Luxury Experience - Giulia Millanta

Some releases grab you from the opening track; Giulia Millanta - Moonbeam Parade, is one of them. The multi-talented singer, multi-lingual songwriter, musician who hails from Florence, Italy, learned to play guitar from her father at 8, and moved to Austin, Texas in 2012. She has a voice made to sing rock and her inspired and emotionally evocative lyrics will keep you listening to make sure that you do not miss a word on the 13-track release.

Giulia Millanta - Moonbeam Parade: Shaky Legs, 4^th of Vodka, Play With Fire, Eve's Song, R&R Suicide, Motel Song, Pieces, There's A Bridge, Silvery Gown, Gun Shy, If You Ask Me, The House Always Wins, Not The Mirror

Personnel: Giulia Millanta - vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Charlie Sexton - electric guitar on Motel Song and The House Always Wins, Gabriel Rhodes - electric guitar, glasses, piano (Shaky Legs, If You Ask Me, Not The Mirror), and BGV (Shaky Legs, The House Always Wins), David Pulkingham - electric guitar on Shaky Legs, Glenn Fukunaga - bass, George Reiff - bass (Play With Fire, R & R Suicide), Dony Wynn - drums and percussion, Hunt Sales - drums (Play With Fire, R & R Suicide), Cully Symington - drums (Eve's Song, Pieces, If You Ask Me), Stefano Intelisano - piano, rhodes (There's A Bridge, Gun Shy, The House Always Wins), Howe Gelb - piano (Silvery Gown), vocals (R &R Suicide), Michael Fracasso - vocals (If You Ask Me), Noelle Hampton - background vocals (Shaky Legs, Play With Fire, Motel Song, There's A Bridge, Gun Shy, The House Always Wins), Kimmie Rhodes - background vocals (Shaky Legs, Play With Fire, There's A Bridge, The House Always Wins)

Giulia Millanta - Moonbeam Parade was produced by Giulia Millanta and George Reiff and released by Ugly Cat Records.

Giulia Millanta - Moonbeam Parade, is her fifth solo release. Giulia's comments on the album, "What sets it apart from my previous works is that I play electric guitar for the first time, and it's on most of the songs...And all the tracks were live with the band. They ended up keeping all my vocal takes - but one - and all my guitar takes. Only a few overdubs were done, which is something I'm very proud of."

She wrote, or co-wrote, all 13-tracks on Moonbeam Parade except for David Bowie's R&R Suicide. The release opens with the very catchy song, Shaky Legs, written by Giulia Millanta and husband David Pulkingham, which had me singing the chorus, "... the world is spinning, shaky legs, shaky legs ... the world is spinning and she can't get up," at first listen in my car as I drove along the highway, and it continues to be one of my many favorites on the release. David Pulkingham adds his electric guitar to Giulia's, Glenn Fukunaga adds bass, Dony Wynn plays drums, Gabriel Rhodes layers in piano, electric guitar, glasses, and BVG, and Noelle Hampton and Kimmie Rhodes add background vocals.

Next in the line-up is 4^th and Vodka, which has a great guitar intro, followed by the slower paced Play With Fire written by Giulia Millanta and Gabriel Rhodes with George Reiff on bass, Hunt Sales on drums, and Noelle Hampton and Kimmie Rhodes adding background vocals. The release picks up the pace Eve's Song, with Cully Symington on drums.

The number five spot on the playlist, is the David Bowie 1972 song, R&R Suicide, off his Quicksand album, which Giulia covers and makes her own, singing the lyrics in her native Italian, with Howe Gelb on piano and adding his deep vocals, and singing in English, Hunt Sales on drums, and George Reiff on bass. It is the only song on the release that Giulia does not sing in English.

Silvery Gown, with its hypnotic rhythm and captivating lyrics will have you up on your feet swaying and dancing. Joining Giulia and the band: Glenn Fukunaga on bass, and Dony Wynn on drums and percussion, on Gun Shy, is Stefano Intelisano layering in piano and rhodes, and Noelle Hampton adding background vocals.

Soft and slow is the track If You Ask Me, co-written by Giulia and Michael Fracasso, features Gabriel Rhodes on piano, electric guitar, and glasses, Cully Symington on drums, and Michael Fracasso harmonizing with Giulia.

The House Always Wins, another one of my favorites, co-written by Giulia and David Pulkingham is about the dichotomy of wealth and has great lyrics with Giulia asking "... I wonder who's the dealer of the cards ... the dealer deals, the gambler bets, the house always wins, don't you get it yet ... "about the disparity. The song has a deep Texas twang and shows the Austin rubbing off on Giulia. Charlie Sexton adds his electric guitar to Giulia's, Stefano Intelisano layers in some fine piano and rhodes, Gabriel Rhodes plays BVG, and Noelle Hampton and Kimmie Rhodes add their vocals to Giulia's, to create a song with amazing results.

Other notable songs include Motel Song, Pieces, and There's A Bridge. The release ends with the song, Not The Mirror, a slow lament, which features Giulia's heartbreaking voice and Gabriel Rhodes on piano. Now "musically acquainted" with the talented Giulia Millanta, I look forward to hearing more from this dynamic singer, songwriter, and musician. Pick up a copy of Giulia Millanta - Moonbeam Parade and give it several listens, you will be glad you did.

For information on Giulia Millanta and upcoming performances, please visit the website: www.GiuliaMillanta.com