Interview with, ‘Leo D Swagger’

Interview with, 'Leo D Swagger'

Interview with, ‘Leo D Swagger’

Both a very talented musician and producer with years of experience in show business.

He is clearly a major player in the Rock Band, Demolition Amore

If Demolition Amore were the heart… Leo’s bass is its pulse!

Where are you from?

That is a very good question, I am from Caracas, Venezuela; a city once named “The heaven’s branch”. Unfortunately the criminals who still rule the country have destroyed almost everything, but they have not destroyed one thing: the hope of the Venezuelan people for freedom one day.

How long have you been making music?

Ever since I can remember, I have been making music. I was six years old when I learned to play my first instrument. Professionally, I’ve been making music for over a decade!

How many songs /albums have you released to date?

“Holding Up” is our debut single out right now, and currently the only song released from my band and I. I’m excited with the reaction we’ve gotten so far!

Can you tell us about your latest release and the background and inspirations behind it?

“Holding Up” is my bands latest release. This song was created out of a random jam session with my best friend and extraordinary musician Steve Arthur. Steve and I were band mates back in the 90’s, but we went our separate ways because I needed to focus on my family and raising my kids. That was my main priority during that time. Years later, Steve came to my place and we started jamming out together and BOOM, this hot tune was born! Later, as a producer I went to work on trying to find a singer who filled up my expectations for this song and wow, Nicky’s voice really blew our minds. The next step was to find a drummer and someone who could take care of keyboards and another guitar. There was no one better than Claudio Leoni for drums, and amazing musician and producer, Victor Hugo Mendoza. They are long time friends of ours with the talent and experience needed for this project. In fact, they are some of the musicians I admire the most! Inspirations? Well, like I said before, the tune we created had a sweet flow, but the lyrics were written by out of this world Canadian singer/writer, Al Faragalli, an excellent human being from Ontario, Canada

How have you ended up in the music industry?

I used to be a radio broadcasting producer and DJ in my home country, and one day, all of the sudden I was producing live concerts for the biggest artist in Venezuela and many other countries. Then I realized I couldn’t live without producing concerts and music. Although I stopped for years due to very serious health problems, but I never stopped thinking of coming back again!

What do you think of the music industry in 2020?

This is a very interesting question. I love the music industry right now. I have been against big record label monopolies all of my life. Although there are a lot of things that need to be changed nowadays, the fact that we can do amazing things just with a computer and audio interface, and of course, talent, gives many artists the chance to express themselves and get exposure in this new digital market revolution. Now you can work with people who are away from you with ease, like in my own case with Victor, Claudio & Al. Thanks to social networks and digital platforms, we can manage our music careers ourselves!

Who do you think the most influential artist?

Aww this one is a hard question. I admire so many good and talented artist that it would be unfair not to name all of the ones who influenced me, but I will take the chance and mention some of them

Van Halen, Gustavo Cerati, Dr Dre, Robert Smith, Flea, Marcus Miller, Pharrell Williams, Iron Maiden, Phil Collins, Franco de Vita, Police, Seal, The Tea Party, among others

Who have you collaborated with so far in your career?

So far I have collaborated with so many wonderful artists, but the one who impacted me the most was Jeremy and Seth Ciavarella. They are outrageous musicians who have taught me a lot!

How do you think you differ from other artists?

I think what makes me different is my perspective on life. Everything has a specific order, and everything happens on its on time. I believe that the energy that you put out in the world, is the energy you’ll receive back. The message that I always try to give as an artist is to always be positive

Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration?

There are many artist that I’d dream to collaborate with. Among the biggest names in industry, I would love to collaborate with Lady Gaga and The Weeknd. But my dreams are being fulfilled right now as I am currently producing a girl who I can tell is my dream come true when it comes to a complete artist. She is the whole package, if you know what I mean. She has a unique, amazing, and powerful voice. She is beautiful with an amazing image, charming like an angel, and oh boy can she sing! Ornella Giannotti, DO NOT FORGET HER NAME!

What was the first album you bought?

The first album I bought was KISS ALIVE II. I was 6 years old and I remember begging my grandma to buy me this album just because of the cover. I did not have any idea about Kiss until I got this double album which blew my mind!

What’s your favourite song at the moment?

Definitely my third single soon to come, “Own It”. Wait for the release and give a listen to it, it will catch you up from the very beginning.

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?

There are 2 albums that I will never get rid of it…

Fair Warning by Van Halen and Dynamo by Soda Stereo!

What is your favourite saying?

Don’t quit, the best is yet to come!

What other hobbies or interests do you have?

I love nature, so I try to have contact with nature as much as I can. I think having contact with nature not only brings you balance but it teaches you to respect life!

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

Yes I do, I have a huge roaring Lion joined with a red rose and a cross on my right arm. It means a lot to me!

Tell us more about your upcoming project or this new project?

Demolition Amore is releasing their second single any time soon. “Blood Shot Eyes”, is a good old fashioned
Rock ‘n’ Roll song with amazing music elements from today which are perfectly blended for an awesome musical track!

What’s in the pipeline after this project?

I will keep on working with Demolition Amore until we can get all together to put on a good live show. We hope for this pandemic to end soon so we can be ready to start touring in 2021. In the mean time, I have a lot of work to do with Ornella and later I will be producing Al Faragalli. This guy needs to be known and heard, he has a lot to offer to the music industry.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making great, fresh music.

Aww, thank you for this unique chance! I appreciate it a lot.

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