Interview by Madison Boyce
Photo by Anam Merchant
Coming off the release of his newest EP "Joy, Find Me", we got to sit down and ask Gino Savarino a few questions about Safe Bet's recent growth and the inspiration behind the new songs. This is someone you most certainly want to keep on your radar; we can definitely see this EP making him more popular than he already is.
For those who don’t know, who is Safe Bet?
Safe Bet is the emo solo project of Gino Savarino (me) based in Chicago.
How would you describe your sound?
I guess I would describe my sound with one word: emotional, or so I’ve been told. (laughs) Emotional-sounding vocals with guitar parts that match.
How would you say Safe Bet has evolved since the first EP, “How’s Life Without Me”?
I think Safe Bet has evolved simply in the way I write songs now. Just as any artist progresses in their songwriting, I think my ability to write stronger, catchier choruses, more interesting guitar parts, and things like that have grown over time.
Do you have any stories from the time when you recorded "Joy, Find Me?"
Not really any *interesting* stories per se, but I suppose the process in which Sam (Henderson) and I record is interesting. This EP, as well as the last three, are almost always recorded in bits and pieces - I rarely set aside like, a week or two to knock out a few songs.
I live close to ABG Studio (where all of my music has been recorded) so Sam and I just coordinate like, “you wanna come in for a few hours on this day?” and it’s a somewhat slow process, especially for "Joy, Find Me." This EP was recorded over the course of like, almost a whole year.
Who were you listening to around the time of writing and recording this EP? Did they inspire any parts of it?
I was listening to so much Panic! At the Disco when I was writing the majority of these songs. There was probably a week straight where I listened to "A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out" at least once a day; I think that influence is most clear in the song "Comfortable."
Out of the five tracks on “Joy, Find Me” which would you say your favorite is and why?
"Comfortable" is my favorite from the EP, and is easily my favorite song I’ve ever released so far. It just has such a different vibe from anything else I’ve written, in my opinion.
I originally wanted to put like, a fuzzy, lo-fi sounding beat over it, but decided that it would stick out too much from the rest of the EP. I’m also a huge Nintendo geek and kind 0f stole the guitar part in the chorus from the Fairy Fountain Theme from The Legend of Zelda...oops.
What does “Joy, Find Me” mean to you personally?
That is a really great question, and I don’t really have a solid answer. (laughs) I’ve never thought about it.
I think the phrase, “joy, find me”, itself is somewhat self-explanatory, like, longing for the day that you can find yourself in a better headspace. I guess the EP itself was written as a letter to myself, in some way, so it is definitely special to me.
Were there any other titles you were considering for the EP?
Honestly, no. I was writing the chorus for "Joy" and that first line, “it feels like every time joy finds me” just kind of clicked in my brain and I was like, “yep that’s a cool phrase, that is definitely what this EP is gonna be called”, so it surprisingly just came to me rather organically.
Are there any bands you would want to play with once it's safe for shows to come back? Any certain venues you’d want to play?
I would kill to play any show with any artist at any venue right now haha. I’m dying to get back to that environment.
To end this off, is there anything you’d want to say to people reading this right now?
First off, I’d like to thank you all at Legends of Tomorrow for taking some time to talk to me about the EP, and thank anyone who is reading this! Secondly, wear your damn mask.
Finally, take care of each other; have patience, check on your friends, and be kind. Thanks for your time!
We would like to give a huge thank you to Gino Savarino of Safe Bet for taking the time to sit down and chat with us! You can check out our full review of the EP here.
You can support Safe Bet by streaming "Joy, Find Me" anywhere you listen to music, and by keeping up with the project on Twitter @SafeBetOfficial. If you've listened to the EP, tweet us your thoughts @lgndsoftmrw!
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