ABOUT

It was on the corner of North Roman and Deslonde Avenue in New Orleans’ hurricane ravaged Ninth Ward that Gian Stone penned the words to “Helping Hand”, a song that would be a turning point for Stone, helping the young multi-instrumentalist realize that it was time for him to make a record of his own.  “I had gone down to New Orleans with my band mates (from Viva Mayday) to help re-build houses for victims of Hurricane Katrina.  Sitting there amid all the wreckage I realized how fortunate I was and how quickly you can lose it all.  Seeing these things first hand was a life changing experience and really opened my eyes,” says Stone sitting cozily between stacks of vinyl LPs back in his New York City apartment.  “When I got home I decided I had to seize the moment and capture my musical ideas.”

Stone rang his friend producer Ben Rice (The Mooney Suzuki, Reno Bo – bassist for Albert Hammond Jr./solo artist, Surefire) who he had worked with on Viva Mayday’s EP, arranging to get started on his solo record immediately.  “Calling Ben was the obvious thing to do.  He gets where I’m coming from and he’s practically family!” Stone says with a smile.  A few days later the two were in the studio armed with a pair of acoustic guitars running through the songs that would make up Stone’s debut album “Diggin”.  “The tunes were heartfelt and very intimate,” recalls Rice. “We wanted to make sure that this would come across, so I thought it would be cool to have Gian play as much of the record as possible so he could put his personal stamp on each moment of the album.” 

Stone switched off between drums, bass, guitar, ukulele, percussion, and vocals during the marathon recording sessions, pushing the chops which he had refined at many a late night jam session to the limits.  When in doubt, Stone called upon Jeff Franzel (songwriter for Taylor Daine, Clay Aiken, Dianne Reeves, N’Sync) to add keys to the tracks as well as friends Brian Letiecq, Emiliano Ortiz (Surefire) and Rice for additional guitars and Shana Bush for background vocals.  The resulting album Diggin’ is testament to Stone’s songwriting and musicality. 

Although his debut is playfully titled, Stone isn’t afraid to tackle the heavier topics in life, the loss of his father (“Lifeline”) who he credits with turning him onto many of the records that inspired him to make music and witnessing his mother losing her hearing on “Silence Is The Loudest Sound”.  Complemented by tracks of young love such as “Green Tea And Honey”, “Kamara” - a playful ode to a certain bassist his band Viva Mayday had opened for and the title inspiring track “Diggin On Me”; there is a remarkable sincerity that runs throughout the record.

“I’ve fallen in love with songwriting,” says the beaming Stone on a mid spring walk through Central Park.  “I can see myself doing this for years to come, forever really, all I want is to keep writing and recording!  I’ve just finished Diggin’ and I’m already planning the next one!”  Stone’s enthusiasm for his craft is a refreshing rarity in today’s jaded musical climate.  This sentiment is present on his debut “Diggin”, which promises to be a loveable soundtrack to the summer of 2009.