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Johnny reinvigorated the band and Hardline returned with another album, "II" and at this time guitarist Neal Schon had been replaced by guitarist Josh Ramos, formerly of The Storm.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.
Price We Pay
Johnny Gioeli Lyrics
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Johnny Gioeli, Eric Gadrix, Alessandro Del Vecchio
I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT MY EYES SEE
THE TASTE OF BITTERNESS THAT'S FED TO YOU AND ME
AND LEFT ALONE TO OUR DEMISE
HOW MUCH IS LIFE GONNA COST YOU
AND I'LL BE CRYING OUT FOR MERCY MERCY
WE PAY TO LIVE AND BREAK THROUGH
LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD WE LIVE ONE BIG LIE
HOLD ON WHILE WE FIND A PLACE TO RUN AND HIDE
AND I'M, I'M SORRY TO BRING YOU HERE AND MAKE YOU CRY BUT IT'S
ALL IN THE PRICE WE PAY
I DON'T REMEMBER ALL THIS PAIN
I DON'T REMEMBER FEELING TRAPPED INSIDE THE GAME
I STILL CAN FEEL THE JOY OF FRIDAY NIGHTS
EVEN WHEN TEMPERED SPIRITS DIM, LOVE WAS THE GUIDING LIGHT
HOW MUCH IS LIFE GONNA COST YOU
AND I'LL BE CRYING OUT FOR MERCY MERCY
WE PAY TO LIVE AND BREAK THROUGH
LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD WE LIVE ONE BIG LIE
HOLD ON WHILE WE FIND A PLACE TO RUN AND HIDE
AND I'M, I'M SORRY TO BRING YOU HERE AND MAKE YOU CRY BUT IT'S
ALL IN THE PRICE WE PAY
HOW MUCH IS LIFE GONNA COST YOU
WE PAY TO LIVE AND BREAK THROUGH
ALL IN THE PRICE WE PAY
The lyrics of "Price We Pay" are a reflection on the harsh realities of life, particularly the economic and political systems that control our lives. Gioeli puts forward a message that the truth is often hidden behind the cover of money and power. He describes the bitter taste of lies which we are forced to swallow, and how we are left alone to suffer because of the lies which have corrupted the system. The line, "Let the truth be told we live one big lie," seems to be a direct reference to the falsehoods propagated by society.
The chorus parts emphasize the repeated crying out for mercy, perhaps from despair or hopelessness, as the singer sees that they, like others, "pay to live and break through." The song argues that in some way, we all have to make sacrifices to live within society's limitations. We must pay the "price" for living in a world full of manipulation, war, and societal stress. But we have to hide and wait for the right time to act against the void of the system, to break free from restrictions and gain freedom to live as we want. Despite the pain and sorrow, Gioeli reminds us that this is a necessary struggle if we are to make meaning in our lives.
In summary, the lyrics of "Price We Pay" are a commentary on the difficult aspects of life that we all have to face, such as the monetary cost of our existence and the lies that prevail in the system. This song serves as a call to action for people to speak out against the injustices that are rampant in society.
Line by Line Meaning
I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT MY EYES SEE
It's unbelievable what we see happening around us.
THE TASTE OF BITTERNESS THAT'S FED TO YOU AND ME
We are fed with things that leave a bitter taste in our mouths.
A BLANKET MADE OF MONEY COVERS UP THE LIES
Lies are often covered with a blanket of money.
AND LEFT ALONE TO OUR DEMISE
We are often abandoned to face our demise alone.
HOW MUCH IS LIFE GONNA COST YOU
What's the cost of living in this world?
AND I'LL BE CRYING OUT FOR MERCY MERCY
I'll be begging for mercy as I go through life.
WE PAY TO LIVE AND BREAK THROUGH
We have to pay a cost to live and succeed in life.
LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD WE LIVE ONE BIG LIE
In reality, we live one big lie.
HOLD ON WHILE WE FIND A PLACE TO RUN AND HIDE
We want to find a place to escape and hide from reality.
AND I'M, I'M SORRY TO BRING YOU HERE AND MAKE YOU CRY BUT IT'S
I apologize for bringing you here and making you sad, but it's the truth.
ALL IN THE PRICE WE PAY
Everything we go through in life, the good and the bad, is part of the cost we pay for just living.
Lyrics © HINGE NECK PUBLISHING
Written by: Alessandro Del Vecchio, Eric Gadrix, Johnny Gioeli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind