Jessie Galante – Spitfire ‘A mix of Sass Jordan & Alannah Myles’

As a singer, Jessie Galante has dedicated her life to the art of live performance. It is said that the true soul is more than just the sound of the singer and that is definitely the case with rock spellbinder Jessie Galante. Her urge to electrify audiences with her expressive powerhouse vocals comes from deep within.

Jessie was born in Buffalo, NY to Sicilian parents who introduced her to the music of her Italian heritage at an early age by playing and singing continuously throughout the house.  That constant exposure planted the original seed of passion for music inside Jessie’s heart and soul.  But as Jessie came of age, she felt the emotional frustration bearing down on her from a traditionally strict Sicilian upbringing, Jessie felt a revolution brewing inside her against becoming that tame little girl that her parents wanted. She began to feel the power and the love of rock music stirring inside of her.

So this rebellious teenager desperately began craving to express herself in a way that would communicate that energy and that pent up emotion. To find her outlet, Jessie took to the streets of her native Buffalo, a city filled with rock and blues clubs at the time. It was here, in the streets, where she found her voice and found herself.

Jessie was an instant success armed with her incredible voice and her “no fear” approach to performing. She ravaged the stages of Buffalo like one of the storms that frequent that city. With her first band “Actor”, Jessie rapidly became the number one female singer in the region and was crowned the city’s “First Lady of Rock”  …. a title that is yet to be challenged. Her first recording with “Actor”, “Checkin’ Out”, was released only months after Jessie came on the scene and is still being played regularly on Buffalo’s number one rock radio station.

Jessie received numerous awards in the region as voted by fans and club owners. One of the most notable club owners at that time was none other than Harvey Weinstein, who went on to great success in the movie industry with Miramax Productions. Harvey awarded Jessie his club’s “Best Female Vocalist” award. The Hardrock Café is dedicating a display case in 2012 at their Niagara Falls location that will house that jacket awarded to Jessie by Harvey Weinstein along with other memorabilia.

Recently Jessie was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame where she took her place among the region’s most illustrious members such as  the Goo Goo  Dolls, Ani DiFranco, Rick James, Brian McKnight and Spyro Gyra.

But after the band “Actor” broke up Jessie moved to LA.  Within a year’s time, Jessie was signed by manager Ray Brown. Ray was working with Bon Jovi, Cher, and Def Leppard at the time and formed the band “Fire” around Jessie. And as what happened in Buffalo, Jessie and “Fire” lit up LA in a hurry.  Jessie performed with “Fire” at all of LA’s landmark rock venues such as The Whisky A Go Go, The Roxy, Gazarris and The Reseda Country Club.  The band “Fire” was consistently voted one of the top ten hottest bands in LA and in an article in the LA Music Connection magazine, Jessie was described as “Arguably one of the hottest front women LA has to offer”.

The  band “Fire” recorded a four song demo with mega-producer Michael Wagener. Some of Mr. Wagner’s credits include Queen, Sass Jordan, Janet Jackson, The Rasmus, Great White and Extreme.  After hearing the demo, an international music critic wrote, “The band was often called to undertake showcase gigs for the major labels, and on the strength of their only recorded demo, they should have been a compulsory signing then and there!”.

It was later revealed that same demo recording produced by Michael Wagener was being played in regular rotation by radio stations in Germany, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy.  It seemed that it was Europe that had welcomed Jessie’s soulful rock voice with airplay followed by tremendous press coverage.. This is something Jessie would never forget when deciding on where to focus her energies in the future.

The band “Fire” eventually broke up.  Jessie had it with the politics of LA and decided to strike out on her own as a solo artist. This also sparked the desire to write her own music and to record her first solo CD. She returned to Buffalo where she felt she could concentrate on her music.

While back in Buffalo, Jessie was  introduced to fellow Buffalo native Larry Swist who had worked with artists such as Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Ike &Tina Turner, Spyro Gyra and Sly & the Family Stone. Together they produced Jessie’s first solo CD entitled “Gesua,” (Jessie’s actual Sicilian name). This recording was described by Dale Anderson of the Buffalo News as “ A gritty album that confronts a gamut of emotional demons and dares you to flinch”. This album was Jessie’s statement of liberation  … a kind of emotional release after dealing with all she had gone through in LA. This was the turning point when Jessie felt she could be herself as a performer and didn’t have to answer to anyone except the voice inside her head.

Armed with this newfound freedom and determination, Jessie decided to focus on Europe.  She recalled how readily this audience embraced her voice with the LA “Fire” Demo recordings. So once again, she packed her bags and set out for the unknown. After  just a few performances, she was convinced that she had made the right decision.  A promoter in Holland enthusiastically proclaimed, “Jessie is a major victory for live entertainment in Europe!”. In a live radio performance at L1 Radio in The Netherlands, DJ Hubert Van Hoof compared Jessie to Chaka Kahn and Joyce Kennedy of Mother’s Finest. Currently, Jessie’s performances in Europe continue to capture the interests of radio stations and concert promoters.  In 2008 and again in 2009, Jessie was invited to perform live on RTL National Television in Budapest, Hungary.  Another music reviewer from Germany, Hans-Jurgen Klitch of Hartbeat magazine put it, “I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Jessie who must rate as the biggest white soul sister around at the moment”.  “A voice as big as Ayers rock”.

Since that time, Jessie has divided her time between her home in New York City and performing in Europe. In 2010 she released her latest CD titled, “Spitfire,” which involved a high-profile team of musicians, producers and engineers that truly understood the potential of Jessie’s voice and the power of her performance chops. Double platinum producer Larry Swist was involved once again. Co-producing waseight time Grammy award winner multi-platinum mixer Mick Guzauski, whose incredible body of work includes artists like Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Anastacia, Kiss, Celine Dion and Earth Wind and Fire.

Also joining the production team was Manhattan based guitarist, singer-songwriter Rob Bailey, who produced three tracks on the “Spitfire” CD. Rob Bailey has worked with such artists as Anastacia, JaRule, Gavin Degraw, Ric Wake and Jive Jones. Sony/ATV songwriter Lee Horrocks rounded out the team. An all-star backing band was also assembled to play on the CD that included bassist Jack Daley (Joss Stone, Lenny Kravitz) and  drummer Frank Ferrer (Guns N’ Roses, Psychedelic Furs)

In 2011,  Jessie completed two successful tours of The Netherlands and Belgium that included live radio and television performances.  These are places with special meaning for her since it was here where she first performed in Europe and it was here that she felt her voice was truly heard. Since that first time she has returned often and she has made many fans and friends there.

As Jessie puts it, “it all boils down to really knowing who you are and really knowing what you’re meant to do with the time you have on this Earth”. Jessie Galante has truly walked this path. It is obvious from the first time you see her on a stage that she was just meant to be there. It’s all summed up in the name Jessie gave her music publishing company …. “Mamma, I Just Wanna Sing!”

In Studio Musicians:
Rob Bailey, Erin Bailey, Jack Daley, John Montagna, Frank Ferrer, Mike Caputy, Wally Gator Watson, Dennis Wage, Chris Clark, Rossano Galante, Grant Geissman, Larry Swist, Ethan Porter, Diane Livingston, Alice Floyd, Marian Shaw

Studio Musicians and Live Musicians Line-Up (Hungary):
Janos Szucs – Guitar
Peter Raso – Guitar
Tibor Ferenczi – Bass
Janos Takacs – Drums
Zoli Maklary – Drums

Live Musicians Line-Up – (The Netherlands):
Joop Wolters – Guitar
Patrick Overklift – Guitar
Marc Soeters – Bass
Patrick Van den Heuvel – Drums

Tracklisting:
1- Spitfire
2. High Road Easy
3. I Crave It
4. Go On Rain On Me
5. Can’t Find My Baby
6. I’ve Got To Use My Imagination
7. Get Away
8. Grown Man Cry
9. No Fool No More
10. Mamma (I Get A Little Crazy)

Sources:

Two Side Moon Promotions
http://www.jessiegalante.com/