Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
Gianni Carpanzano: I would describe soft spot as a grunge-filled rocketship floating through space.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc. What is the band’s lineup?
GC: I am from Stamford, Connecticut, born and raised. I started playing guitar at about 15. I wanted to start a band with my cousin. The whole goal was to get good enough to eventually play a show, and now I get to play shows all the time. Music is pretty cool! The band’s lineup consists of me (I sing and play guitar), and then we have David Eisermann on bass, as well as Marc Marenco on drums. We are also currently in the middle of adding another guitarist to the band.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
GC: I think life gives me the inspiration to make music. There’s really nothing else that has ever felt as right as making music or getting to play music. I am forever grateful for the opportunity. Some bands that inspire me musically and just in general are Hum, Narrow Head, Alice In Chains, DIIV, Thin Lizzy.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
GC: I would love to be able to continue to record and release music as well as tour the planet and get as many people as we can to listen to our music.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
GC: Proudest moment so far I would say is getting to play at an album release show for our pals Cherry Drop and playing to 200 people there. It was a rockin’ show and all the bands that played that night were great! Plus the crowd was ridiculous. We felt right at home, possibly even more at home haha.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new
artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
GC: It’s tough, quite frankly haha. The internet is so congested that it’s hard to shine through all the noise sometimes. I think we’re doing a better grass roots effort at home and on the road touring, but the internet eludes me. We had some success with our song “Down,” but I myself am trying to figure out how this damn algorithm works haha.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
GC: For shows, either I reach out to venues/bookers or some bands will hit us up asking to be on a bill. Through playing so much in the last few years and touring we have built up a pretty great network of bands, venues and promoters. We have a show at Cinco De Mayo in New Brunswick, NJ, on August 14 with our pals Palamino. We are headlining Space Ballroom in Hamden, CT, August 22nd! I am so stoked for that! Been waiting so long to play the stage at the Space Ballroom!
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
GC: Downloading music is cool. Owning music is sweet. I love physical stuff. We are in the process of making some physical soft spot records. Streaming is convenient, Spotify is lame and it’s getting more lame. AI is getting out of hand and the Spotify CEO just seems to be okay adding to it.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
GC: Uhhh easy, “Stars” by Hum. We play it a bunch in our set and I just love that song. Or “The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
GC: I like how it’s easier to be an independent musician today. I think there could be more money allocated to artists rather than most of these streaming companies keeping such a huge portion. I hope sometime soon there is a real push against streaming 
companies but people are just so complacent these days.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
GC: We’re cooking up a lot of new songs. We would like to release a new song before the end of the year. Preferably early fall, but who knows. We will see. We’re also working on a split EP with a band we just went on tour with called Drink Baby.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online, have you any Social Media links that you can share?
GC: You can find us on instagram @softspottheband or on our website https://softspotct.com or even on Facebook (I know, we still use Facebook ).
soft spot links:
Band/Artist location – Stamford, Connecticut
Facebook – You Tube – Bandcamp – Merch – Reverbnation –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – LinkTree – TikTok –
Check our page for soft spot
