Meet Gigi Barwald

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gigi Barwald.

Hi Gigi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up singing my whole life, from performances for class to musical theatre roles at the local community theatre to singing my favorite songs for myself and family. My instrumental journey was an interesting one though. Although my parents noticed my inclination for music early in life, it wasn’t until middle school that I joined the drum line and discovered my love for percussion. Throughout my whole upbringing, music was everywhere, and my parents were just waiting for the day I finally became a lead singer in a rock band. That’s why it was no surprise when I finally started my own band Junior year of college. I had taught myself how to play guitar at my parent’s home in Woodland Hills during the pandemic and definitely annoyed my neighbors during lockdown.

My dad is a guitarist so I began to play his steel string Oasis every single day until I went back to school in New Jersey. There I started my band called “T@b Grrrl” and throughout the course of a year, we were playing live shows, selling merch, and releasing a self-titled EP with me as frontman/vocalist. It’s weird because it wasn’t even until a few years ago, when I was visiting a friend in OC that I picked up the bass, and now I find myself choosing which instrument to reach for in the living room. Little gigi used to beg her dad to teach her how to play guitar, and now she’s all grown up making her own music and becoming a multi-instrumentalist icon in the making.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, I think I got really lucky at the beginning of t@b, especially in terms of finding bandmates. I feel like the hardest part of any project is finding people who are as committed to your project as you are AND on the same schedule. HOT TIP: You won’t make it far without the latter. I was also fortunate enough to click instantaneously with the members of my band and that made our writing process a lot smoother and faster as well. I’d say our biggest roadblock thus far has been learning how to navigate our new schedules now that two of us recently graduated from university and one of us grrrlz (not I) has started law school-which has obviously caused a bit of a scheduling conflict.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m unsure how to define myself or my career overall, but I think creative is a good overarching term. I think what I do is cool because I’ve melded a few creative worlds together. I have taken my love for music and journalism and have turned it into more than just passion. I have been hosting a show on WMCX 88.9FM for two years called “Gigi’s 120 Riot Wrrrld,” where I supply my listeners with 120 minutes of “rockin tunez and great conversation” and play music only from femme or queer-fronted bands mainly of the rock/punk/riot grrrl genre. I’m a music reporter and an on-air radio personality who also happens to be a creative herself. Not only do I work in print and broadcast media, but the interviewer has recently become the interviewee. I interview musicians, but I am also a musician and vocalist of my band, t@b grrrl, bringing a different perspective to my reporting. That, along with my age, is what I think sets me apart from others in my field. I also have a strong passion for fashion, and lately, I have begun to delve into the world of modeling. I was recently given the incredible opportunity to work with designer Shane Kastl and director Elizabeth Acevedo on a short film for his recent professional fashion debut, and it was cathartic as all hell. I’ve always seen clothes as a way to express myself, and I feel like the capturing of wearable art and fashion with either photography or videography can take that to a whole new level. I look forward to seeing where doing more in front of the camera will lead.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most valuable lesson I have learned thus far is to take my time. Obviously, don’t “lollygag” and sit around doing nothing all day, every day, but don’t stress yourself out too much. Your art should be for yourself, and you should want to create without feeling like you have to or should. I struggle with anxiety and constantly have to remind myself that everything happens in due time. Sometimes, I feel like I have to be on top of my grind, constantly creating and reaching out to people new and old, and I forget to take care of myself. I have to remember that it’s okay for things to take a little longer than anticipated or to have minor setbacks, especially when it’s out of my control. Someone once told me to ride the wave when advising me in my first few college years. It was about something completely unrelated, but it stuck with me because, at the end of the day, patience is a virtue. And that’s a lesson I have to remind myself every day. Everything will come in due time; as long as I’m doing my part, that’s all I can do.

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/gigibarwald
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wetbangz
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/7dMh9otkaF8?si=GtIzDHiWFVTfdwTI
• Other: www.instagram.com/tabgrrrltheband

Image Credits
Black and white photos taken by Gigi Barwald as part of her 35mm b&w photo series. Beach and mime concert photos taken by @evixtionnotice on Instagram