Bruno
Background = solo_singer

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Birth_name = Carmen Gioia Bruno
Born = birth date|1963|6|11|mf=y
Origin = Bari, Italy
Genre = Dance-pop, House, Hi-NRG, Club/Dance, Adult Contemporary
Occupation = Vocalist, Songwriter
Years_active = 1986 - Present
Instrument = Vocals, Percussion
Label = Arista Records (1986-1996)
Koch Entertainment (2003-present)
Associated_acts = Exposé, Wet

Gioia Bruno (born Carmen Gioia Bruno June 11, 1963, sometimes professionally credited as just Gioia) is a popular music singer, most noted as a member of the vocal group Exposé.

Early life and career

Bruno was born in Bari, Italy. She was raised in New Jersey. At the age of 16, she started singing in night clubs with bands, after being encouraged by her friend David Fields to make serious efforts with her musical career. After high school, she moved to Manhattan. In 1986 she auditioned for a group in Florida and decided to head down there for a few months and see how things would go... Florida.

When performing at the Gee Wiz nightclub in Miami, Florida, she was approached by Frank Diaz, of Pantera Group Enterprises, who offered her a role in Exposé. After over nine months of recruitment attempts, Bruno finally accepted the offer and ended up joining the group.

Bruno sang lead on the Exposé singles "Let Me Be The One", "What You Don't Know", and "Tell Me Why". She toured with the group between 1986 and 1990, except for a short period where she was replaced by Julie Albers, while on maternity leave.

In 1990, a benign throat tumor ended up putting her singing career on hiatus. An operation was considered but rejected by Bruno since it could permanently damage her vocal cords. She was forced to cut short the "What You Don't Know" tour in August 1990, just before Exposé was slated to perform at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She left Exposé in 1991, though fans in the Exposé fan club were not told until mid-1992, shortly before the release of the next album.

Bruno co-founded the West Broward Performing Arts Academy in Florida. She was unable to sing for a few years and even had to keep regular talking to a minimum. Finally, after about 4-5 years of healing, vocal retraining and development, she fully regained her voice, resumed her singing career.

You can visit her at www.myspace.com/gioiab

olo Projects

Bruno's return to the charts was a release by Mayday Records. She did a demo track for them called "Make That Move", which was released to dance clubs under the pseudonym "G-Spot" and was sold via the Exposé Fan Club, marketed directly to members in 1995. The single ended up reaching 21 on the Top Dance-Club Play charts of Billboard. A remix version was released and sold via the fan-club as well.

For a few years, Bruno worked in the band Wet, with her friend John Thomas, performing lead vocals and co-writing several songs with the group. This group performed in local venues in Florida. She performed in the band for a few years, then left to work on a solo career. She worked on writing songs with Ritchie Supa. She then worked with Richie Sambora, performing both background vocals and percussion for his solo tour.

Bruno's first solo single was "Free To Be", which topped charts across the U.S. and Canada. Her second single, "From The Inside", was prominently featured on the prime time cable series "Queer As Folk". Her third solo single, "Wrecking My Nerves", produced by Chris Cox, saw similar success in the dance music community. In 2004, her first album, "Expose This", was released on Koch Records. The album's two singles, "Be Mine" and "Incredible" , made the Top 50 on "Billboard"'s Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts.

Bruno has also done projects with others. Bruno also co-produced and sang lead vocals on Will To Power's 2005 remake of "Dreamin' (again)" which hit the #1 position on most US dance charts and dance radio stations, including WMPH where it remained #1 for many months. She has also worked on solo music projects independently, including "Why Did You Call Me Again", co-produced by original Exposé producer Lewis Martinee, and a remake of the Kenny Loggins song "This is it", produced by Anila R. Monterrey and Eric Nunez.

In September 2006, Bruno temporarily stopped touring as a solo artist [ [http://www.innewsweekly.com/innews/?class_code=Cu&article_code=2613 http://www.innewsweekly.com/innews/?class_code=Cu&article_code=2613] "Innewsweekly.com" Retrieved on 05-12-07 ] and reunited with Exposé with members Curless and Jurado after a 15 year hiatus.

In the fall of 2007, she began devoting time to her solo career again while still touring with Exposé. A remake of Jackie Wilson's 1967 hit "Higher and Higher" on Harlequin Records has been released and is being marketed to dance clubs.

In the summer of 2008, Gioia went into the studio to begin working on her second solo album. A couple of collaboration efforts are currently being promoted - "Kiss & Tell" with Win Marcinak and "Obama - Yes We Can" with Andy Fraser.

Taking an unexpected turn, WIN's 'Kiss & Tell' vocal runs into a head-on collision with Gioia Bruno's new sultry rendition of 'Money Talks (Dirty Cash),' resulting in a steamy-hot tête-à-tête. Masterfully woven together by producers Josh Harris, Jake Benson and The Perry Twins, the two storytellers' dynamic voices unleash their lyrics upon each other in a one-of-a-kind transformational experience. The colliding tracks create a unique musical sensation that is undeniably compelling and provocative.

"I was excited to do background vocals and ad lib for WIN on 'Kiss & Tell.' The project took on a fascinating new direction when I was approached to sing 'Money Talks (Dirty Cash)' so it could be meshed with the track," states Gioia Bruno. "I'll admit it was a thrill to sing it as I have always loved the Adventures of Stevie V. version. Approaching the vocal in my lower register gave it a much sexier vibe than the original. Personally, I've never been all about the money, like the title suggests, so my performance on the track is an irreverent interpretation."

Currently making an impact on national and international mainstream radio, with servicing by Radio Express, Promo Only and New Music Weekly, the original pop version is available for download and purchase at Perfectbeat.com and will soon be available online at iTunes, Masterbeat.com, Napster, Rhapsody, eMusic, and Amazon MP3 and Beatport.com. Breaking out on dance floors in August, the 'Kiss & Tell' collision remix package is an electric hit-and-run musical escapade with heart pounding unique productions from Warren Rigg, The Perry Twins, Josh Harris, Dena Cucci, Jake Benson, and Mark Picchiotti.

Relationships

Bruno has been married and divorced two times. She has a daughter from her first marriage to Joseph Pastore, Brianna Pastore, who was born in 1988. In January 2006, Gioia acknowledged she is bisexual on the Q Television Network show "Brunch". [ [http://www.planetout.com/video/article.html?id=1791&navpath=/topics/video/ http://www.planetout.com/video/article.html?id=1791&navpath=/topics/video/] "Planetout.com" Retrieved on 05-12-07 ] [ [http://afterellen.com/People/2006/10/bruno.html http://afterellen.com/People/2006/10/bruno.html] "Afterellen.com" Retrieved on 05-12-07 ]

Discography

Albums

* "Shelter (Lead Vocals, by the group Wet)" 1996
* "Expose This" 2004

ingles

References

External links

* [http://www.gioiabruno.com/ Gioia's Official Web Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/gioiab Gioia's MySpace Entry]
* [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/10/prweb441601.htm# Official Press Release Stating Return of Exposé -- Includes downloadable Podcast featuring Bruno]
* [http://afterellen.com/People/2006/10/bruno.html Part one of Gioia Bruno Interview with Lydia Marcus of AfterEllen]
* [http://afterellen.com/People/2006/10/bruno2.html Part two of Gioia Bruno Interview with Lydia Marcus of AfterEllen]
* [http://www.expose-epistle.org/interview-gioia-001.htm Part one of Gioia Bruno Interview with John R. Troy of Exposé Epistle]
* [http://www.expose-epistle.org/interview-gioia-002.htm Part two of Gioia Bruno Interview with John R. Troy of Exposé Epistle]
* [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/6/prweb1056214.htm Kiss & Tell - WIN featuring Gioia Bruno Press Release]