We recently connected with Gauldan Gio and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Gauldan , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
maybe the story sounds cliché, but moving to New York on my own with no one I knew beyond surface level, with no family here, with no job, with no plan with Nowhere I knew I’d be welcome for sure in my heart… Was one of the greatest risks I’ve ever taken . when I was 16, I moved to New York for the first time on my own. My mother has always been an amazing mother, and she’s always trusted me in a very different way. She was afraid, and she also had her apprehensions, but she was also very sure of the light that I had in the skills that I had only learned from being raised by her . I wasn’t doing well in school back in my hometown, Ohio, I guess we should’ve started there first Toledo to be exact.. Academics weren’t really my thing, and I was a bit of a troublemaker because I was so much of a rebellious soul still in some and lots of ways.. I found a shelter in New York when I finally touched down on the Peter Pan bus and began living there I wasn’t able to work, but I did begin making a lot of connections that would lead me to other opportunities. It was my first time moving, and I was very young so after a little unfortunate events happened in my life, I moved back to Ohio. I felt defeated. I felt like New York cat chewed me up and spat me out and back to the beginning I had to return. … few years ago, after living in a Marietta different places doing the same thing in Los Angeles, and traveling by coastal as a commercial roofer I made up my mind that I would move back to New York and this time I would not give up and I wouldn’t take no for an answer… This time at the age of 26 I was in a position to finally actualize myself, utilize my connections and begin to make a name for myself here in New York .. I started making money as a party promoter host and a gogo dancer. Which made me very popular in New York City nightlife. It’s now been three years, and I am proud of where I am. I’m glad that I bet it on myself and took this risk as now I’m financially stable and creating art all the time… Just that is such a large portion of happiness
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am multifaceted so let’s start there. As a music artist I began music at a young age maybe around 15. My cousin déjà vu music was a really cool producer and he knew how to mix an engineer and we began experimenting in my room and that’s how that happened. I fell in love with music. i’m someone who will keep working and working and working a project until it sounds the way that I feel it should and it feels good to me. I believe that I provide music that is hopeful and relatable. It makes the underdog feel seen and one thing I love to do is sing from the perspective of taboo. My mission is that people will feel excepted and heard through my music.
As a creative director, I’m very tentative to every detail. I have a really keen eye for what I feel is the industry standard.. I Strive to bring the clients imagination or ideas to life in the most beautiful ways. I’m very hands-on and I’m very verbal but it’s because I see a vision and I know that I can bring it directly out of my brain into this reality.. Working with colors and abstract ideas I love beauty. There’s so much beauty in this world. I love to manipulate beauty and I love to challenge with society, deems as beautiful because it’s all an illusion; Art is fantasy. It to me if it isn’t it’s just a picture. My mind immediately goes to how can we provoke people? How can we get them to wonder how can we stir thoughts in the audience mind? Let’s do that for anyone working with me.. We just have a lot of fun.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
in my view, society can best support artists but just sharing mindlessly… Sharing mindlessly yes but also being very mindful that your friends are artist. Your friends are creative and creative. Do have a need for support just as anyone else does… I feel like often times people feel like creative people, your creative friends, your artistic friends, because they are so strong and confident in their art that maybe they do not need support I feel like it would be very pivotal and conducive to the story of many if our peers and loved ones and friends would separate us from the loved one that we are and view us as an artist who requires support.. Share our art and be excited let us know that you anticipate seeing what we’ve created join us in celebrating our arts because you never know how it can go and you don’t wanna be someone who’s jumping on the supportive bandwagon because everyone else has already began doing it.. Someone who truly does love an artist do you want to be able to say I’ve been there supporting my friend before anyone even knew how special there was to this world.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I feel the story of my entire existence is a testimony of my resilience and perseverance… I’m like a cat who has nine lives.. My entire life has been very challenging and I’m glad to know that astrologically things are about to get a lot better for me… I’ve been through the same things that a lot of artist have been through not having enough money to just be creative, homelessness, desperation, and poor self-worth… I’m glad to know that I have transcended these things because I morphed and molded my rigid self beliefs of who I thought I was… I began to look at how I was showing up for myself and the environments that I was in and the people I was loyal to and my close circle, and I stamp my feet and demanded that These things in places were no longer at the frequency in which I was beginning to vibrate at and that acceptance was some thing that I like to call… And Ego Death .. Which is one of the most Catalytic metamorphosis’ anyone could go through, imagine being a version of yourself that was so strong that got you through so many different problems that you built yourself up to be mentally stronger than the last version of yourself and now you have to realize and come to terms with the fact that this version of yourself must die in order for you to ascend to the next level in your journey !? It’s such a mindfuck Because before that moment, so far away, you have become with yourself and that you felt fine you felt comfortable. But then you find that up close .. The picture really isn’t that pretty. I think that I’ve had two ego deaths in my life, and I feel like surviving. The death of myself twice is a testament to that resilience that you asked of… Like a cat I always land on my feet And just like a cat with nine lives.. I’m prepared to die again and again and again. until i get it right
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Gauldanthegod
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/KnDZ8L0m-ag?si=f3rS7KD59tFV8WzY
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/EqLRWsmL2okKECLe7
Image Credits
Robert J Grant, The Events Photographer, A.Errac (A.S.C.)