Gigi Denisco, a singer/songwriter/guitarist who performs constantly around Florida, released her third CD, Too Close for Comfort, a few years ago. Her brand of old-style rock is tinged with the blues and would make a connection with many listeners of adult contemporary. Gigi lists her musical influences as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Heart, the Pretenders and Bonnie Raitt, among others.

One of the songs Gigi released from this album is "Before We Start." In the liner notes, Gigi describes herself as a "closet bluegrass player at heart." She first came up with the guitar riff before writing the lyrics. In her words, "It's about knowing better, letting your guard down and how everything changes after you fall in love."

Gigi started her youth as a classically trained pianist. She picked up the guitar at age 9 and, except for revisiting the piano again from 15 to 21, the guitar has remained her instrument of choice. She also started writing songs at age 15. Gigi has pretty decent vocals. Her voice is a little more husky, or smoky, than your average female artist, and she occasionally struggles to hold notes, but she isn't bad overall. You can learn a little more about her at her website listed below.

"Walkin' a Line" is a rare track on the CD in that it was not penned by Gigi, and it sounds like it was written for mainstream radio. If I didn't know better, I might have thought this was Melissa Ethridge rocking out. The theme of this song is similar to "Before We Start" -- the focus is on being smitten. In this case, however, the singer wants to be set free from the addiction of love.

I shouldn't fail to mention Gigi's band, which has performed together for more than seven years. That's longer than a lot of marriages! Jimi Fiano strums various guitars and mandolin. Oscar Dorta can be found on drums. Matthew Coogan plays bass. Supporting musicians on this album include Steve Argy (bass), George "Chocolate" Perry (bass), Chip Staples (percussion), Dean Sire (keyboards), Frank Lynch (harmonica) and Nicole Yarling, Jimmy Jack Tamboro and Kevin Kelly (background vocals).

Gigi's musical style and vocals are very reminiscent of songs I've heard on the radio by Raitt and Etheridge. Gigi's songs are mostly originals that have received a good audience response during her concerts, so the selections on Too Close for Comfort are user tested, so to speak. If you like the older, adult-contemporary style of rock of the artists mentioned previously, I would think that you would like most, if not all, of the nine tracks you'll find here.

[ visit the artist's website ]