Jason Gentile

Meet Jason Gentile, a singer/songwriter with commitment issues who lives in the moment. He is currently recording his second album, Ciao Bella, a disk that explores the connections between women and madness. Gentile insists that this comparison is not a stab on women, but explains that he feels women play an integral part in his quest to understand human consciousness. He draws on experiences from the women surround himself with—those he’s known, dated, lived with, or seen from across the room—to describe the forces that motivate people to love and destroy themselves and others. He has learned that while he will never fully understand either women or madness, he can only still enjoy them both.

Though Gentile started his first band at the age of 13 and played throughout high school, he has been primarily on his own for the past several years. This stems from both circumstance and his personality. He says that he actually prefers playing in a band to playing solo, but has been moving around from place to place, making it difficult to keep up with a band. One could say there are parallels across Gentile’s relationships with bands and romantic partners. He has described his Ciao Bella concept as the addiction to falling in love-enduring both the good and bad that come with it- or going at life alone but with more freedom, wondering which is madness.

Of course, that’s not to say that Gentile and his music have not reaped the benefits of freedom. Not only is he recording an album largely about experiences with women, but he has had the opportunity to play with a wide range of musicians as well, some of them two and three times his age. His current producer and lead guitarist was originally his psychopharmacology professor, Dr. Peter Simson. Gentile avidly pursued a position in Simson’s lab studying the effect of Kava when directly stimulating brain tissue. Before long the two moved out of the lab and onto the stage to play some music.

When they began recording Ciao Bella, Dr. Simson brought in a third player, a veteran keyboardist and jack of all musical trades named Kirk who had spent the last thirty-some years playing all over New York City in venues such as CBGB’s. The trio have been both recording and playing shows together, though their sessions have been limited by Gentile’s homecoming to Columbus. However, true to form, Gentile has found/attracted a few new musical companions, from an elder blues guitarist across the street from his parents’ home to heavy metal and reggae bands at open mic nights looking for a singer or just a jam session.

All of these experiences and influences drive the evolution of Gentile’s music. “I’ve really been enjoying cutting out the age barrier. I try to learn as much as I can from people with totally different life and music experience. It’s been expanding my writing as well perspective on life.”

There is only one song that Gentile is re-recording for his second album from his first: Between Concrete and Bed Sheets. {Purple Sky} - a song he has been rewriting since high school, perhaps best encapsulates what Jason Gentile is all about. His decision to re-record Purple Sky was motivated by multiple factors: the studio he is now recording in is more sophisticated, and his sound has evolved due to his current companions and ever-expanding style. It is also his favorite song from his first album and has a special significance in his life that ties in to his Ciao Bella concept. Purple Sky is “That perfect moment. Call it that a temporary state of nirvana or…the moment ego doesn’t have any control- you’re just living.”

Gentile’s self-titled EP was released online Thanksgiving 2008 and will be available for purchase on iTunes shortly. Rumor has it Gentile’s second full-length disk: Ciao Bella will be released summer 2009, and this singer/songwriter is finally heading out to the west coast.