Gino Ruberto interview
Here's an interview done with Gino Ruberto. Thank you Gino! Hope to see you soon!
Question:
"Birth date?"
Answer:
"October 14th."
Question:
"City you reside in?"
Answer:
"Minneapolis."
Question:
"Marital status/family?"
Answer:
"Single, never been
married, no children. I do have two older brothers: Damon and Mario.
(Twins...) They're both paramedics at HCMC. I also have two younger sisters:
Nicole, who is a nurse at HCMC, and Jennifer, who is a gypsy. I'm the "middle
child" in my family. I've heard that the middle child always demands the most
attention, so maybe that's why I was so driven to get into showbiz..."
Question:
"Pets?"
Answer:
"My good chum, Bud the Dog."
http://ginoruberto.5u.com/Bud%20the%20Dog.jpg
Question:
"Favorite color?"
Answer:
"The color of freshly cut
grass at sunset in summertime..."
("Ya mean...GREEN, Gino?")
"Um...uh...yeah...green."
Question:
"Favorite foods?"
Answer:
"My Dad's spaghetti and
meatballs...Olive oil fried Hungarian banana pepper sandwiches...Dusty's Dago's
on 13th and Marshall in Nordeast Minneapolis."
Question:
"Favorite drink?"
Answer:
"Ice cold Heineken."
Question:
"Favorite movies?"
Answer:
"Several:
- Field of Dreams
- The Untouchables
- The Godfather I & II
- Tombstone
- It's a Wonderful Life"
Question:
"Favorite local band?"
Answer:
"The Killer Hayseeds. A
ridiculously talented group of guys."
Question:
"Favorite national band?"
Answer:
"Bruce
Springsteen and the E-Street Band, The Eagles."
Question:
"Day job (if any)?"
Answer:
"Just waiting by the
phone for K102 to gimme me my dang job back!"
Question:
"Hobbies?"
Answer:
"Watching movies,
cooking, singing, writing music, messing up my computer, hanging out with Bud
the Dog, checking out local bands."
Question:
"What's your favorite thing about entertaining?"
Answer:
"My favorite thing about
entertaining is when I have an audience that I just know I'm connecting
with. One of the greatest feelings in the world is looking out there and seeing
an ocean of happy faces looking up from a jam-packed dance floor, bopping around
to our music. Those perfect nights when the whole place just makes me feel like
we're throwing the greatest party of all time."
Question:
"What's your least favorite thing about entertaining?"
Answer:
"Sometimes you get a
really bad venue where you feel like you're nothing more than "background music"
at a bar. The kind of place where it's obvious that the only reason the patrons
came down there was to get drunk. No interest at ALL in what the band is doing.
There've been times where I was singing a song that just means the world to me,
and I'm singing it with every drop of emotion my heart can muster. The song ends
and there is NO applause. I mean, NOTHING! (Well, maybe a few crickets
chirping here and there...) All you hear is that low mumble of disinterested
people talking, as if we weren't even there. Nights like that are why the GOOD
gigs mean so much to me."
Question:
"What's your most memorable moment on stage?"
Answer:
"In May of 1996 I opened for Toby Keith and Joe Diffie at K102's "SPRING BASH"
at Target Center. I managed to talk "The Killer Hayseeds" into being my back-up
band for the night, and they were outstanding, as always. We did a 20 minute set
of my best "K102 Morning Show" parody songs like "Any Gal of Mine" and
"Minnesota Redneck." When the audience gave me a standing ovation at the end,
for that one brief moment I was the happiest I have ever been. It was a truly
magical feeling that I will cherish and long for the rest of my life."
Question:
"What's your most memorable moment off stage, music related?"
Answer:
"The day my boss at K102,
Gregg Swedberg, came into my office and dropped a copy of BILLBOARD MAGAZINE'S
"COUNTRY HOT-100" on my desk and said, "Congratulations! 'Any Gal of Mine'
charted!" I was speechless. I had sent it out to a few of K102's sister stations
across the country several weeks earlier, never thinking in my wildest dreams
that it would get that kind of airplay. It stayed in the Hot-100 for nearly
three months."
Question:
"Who are your musical influences?"
Answer:
"Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Travis Tritt,
Allman Brothers, Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel."
Question:
"How long have you been performing, alone or with a group?"
Answer:
"I've been performing
since I was VERY young. My Dad always played this record by an Italian child
prodigy named ROBERTINO for my brothers and I. I was four years old, and had
learned how to sing "O Sole Mio," from that record, in Italian. Well, every time
any of our Italian relatives would come to visit he'd corral them all around me
and make me sing it for them. I used to HATE it, but if I didn't deliver I had
to go to my room, or even worse, see that disappointment in my Dad's eyes. I
wasn't too crazy about performing until a few years later, when something that I
found truly amazing happened. One day, while I was at school practicing some
songs for my piano lesson, I looked up and saw that a crowd of the popular girls
from my class were gathered around watching me play. Having discovered
THAT little bonus, I became a much more motivated piano student in the years
that followed."
Question:
"How old were you when you first became interested in music?"
Answer:
"As long as I can
remember. My Dad was a
choral music instructor in Lake City, so singing and music have always been a
part of my life."
Question:
"Before this, what kind of experience did you have in the entertainment industry
(musical or otherwise)?"
Answer:
"Well, I spent five years writing and producing
song parodies and comedy bits while I was a part of the K102 Morning Show. (1995-2000)
You can hear many of those on K102's "DOWNLOADS" page:
http://www.k102.com/downloads.html
And I spent several years in Hollywood as the lead singer and songwriter of the rock band RESCUE. You can hear some of that music by clicking on these links:
http://ginoruberto.5u.com/Gino%20Ruberto%20with%20RESCUE-Hold%20On-1986.ra
http://ginoruberto.5u.com/Gino-Ruberto-with-RESCUE--Dangerous--1986.ra
Question:
"Where's your favorite place to perform?"
Answer:
"Well...Target Center, if
the opportunity ever arises again! The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa was an
AWESOME venue. We opened for Sawyer Brown there last August. What a blast.
Locally though, amongst the places we get to play on a semi-regular basis, I'd
DEFINITELY say that "The Rodeo Nightclub in Cottage Grove" is my favorite place
so far. Fun, wonderfully receptive country music loving crowds. Can't ask for
much more than that."
Question:
"Is there anything that your fans don't know about you that you think they
should?"
Answer:
"I can fit 56 pieces of SUPER-BUBBLE in my
mouth and still sing "SOLD" by John
Michael Montgomery. I sound more like Harry Carey than John Michael
Montgomery when I do it though. You can hear for yourself by clicking on THIS
link!
http://ginoruberto.5u.com/56-Pieces-of-Gum-SOLD.ra"
Question:
"Is there anything you want to say to your fans?"
Answer:
"Thank you for believing
in me. Your loyalty and support truly means the world to me, and I will do
everything in my power to be worthy of it."
Question:
"Is there anything else that you'd like to add?"
Answer:
"Well, one thing for you personally, I'd like to say "THANK YOU" for putting
together such a great website. I've really enjoyed perusing it, and I think it's
the sort of thing the Twin Cities needs more of. For everyone else reading
this, be sure to check out K102's "Local Bands" page from time to time (http://www.k102.com/localbands.html ) to find out where your favorite bands
are playing. Then come on out and help support LIVE COUNTRY MUSIC in the Twin
Cities. If you ever make it out to see "Gino Ruberto and Durango," I
promise I'll work my tail off to make it worth your while!"