FROM A 2005 INTERVIEW WITH GIOIA BRUNO OF EXPOSE, WHO SANG THE LEAD VOCAL ON
                                                                              "LET ME BE THE ONE"
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When did you first get interested in music?

My mom tells me I was singing when I was a very little girl, and I think my first performance was "Me and My Teddy Bear" when I was in kindergarten.  Just like Britney Spears.

In eighth grade I did "The King and I," and I was Anna.  And then in high school I met an incredible musician who became one of my very close friends.  His name is David Fields.  We were hanging out at my house and he started playing the piano and I started singing.  He asked me what songs I knew, and I sang "I Feel The Earth Move" by Carol King.  He just looked up at me and said "Oh, my God, you can sing."

I started singing, basically working with David on different stuff, guitar, etc.  I was in my sophomore year of high school, age 16.   I ended up reforming his band when he went to the Berkeley School of Music.  The band was called Kickback, and we started touring the three surrounding states, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.  It was the most fun band.  I remember, we played Top 40 stuff and it was great.  And my Mom got me a fake ID.  So it really took off when I was 16, that's when I got addicted to the whole performance side of things.

The funny thing is that, now that I'm based in New York, after not seeing David for almost 20 years, he and I are working together again.  We have recently written three or four songs.  It's really cool.  It's gone full circle.

We all know the history, how you were discovered, but I'm interested in knowing how the actual recording during your time with Exposé came about.  Were they short sessions, long...?

I went into the studio... I think I had three takes.   "Let Me Be The One"-- I did two lead vocals and I did one extra.  So it probably took about a half hour!

Wow, that was really quick.

It would have been a lot nicer if I had more time to work with different sounds, but it is what it is, and people seem to like it enough.

And I guess with What You Don't Know you did a lot more work... or maybe not.

Well, I was pregnant for the following album, and I never sang better in my life.  They say when a woman's pregnant, it's a positive thing vocally.   I don't know what it is exactly, I suppose it's hormonal.   I just noticed a difference in my range.

Did you perform all at the same time together, or all solo?

No, it's impossible to record like that.  It's one person at a time.  You do your lead vocal alone.  But we would do our harmonies together.  Sometimes the girls would come in, though, and back me up.  For instance, I remember Jeanette saying she wanted to come into the studio when I did... hmmm...I think it was "December."

I was just curious how the whole recording process worked, because I know you have to do a lot of overdubs...

We didn't do that many.  Only when we really need to fix something or change a part.  We were singing on the road for so long... I think I'd been playing out for seven years before I joined Exposé, the other girls, too, and like any professional you go in and you get the job done, and we were definitely on a tight schedule.

Overdub (giggles)... I haven't heard the word "overdub" since I was in Exposé.

Singing dance music is different from singing with a live band, yes?

When you are singing dance music with a band, there are certain sounds on the sampler mixed with live instruments.  I like it better.  The energy is very different.  Much more exciting, organic.

Use of a band prevents people from getting miffed with lip-synching and tracking.   Are you concerned about that?

Let's talk about that.

Okay, sure, because it's topical right now, with the whole Ashlee Simpson event...

Absolutely, oh, my God, what a mess.  I'm not going to make any judgments on it, but personally, if I go into a soundcheck and they have no monitors, then there's a ghost vocal on the track.  I lost my voice in the past.  I won't compromise my instrument because somebody didn't do their job.  You can't hear the ghost track over live singing, and at no time is my microphone ever off.

The only time we ever lip-synched was back with Exposé, when we did a TV show that wasn't equipped for live sound.

The weird thing for me was seeing "Showtime at the Apollo," the two appearances you did.  The first time it was live, the second time it was a track.

Never ever.  "Showtime" was live both times.  There's no such thing as NOT live at the Apollo.

There was no band.

Correct, but the vocal was live.

No...

Are you kidding?  You ever walk your ass into "Showtime at the Apollo"?

No, what I was saying is that the tape I watched had a track; it wasn't a live vocal feed.

No way, Ray.  Wait, did you say "live vocal feed"???  You need to get out more.

I know the show was live and the vocals at the show were live, but the syndicated show I have a copy of used a track.

Hmm.  I don't think so.  They might have messed with it in post-production, though.

In your opinion, was Exposé ever a "teen idol" act?

We got a lot of coverage in teeny-bopper magazines, but at our shows we had a lot of moms with their young kids, and I see those kids now, and they say "I loved Exposé."

What did you think of the critics back then?  They didn't seem to give Exposé a lot of respect.

You know what's amazing?  They were really harsh on us.  I had forgotten, but I noticed as I was reading some of the reviews my mom had saved.  It's really funny.  I remember the people at the label would say, "Record sales talk."  Back then, we got beat up a lot, but now we're kind of a cult classic.  People love us so much; they love our old songs.

I was really hurt by one review in the past, in People magazine...

I remember that one... something about you being a "third-rate Cher."

Yeah, they called me a "thrice-removed Cher."  I was very upset about that at the time.  I was young, and well, quite frankly, I should have taken it as a compliment.  Cher is amazing!  To be compared to her in any way should have made me happy... but I wanted to be me.

And for the record, I can do Cher very well.  But everybody's different.  We are all individuals, and it's not a competitive sport.

On my new record, I needed to put together some new press.  I got online and typed in my name.  I haven't read one negative review for this record.  I was amazed and grateful.  Before "Exposé This" came out, I was a bit apprehensive.  I thought, "They're gonna rip me apart."  I think that people are genuinely happy for me; they know I got a second chance at my dream. So I'm not afraid to read reviews anymore.  I'm a big girl now and I can take it.

I just thought they were harsh.

Well, look at what they are saying about Ashlee Simpson, and she still has a million people who love her to death.  Can she sing live or not?  I don't know.   I heard her on the radio awards.  She might still have trouble with her voice... I wasn't feeling her at all.  But damn, can she square dance!

Sometimes people go into the studio and that is the beginning of their musical education.  I'm lucky... I got to be in a band when I was sixteen.  I had to learn, and I had to work on it.

What do you think of pop music today?

How do you go about writing your songs?  Do you think melody first or lyrics first?

I do it a lot of different ways, but I'll talk about my favorite way to do it.   I like to start from scratch.  I just take my baggage. That's usually enough to scare the hell out of anyone who's been hanging out with me.   I love to collaborate.  You need to be open and secure enough to make an ass of yourself.

I've written a lot of songs by myself, but I love people; when you find somebody you can vibe with, mess with... collaborations are incredible.  It's like the difference between making spaghetti sauce with just a tomato and creating it using a lot of ingredients and spices.

People get stuck, so when you collaborate, you bring in new ideas.   I like to go into the studio, and we start with whatever instrument we're feeling and I start creating --I like funky vibe-y stuff-- and I listen to the notes,the chords, and I start to get a melody in my head.  Then it's what I consider free association... sometimes a song just happens in record time.  All inspiration. Other times it's like listening to my niece Elizabeth tell a story, and you're holding the butter knife in your hand. straining to keep from.... sorry.