*Photo Credit Shuttergram Photography
Are you looking for some fresh blood in the music industry to
listen to? Look no further than twin sisters, Lisa and Gina Gomez,
who make up the band known as Gemeni. Performing at local talent
shows and country fairs since the age of five, in their home state of
Florida, the sisters have also been submersed in musical theater,
performing in nine musicals and one opera, and also went on to make
an appearance on America's Next Great Star. Then, in July 2012, the
girls packed their bags and said goodbye to Florida, to make a new
life for themselves in sunny Los Angeles, California.
I first met
Gina
and
Lisa at
WonderCon in
Anaheim, CA, in March of 2013, through a mutual friend. We were all
standing in line together, waiting for
Joss
Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing panel to begin. As we were standing in line we all
exchanged information, followed each other on Twitter and friended
one another on Facebook. Little did I know, that I was in the
presence of two incredibly talented young ladies.
It was only after I got home from the convention, that I looked
them up on Facebook, and I discovered that Gina and Lisa made up the
singing duo of
Gemeni. I immediately watched their videos on YouTube, listened to their
music on iTunes and was blown away by what I heard.
Gemeni's music has been described as pop/rock with a dark edge.
Their first album consists of seven songs which were written and
performed by Gina and Lisa. The first song that caught my attention was
A Stake
In My Heart, which was inspired by the hit TV series Buffy
the Vampire Slayer. I absolutely love their harmony together so much
so that I downloaded their debut album, More Than Me, which was
released on iTunes on June 12, 2012, and have not stopped listening
to it since.
Gemeni has recorded various covers of some well know tunes, such
as Adam Lambert's Trespassing and Adele's Skyfall. The girls also
show their geeky side with a parody of Rebecca Black's Friday called
Thorsday. The song has also been recognized and viewed by The
Avengers star, Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki, and has received over
12,750 views on their YouTube channel.
Most recently Gina and Lisa had the opportunity to perform onstage
at last years Nerdapalooza in their home state of Florida. Next up
for the girls are performances lined up for shows in Los Angeles and
they have just recently announced that they will be performing overseas in the
United Kingdom. I am looking forward to hearing and seeing more from
this wonderful singing duo, and I think everyone needs to give them a
listen.
Gemeni's debut album, More Than Me, was released on
iTunes on June 12, 2012.
- A Stake in My Heart
- Trapped
- Only If You Want To
- Something Effulgent
- 21st Century Society
- Goodbye
- More Than Me
Continue reading to find out how you can win a signed copy of this CD.
**********************************
I recently contacted Lisa and Gina to set up an interview which they were more than happy to oblige.
THE GEMENI INTERVIEW
I'm so happy that the two of you agreed to do this interview and I have to say it was such a pleasure meeting you gals at WonderCon.
We all have people who inspire us throughout our lives, whether it be a celebrity, friend or family member.Who would you say are your biggest influences and why?
Gina: As cheesy as it sounds, my biggest inspiration has to be my twin sister, Lisa! Ever since
we were 5, we dreamed of becoming recording artists together, but somewhere along the way, I
became way too afraid, and starting doubting myself completely, and just gave up on music, and
started settling in my life.
One day in college, she came up to me, and said "Hey... I should take piano lessons, and we
should start original music like we've always wanted to." Even then, I thought she was crazy!
We never wrote a song before, she had no idea how to play piano, and I thought it was too late
for us. 3 years later, we live in Los Angeles, have an album on iTunes, and have a YouTube
channel. She has seriously made my dreams possible by believing in me, as well as herself.
Also, artists who challenge society in some way, or people who never gave up and achieved
their dreams against all odds, whether it be in music, films, ect. inspire me: Lady Gaga, Adam
Lambert, Joss Whedon, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin
Freeman, Andrew Scott, Casey Affleck, James Franco... To name a few!!
I can just imagine how nervous you can be to take the stage for the first time, tell us about the very first gig that you played?
Gina: We had just started songwriting in 2010, and had finished our very first full song around
March of that year. Literally, the next day, we were walking on our college campus, and there
was a talent competition called "America's Next Great Star" that was holding auditions. Whoever
won was going to get their performance sent to talent agents in Los Angeles, New York, and
Nashville.
Somehow we mustered up the courage, rushed back to our dorm, carried our keyboard all the
way back to the Student Union where the auditions were being held outside, and signed up for a
slot. We were so unprepared, we had the lyrics written out in a notebook that we put on the
keyboard stand in front of us, and while we were auditioning, had to read the lyrics while we
were singing.
As soon as we started, a huge crowd started to form around us, and hushed and stayed
throughout our entire performance of our song, which made it incredibly nerve-wracking, but the
most exciting thing. Performing your own original music in front of a crowd really feels like you
are bearing your soul to people, and it was the most frightening and incredible feeling.
Can you share with us about the time you appeared
on Americas Next Great Star?
Lisa: America's Next Great Star was an insanely amazing experience. I was cast in UCF's
production of Rent as the Joanne understudy. That night was dress rehearsal and it just so
happened that the director asked me to go on. Problem? That was the same night as the
America's Next Great Star performance.
After sobbing, the director graciously allowed me to do both. This sounds ridiculous, and on hindsight it was, but I had to perform in front of an invited
audience as Joanne in Rent and then during intermission, run across campus in my costume,
sprint onstage and perform an original song I had just written the night before. Both were heart
pumping, adrenaline filled, terrifying experiences. But, I'll never forget that night. It was one of
the best nights of my life. It proved to me that I could perform well under pressure and reminded
me that this was what I wanted to do
We all have hobbies that we enjoy doing. Individually, outside of your music what are your interests?
Gina: If it wasn't obvious already, watching and analyzing film and television. That has been a
hobby ever since I was younger that started when I watched the animes Sailor Moon and
DragonBallZ! I've always had a liking for dissecting characters and analyzing relationships, and
making predictions for what was going to happen in the upcoming seasons, ect. That quality
definitely has not left me, and besides real life experiences, film and television are my biggest
inspirations when writing a song.
Lisa: Sherlock. Watching the BBC's Sherlock. Besides Joss Whedon's amazing works, no other
show has affected me as much as Sherlock has. It really is incredible. Aside from that, I love
reading. Drinking a good cup of tea and reading. I'm also currently writing an original novel. I'm
about 10,000 words in. I really would like to have it finished by the end of the year.
Often times bands have the challenge of coming up with a catchy name. I absolutely love the name that you chose. How did you guys come up with Gemeni?
Gina: Ironically enough, when we auditioned for "American's Next Great Star", they had us fill
out an audition form, and Lisa and I had to decide on a name as quickly as possible. However,
when we were in middle school, we had a group called "Second Look". We always hated that
name, and our horoscope sign being Gemini, always got us thinking about that name as a
potential group name. Gemini means twins, and the nature of that sign is about the duality of the
human condition, which we hope to explore in our music. However, there was a band called
Gemini in the '80's, so we had to change the spelling. I love that, because it sets us apart even
more.
There is a lot of excitement to be had knowing that you are about to sit down and record an album. What was it like being in the studio and recording that first album?
Lisa: Absolutely amazing. There is nothing more gratifying than to make a creation you've
imagined in your head and attempt to put it in real life. The funny part is, we wrote all of those
songs in 2010 and only recorded them two years later. So we knew those songs inside and out
and were fortunate enough to record them with the supremely talented Joe Hodgin. It took a
long time, it was exhausting but it was a lot of fun.
Luckily, we already had all of our songs recorded as demo songs. We gave them to Joe, he
listened to them and then brought in some of the most talented musicians in Orlando to record
each part. Colby Peters, who played the drum part, did such astounding work. Once we
recorded the drums, Joe added the guitar and Hectacop (Hector Cordova) provided the
wonderful keyboard. Jaron Clark, who's just as good a performer live as he is a musician,
played the violins on Trapped and If You Want To. Then, after all of the instruments were done,
Gina and I added our vocals. I am forever grateful to everyone who helped record that album,
because it really was a dream come true.
You guys have done an amazing job doing covers of quite a few songs including Adam Lambert's
Trespassing, which I absolutely love by the way, and Adele's Skyfall among others. Are there any more covers in the works?
Lisa: Yes. Although our YouTube channel will feature some of our original songs, it is primarily a
channel for song covers. It's always difficult for us to choose the songs we want to cover
because there's a fear there that we can cover anything. The possibilities are unlimited. It's all
about finding the right song for us. So once we pick a song that we're excited about, we'll cover
them. Expect a lot of pop songs, classics and obscure indie rock.
You also did a parody of Rebecca Black's Friday, called Thorsday, which has already received over 12,750 views on your YouTube channel and has been viewed by Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston. I'm sure there was a bit of geeking out over that. The video looks like you had a blast making it. What was it like filming it?
Lisa: The filming experience for Thorsday will undoubtedly be one of the best experiences of my
life. It was filmed in the course of three days and I was surrounded by my best friends. It was a
passion project more than anything else. Love for the source material (Thor) and love for each
other. It was exhausting, filming until late at night, wake up early for work and then film until the
late night again. But it was a blast. Karus, the director, has such a natural raw talent for thinking
up shots. Matt the cinematographer just knows how to capture artistic shots but still make them
accessible. As much fun as you think we had, it was as fun to shoot. It was a lot of laughs too, in
between takes and during shooting. The song itself is so ridiculous. I remember shooting Karus'
rap in front of a movie theater and every single time he ripped that sleeping bag off of him, I
laughed. I couldn't help it.
Just recently you had the opportunity to perform onstage at this years Nerdapalooza. What was that experience like for the two of you?
Gina: Ever since I had heard of Nerdapalooza, it was a personal dream of mine to perform there. Nerdapalooza is the biggest nerd music festival in the country, and I remember I submitted to perform there a few years ago. After getting rejected, I just figured that it wasn't meant to happen... Until a few months ago, we were INVITED to perform there. Two girls that moved to L.A., were now being ASKED to perform at Nerdapalooza. It was not only a shock, but a huge honor.
It was our first show that we were flying to perform at, and it was honestly the best show we've
ever had. Our great friend Hector, who lives in Florida and played on our album, also performed
with us, and it was the most terrifying yet exciting thing. We had not rehearsed together until the
DAY OF the show, and the fact that the show was at the biggest convention center in Orlando,
FL didn't ease our nerves at all...
With jet lag and being under-rehearsed going against us, somehow, we did not mess up at all,
and we performed everything from a rock cover of the Pokemon theme song, the Sailor Moon
theme song, to the world premiere of our new original song called "
I O U a Fall". It was the
biggest crowd we'd ever performed our music in front of, and it was on a huge stage... I never
felt more like a rock star until that moment. A lot of our friends from FL showed up, and covering
and playing nerdy music made me feel right at home, like my two passions were coming
together. It was honestly one of the best nights of my life.
What can we expect to see in the future from Gemeni? Any upcoming albums or appearances?
Lisa: We are currently writing a second album. This one has been a long time coming. Gina and
I have had an interesting couple of years in Los Angeles that have distracted us from writing
songs but we've written a handful here and there and now looking back at it, we probably have
enough material for three more albums! So now, it really is just tightening the songs that we
have written these past two years and picking which ones we think are album-worthy.
As for performances, you can always check out our Facebook page for any local Los Angeles
shows. We'll be performing at Bar Lubitsch on Santa Monica Boulevard on April 22nd at
10:30pm.
We are all big Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans so I have one final question to ask each of you. Spike or Angel?
Gina: This is such a tough question for me, because Spike is my favorite character, and then
Angel, so how do I choose? However, I’d have to say Angel. It’s even said in the show countless
times that Buffy will never love someone as much as she loved Angel. Angel does everything he
can to become a better man, but I have a feeling he’s becoming better partly for Buffy. They had
such a passionate, beautiful romance. I know everything that happened in Season 2 definitely
put a strain on their relationship, but I think they had to let each other go, become better people
and find out who they are, and I hope they will one day get back together. I don’t know how…
but I’m sure Joss will figure it out!
I also always preferred Spike with Drusilla. The fact that Spike and Drusilla were together for
hundreds of years shows me that they had a strong, passionate relationship. Even if it didn’t end
well, doesn’t mean that Dru isn’t the love of Spike’s life. But… just my opinion! I don’t mind
Spike and Buffy, it’s just not my favorite.
Lisa: Oohhh.... What a toughie. My three favorite characters in the Whedonverse are Buffy,
Spike and Angel. I have an Angel inspired tattoo on my foot. It's the Angel Investigations Logo
with a railroad spike going through its heart. Um....
As for a character and as for a character to be with Buffy, I'd have to pick Spike. He is likely my
favorite fictional character of all time. He's such a badass with swagger, charm and attitude but
at the same time has insane flaws and is a lover at heart. He's a mess of contradictions but I
love him for it.
Thank you both for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions and I look forward to seeing and hearing more from you in the future.
********************************************
Gina and Lisa just recently returned from a trip to the UK where they performed at
the Spice of Life in Leicester Square in London.
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On March 21, 2014 I had the opportunity to attend one of Gemeni's performances which was fantastic. They performed at a little organic coffee shop in downtown Los Angeles called Muse on 8th.
Click on the image below to view the performance.
*Photo credit Liliana Costa*
*Photo credit Liliana Costa*
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THE CD GIVEAWAY
One of you lucky readers will have the opportunity to be entered into a drawing to win a SIGNED COPY of Gemeni's debut album, More Than Me.
To enter to win simply leave a comment below, retweet on Twitter or share on Facebook.
Everyone is invited to enter, including international fans. All names will be put into a drawing and one name will be selected. This giveaway will run until April 17, 2014. Winner will be selected on April 18, 2014.
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Be sure to follow, like, subscribe and check out Gemeni by clicking on the following links:
For booking inquires you can contact Gemeni via email at:
LisaGinaGomez@gmail.com
*Photo credit: DANIELKUYKENDALL.com
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This article (minus the interview and giveaway) was originally published in the January 4, 2014 issue of Kings River Life Magazine. You can view that article by clicking here.
*All images belong to their respective owners*
