Johnny's musical career began in the early 80s after forming the band Phaze with his older brother, Joey. The band underwent reform and he started drumming with the band Killerhit in 1983 at the age of 17. Sharing vocal duties with Joey, the four-piece act hit the East Coast club circuit with an enormous amount of success, earning enough by 1987 to purchase their own lighting rig, truck and tour bus (purchased from Jimmy Buffett).
Re-locating to Hollywood, Killerhit hooked up with Poison's Bret Michaels. The singer gave them his former publicist Debra Rosner's number who instantly became the band's manager. Realizing the need for a front man, Johnny vacated the drum stool for center stage, Las Vegas native Derek Cava taking his place behind the drum kit. Soon after the band switched names to the more appropriate one Brunette. The band broke The Doors and Van Halen's single-weekend attendance records on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood CA and became regionally successful throughout the U.S. They were signed by Capitol Records but the deal unfortunately fell through when the record company went under.
The Gioelis immediately went on to form a new and powerful hard rock band, Hardline - then brought in Journey guitarist Neal Schon as well as Todd Jensen, former bassist for David Lee Roth, and drummer Deen Castronovo, who later went on to join Journey. Hardline's first album Double Eclipse released in 1992, and they had already been opening shows on tour with Van Halen and Mr. Big. Double Eclipse is still recognized as one of the top melodic hard rock albums of the era. Their first releases Hot Cherie and Takin' Me Down can be heard on the FM airwaves today. As with many bands of the late 80s and early 90s, they largely disappeared for some time as the grunge music movement swept the U.S.. But in 2002 Johnny reinvigorated the band and Hardline returned with another album, "II" and at this time guitarist Neal Schon had been replaced by guitarist Josh Ramos, formerly of The Storm.
Since 1998, Johnny has also been the vocalist for the Axel Rudi Pell band. Axel Rudi Pell is a German guitar player who began in a German band called Steeler. These days Axel's band tours in Europe, drawing in faithful fans and performing at the Wacken Open Air festival on a yearly basis. They will be attending the 2009 Wacken Open Air, the 20th anniversary of the festival. Albums that Johnny has appeared on include: Oceans of Time (1998), The Ballads II, The Masquerade Ball (2000)(one of his favorites), Shadow Zone, Knights Live (DVD), Kings and Queens, The Ballads III, Mystica, Diamonds Unlocked, and Tales of the Crown (2008).
Johnny has also been working for some time with video game composer and musician Jun Senoue and has delivered his vocals in the Sons Of Angels CD, Thrill Of The Feel, released in 2000. He is currently in the band Crush 40, where he sang several songs in recent Sonic the Hedgehog games, such as the theme tune Sonic Heroes, a bright, melodic song and in contrast What I'm Made Of, a distinctly dark, energetic hard rock song with metal sensibilities for the final struggle of the game. He was also the vocalist for the songs Open Your Heart, the main theme of Sonic Adventure (Though it was originally recorded with a different vocalist), Live and Learn, the main theme of Sonic Adventure 2, I Am... All Of Me, the main theme of Shadow the Hedgehog, and Never Turn Back, the ending theme from the same game. His latest work with Senoue is a cover of Runblebee's Seven Rings in Hand, which was featured exclusively on the currently japan-only CD True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog. He also wrote the chorus lyrics for the Sonic the Hedgehog Next-Gen game main theme "His World". As well as writing the chorus for the main theme (Performed by Matty Lewis and Ali Tabatabaee), he also recorded a version of the song with Crush 40 (featured as a bonus track on the games official soundtrack).
Now just this April 17, 2009 the long awaited third Hardline album has released, entitled Leaving The End Open. The current line up is Johnny Gioeli (vocals), Michael T. Ross (keyboards), Josh Ramos (guitar), Jamie Brown (bass) and Atma Anur (drums). In a recent interview, Johnny says this album is coming from a very good place and he loved writing and recording it. The songs are written by Johnny Gioeli and Josh Ramos with the exception of "In This Moment" which Johnny wrote himself. He also thanked Serafino at Frontiers Records for his enduring support for a third Hardline album. Hardline will be touring in Europe and Johnny says he and the guys really want to do some shows in the U.S., saying "I would love to do some shows in my own homeland.....the fans here are so awesome."
The song listing for Leaving the End Open is: Voices, Falling Free, Start Again, Pieces of Puzzles, Bittersweet, She Sleeps in Madness, In This Moment, Give In To This Love, Before This, Hole in My Head, and Leaving the End Open.
Hit Me Once Hit Ya Twice
Johnny Gioeli Lyrics
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Johnny Gioeli, Eric Gadrix, Alessandro Del Vecchio
EVERYONE JUSTS WANTS TO BEAT ONE ANOTHER
NO ONE DRAWS THE LINE
EVERYONE'S BUZZING LIKE THE BEES ON QUEEN MOTHER
WELL ALRIGHT LET ME GIVE YOU SOMETHING
YOU'LL REMEMBER ME BY
BIG OLE BOY YOUR WORRIES OUT AND I
SEE IT ALL THE TIME
ONE EYED LIFE SEES THE UNKNOWN
YOU'RE WORN OUT DRIED UP NOW
WHEN YOU LOOK YOU'RE ALL ALONE
YOU SAY YOU WANT TO HIT ME THAT'S NICE
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE
EVERYONE CARES TO LITTLE BOUT CARING
NO ONE MAKES THE TIME
EVERYONE'S TASTING THE FRUIT OF ANOTHER
BUT SPITS IT OUT ON A DIME
WELL ALRIGHT LET ME GIVE YOU SOMETHING
SO YOU'LL REMEMBER THE RHYME
BIG OLE BOY YOUR WORRIES OUT AND I
SEE IT ALL THE TIME
ONE EYED LIFE SEES THE UNKNOWN
YOU'RE WORN OUT DIRED UP NOW
WHEN YOU LOOK YOU'RE ALL ALONE
YOU SAY YOU WANT TO HIT ME THAT'S NICE
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE TWICE
ONE EYED LIFE SEES THE UNKNOWN
YOU'RE WORN OUT DIRED UP NOW
WHEN YOU LOOK YOU'RE ALL ALONE
YOU SAY YOU WANT TO HIT ME THAT'S NICE
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE
The lyrics of "Hit Me Once Hit Ya Twice" by Johnny Gioeli convey the idea that people are too focused on beating each other instead of caring for one another. The first verse talks about how everyone wants to outdo the other person and there are no boundaries. The second verse follows the same theme, pointing out how people don't make time to care for one another and are quick to judge and reject things without giving them a chance. The chorus "Hit me once, I hit ya twice" is a reflective line that shows how people are retaliating instead of resolving their conflicts.
The singer then goes on to say that even though there may be a lot of negativity around, he will not let it bring him down. He will stand up to it and leave a lasting impression. The lines "Big ole boy your worries out and I see it all the time" show that the singer is aware of the troubles of the other person and wants to show them a better way.
The phrase "one-eyed life sees the unknown" suggests that life is unpredictable, and sometimes one cannot see what is coming their way. The idea of being "worn out" and "dried up" speaks of a pessimistic outlook on life. The chorus "Hit me once, I hit ya twice" can also be interpreted as the singer saying that they will not let anyone push them around but will retaliate if pushed.
Line by Line Meaning
EVERYONE JUSTS WANTS TO BEAT ONE ANOTHER
Everyone desires to outdo one another
NO ONE DRAWS THE LINE
There are no boundaries or limitations
EVERYONE'S BUZZING LIKE THE BEES ON QUEEN MOTHER
Everyone is busy and active
GOT SOME STING IN HER BITE
Something or someone is sharp and harmful
WELL ALRIGHT LET ME GIVE YOU SOMETHING
Okay, I'll give you something to remember me by
YOU'LL REMEMBER ME BY
You will not forget me easily
BIG OLE BOY YOUR WORRIES OUT AND I
Your concerns and anxieties are gone because of me
SEE IT ALL THE TIME
I witness this frequently
ONE EYED LIFE SEES THE UNKNOWN
Uncertain things are visible to anyone
YOU'RE WORN OUT DIRED UP NOW
You're tired and exhausted
WHEN YOU LOOK YOU'RE ALL ALONE
When you search, no one's there to assist you
YOU SAY YOU WANT TO HIT ME THAT'S NICE
You claim you want to fight, which is amusing
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE
If you try to attack me, I will retaliate twice as hard
EVERYONE CARES TO LITTLE BOUT CARING
People are uninterested in showing compassion
NO ONE MAKES THE TIME
Time is not set aside for other people's needs
EVERYONE'S TASTING THE FRUIT OF ANOTHER
People are sampling someone else's achievements
BUT SPITS IT OUT ON A DIME
Yet they criticize it and reject it rapidly
HIT ME ONCE I HIT YA TWICE TWICE
If you attack me again, I'll strike back twice as hard, twice
Lyrics © HINGE NECK PUBLISHING
Written by: Alessandro Del Vecchio, Eric Gadrix, Johnny Gioeli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind