Few people have such a passion for music as g-pop, aka Gerard Pidoto.
After his former band The Tall Poppies dissolved in 2006, Pidoto has taken the time to craft the obligatory solo album as “g-pop†before he puts together what he hopes will be the ultimate band. And he’s done it with his heart firmly placed on sleeve.
Taking a leaf from the song-writing books of Tom Petty, Bob Evans and Evan Dando, g-pop has returned to his roots as an acoustic performer to bring you “Heart Firmly Placed on Sleeveâ€, an acoustic retrospective of his best songs to date, with a couple of his favourite covers thrown in for good measure.
The album has seen g-pop collaborate with well respected names from the Melbourne music scene, with guest appearances from Donnie Dureau (Blueline Medic), Stacey Gray (Trial Kennedy), Carl Jackson (Wishful Thinking) and many more.
g-pop doesn’t promise to change the world with his songs – at the end of the day he just wants to write music that’s honest and has integrity.
“I’m just a sucker for a tune with a catchy beat,†he confesses in
Been Done, one of the more autobiographical songs on the album. “It may not make the charts, but hey that’s alright – that’s fine by meâ€.
Although he thrives in the studio, g-pop feels more at home playing live. Assisted by drummer/percussionist David Noordhoff and guitarist Damian Cafarella, g-pop’s songs translate easily and poignantly to the stage. Hard work and a solid reputation has scored g-pop support slots with some of this country’s best artists, including Bob Evans, Bertie Blackman, Little Birdy, Ella and Jesse (Killing Heidi), and Donnie Dureau (Blueline Medic) to name a few. If playing live is the measurement of a musician, then g-pop certainly has the goods.
With the current state of the music industry, perhaps it’s time for honesty to return to rock. Have all the doo-wops been wopped? Not yet, if g-pop has anything to do with it.
Heart Firmly Placed on Sleeve is available now from Fist2Face and all good independent record stores.
Upcoming gigs (click to enlarge):
Previous gigs (click to enlarge):
Contact g-pop
[email protected]
(03) 98700439
