Seattle – The first thing you notice about Geri X is her honesty. Between her lyrics, her raw, pure voice, her openness with fans, and her no-bullshit attitude, the genre-blending singer-songwriter is a refreshing act who puts soul in her music.
Hailing from Tampa Bay by way of Pleven, Bulgaria, Geri X (born Gergana Petrova Micheva) was trained in classical piano and guitar from a young age. When her family moved to Florida in 2000, she didn’t know any English, but she joined her middle school choir to help her learn.
Struggling with depression during her teenage years, Geri turned to songwriting, which she says was like her therapy. Her background in instrumental music made its way, at first unknowingly, into her songs. “I started realizing, when I would write vocal melodies, they were almost like piano riffs or guitar riffs,” she says. She’s also a writer inspired by conflict. “I have to go to a dark place, I have to get stuff out,” she says. “Whenever I get mad or sad, whatever makes me feel threatened or conflicted, I write about it.”
Growing up, Geri would listen to classical, blues, and jazz, including artists like Billie Holiday, Etta James, Bill Withers, and Howlin’ Wolf. Though her music is modern, you can hear these and other influences, like psychedelic rock and Brit rock, in songs such as “All the Money’s Gone” and “The Perfectionist (In Love with the City).” She’s also covered The Doors’ “Love Her Madly” on 2014’s A Psych Tribute to The Doors.
She’s an artist defined by a unique, captivating voice; by truthful, personal lyrics; by Kickstarter-funded, self-recorded albums; and by a healthy adoration for Jim Beam (see: her 2011 album Whiskey and Cigarettes).
Due to her disparate musical influences and styles, Geri X has even been able to collaborate with legends such as Dave Davies – she appeared on the track “When I First Saw You,” a retro country, bluesy ballad, on his 2013 album It Will Be Me, which also featured artists such as Ty Segall and The Jayhawks.
The experience working with Davies was important for her. “I’ve been a Kinks fan for a long time,” she says. “Being able to work with someone who pioneered Brit rock, [who] came at the start of the Brit rock movement, was amazing for me.”
2014 saw the release of Geri’s fifth LP, White Light, written for a friend who had recently passed away. “He’s like a father to me and it was a really difficult loss for me, so White Light is about him,” she says. Funded by a Kickstarter, the album was recorded in Madison, Wisconsin, at an old friend’s home studio. “It was a really cool experience working with people I’m comfortable with because it allows me to open up,” she says. That vulnerability, and the emotion influenced by the loss of a loved one, shine through on tracks like “Blood & Honey” and “Wishin’ you Were Here.”
Geri says that she is surprised and honored by the support she’s received from fans and music lovers over the years, and while she admits to wanting fame and a financially stable future, she just wants to be able to share her music with as many people as possible. “I’m doing it because I can’t stop writing, and people want to hear my music,” she says. “I’m still gonna keep playing bar gigs and scraping by if I have to.”
“It’s more about self-preservation,” she adds. “And not being alone, knowing that other people feel like me and they don’t feel alone because someone else understands them.”
We found out about Geri X on Reverbnation. For more of Geri’s music and tour dates, check out her Reverbnation page.
Photo By DanEggerPhotography.com
BestNewBands.com is pleased to present a series of articles about worthy artists that came to us via our Artist Discovery program with ReverbNation, the website that provides over three million music industry professionals with powerful easy-to-use technology to promote and prosper online. Look for additional artist profiles in the weeks and months ahead!
Caitlin Peterkin
With degrees in journalism and music, Caitlin’s written for Paste Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and MajoringinMusic.com. She loves cheese, laughing at GIFs of corgis, road trip sing-alongs, and connecting with people over good beer and good music.
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