Thursday nights are the best time to get ready for the weekend, and what better way to spend it than at a Giovannie and the Hired Guns concert? This concert was electric, shook the ground of College Station, and had the Tap crowd roaring for more songs. Before the show, I got to talk to Giovannie Yanez and ask him some questions about how the band started and what’s in store for the future.

Gio talked about how the band got together, citing that being in Stephenville, he was able to meet the people that he would eventually consider his band. He met his bass guitarist, Alex Trejo, at the pawnshop he was working at and even sold him his first amp. Then Trejo introduced him to Jerrod Flusche, whom Gio would call his "Rhythm but also a Lead Guitarist," and to the drummer of the band, Milton Toles, while Carlos Villa, the lead guitarist, is Gio’s cousin. When all these guys were on stage with Gio, he knew that they were the ones that were meant to be in the band. Gio stated that if any of these guys were to leave, it would be like a missing link and the sound wouldn’t be the same. 

Tonight's show was at The Tap in College Station, a smaller bar here in town. The band, however, has played in arenas like Globe Life Field and is preparing to play at Welcome to Rockville, a rock festival in Florida. The next day, after opening for Jason Aldean at Globe Life, the band went to play at a bar like The Tap. He stated that "You don’t know how massive these arenas are until you’re on that stage." Smaller venues or bars, however, bring you that "one-on-one, in-your-face" atmosphere that you can’t get at those big arenas. While he does love playing on the big stage, they lack the personal touch that these smaller venues have to offer. 

The most recent song that Giovannie and the Hired Guns have released is the remix of Ramon Ayala. This song was named after one of the greatest Norteo composers known as El Rey del Acordeon, or The King of the Accordion. In the remix, Gio had Bo Bundy hop onto the track and have a few verses. When talking to Gio about how he met Bo Bundy, he said it was his cousin who first introduced him to Bo’s music. Bo then commented on one of Gio’s posts where Gio was with his girlfriend, about how Gio was "out here doing it for the big guys." Then Gio went on to message Bo and got his phone number. Then one day, Gio decided to call Bo and talked to him on the phone for a few hours, spitting lines and cutting music. Gio said that when he talked to Bo, he felt as if they had known each other since they were kids. What Bo was doing made Gio realize that he was the perfect fit for the song. Bo then sent Gio over a remix to Ramon Ayala, and he knew that it had to get cut and released. 

If any of you have been following this band, we all know that they are due a new album. With the two new singles, "Can't Answer Why" and "Ramon Ayala," we can only expect that something is in the works. When asked, Gio said, "I won't tell you the date, but expect something pretty soon."

To finish the interview, we talked to Gio about his adventures and how he likes to explore music. Getting most of his start from the Texas country scene, Gio has been able to grab the attention of fans who wouldn’t usually consider themselves country fans. Gio said, "I don't want to limit myself to all these genres; it's not a genre, it's just music. I want to feel the country, the rock and the corrido. I want to be every little piece. "

This concert had everyone singing their hearts out. Watching the crowd roar, I could tell that Gio had met his goal of wanting to be able to "Take everyone away for 90 minutes from their world and let us be an outlet for people and let them have the most fun time of their life." If you get the chance to see Giovannie and the hired guns in concert, I highly recommend doing so and be on the lookout for new music coming out soon.