Biography
Sonny Gioia
A 'Jersey Boy' himself
Lead Vocals - Entertainer/Vocal Impersonator - Guitar
Sonny is an exceptional powerful vocalists with the versatility to perform a vast variety of songs, and all extremely well.
His abilities...his versatility...and especially his voice will amaze you.
Born in Jersey City, NJ, Sonny moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1959. He first appeared on stage at the age of twelve singing 'Kansas City' and said "after hearing all of the applause when I finished singing, I was hooked". No stranger to the music industry, Sonny performed as the lead singer in three of his own bands in Cleveland during the 60’s. His band, “The Sands of Time”, opened up for such acts as “Terry Knight and the Pack”, later known as “Grand Funk Railroad” and P.F. Sloan who wrote such hits as “Eve of Destruction, Secret Agent Man, Where Were You When I Needed You”, etc. Sonny also performed with such greats as the "Grasshoppers” and Benny Eleven Letters Orzechowski (Orr) from the “Cars”.
Like a lot of musicians of that era, Sonny dropped out of the music industry to raise a family. He has been a successful business owner in the floor covering industry for more than 40 years. After retiring, wife Sable encouraged Sonny to get back into music. “He has such a beautiful, melodic voice, which needs to be heard and shared with others. I never get tired of listening to him sing”, says Sable.
After re-entering the music field, Sonny decided not to have a large band as he once had. According to Sonny, "large bands of four or more members provide great sound because of all of the instrumentation, but the downside is dealing with all of the band members, their personalities, mood swings, personal problems, and scheduling conflicts. It can be hectic and I just didn’t want to have that type of aggravation this time around.”
So, he encouraged wife Sable to join him. “I enjoy having Sable on stage with me. Our voices blend beautifully, not to mention she’s a true professional. It took some real convincing on my behalf to get Sable involved in music again. But, it has certainly paid off. I could not have chosen a better musical partner.”
Sonny Gioia
A 'Jersey Boy' himself
Lead Vocals - Entertainer/Vocal Impersonator - Guitar
Sonny is an exceptional powerful vocalists with the versatility to perform a vast variety of songs, and all extremely well.
His abilities...his versatility...and especially his voice will amaze you.
Born in Jersey City, NJ, Sonny moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1959. He first appeared on stage at the age of twelve singing 'Kansas City' and said "after hearing all of the applause when I finished singing, I was hooked". No stranger to the music industry, Sonny performed as the lead singer in three of his own bands in Cleveland during the 60’s. His band, “The Sands of Time”, opened up for such acts as “Terry Knight and the Pack”, later known as “Grand Funk Railroad” and P.F. Sloan who wrote such hits as “Eve of Destruction, Secret Agent Man, Where Were You When I Needed You”, etc. Sonny also performed with such greats as the "Grasshoppers” and Benny Eleven Letters Orzechowski (Orr) from the “Cars”.
Like a lot of musicians of that era, Sonny dropped out of the music industry to raise a family. He has been a successful business owner in the floor covering industry for more than 40 years. After retiring, wife Sable encouraged Sonny to get back into music. “He has such a beautiful, melodic voice, which needs to be heard and shared with others. I never get tired of listening to him sing”, says Sable.
After re-entering the music field, Sonny decided not to have a large band as he once had. According to Sonny, "large bands of four or more members provide great sound because of all of the instrumentation, but the downside is dealing with all of the band members, their personalities, mood swings, personal problems, and scheduling conflicts. It can be hectic and I just didn’t want to have that type of aggravation this time around.”
So, he encouraged wife Sable to join him. “I enjoy having Sable on stage with me. Our voices blend beautifully, not to mention she’s a true professional. It took some real convincing on my behalf to get Sable involved in music again. But, it has certainly paid off. I could not have chosen a better musical partner.”
Sabella Gioia
A 'Cleveland Girl' born and raised
Vocals - Keyboard - Technician - Musical Arranger
Sable's greatest strengths are her talent for compiling their extensive repertoire of musical arrangements and her ability to 'read the audience' to ensure each and every performance has music perfectly suited for your event.
Born and raised in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Sable was encouraged by her older brother Roger, who sang and played guitar, to learn playing the organ at a very young age. She took ballet, tap and jazz lessons in grade school aspiring to be a ballroom dancer. Sable then played the flute and piccolo from fifth grade through her senior year of High School. Despite playing several instruments, Sable never pursued a career in music.
A makeup artist by trade, Sable has enjoyed several career choices including retail clothing, a tax examiner with the IRS, owning a studio as an image consultant, a restauranteur and worked in the building industry, where she met and fell in love with Sonny.
After moving to Florida and retiring the same time as Sonny, Sable started feeling as thought she was too young to retire. This realization inspired the duo to own and operate an open-air, “Key West” style restaurant called the Island Hideaway Raw Bar & Eatery located in Englewood, Florida. The couple played at their own restaurant one night a week plus featured several other local entertainment groups four to five nights per week. The Gioia’s were major contributors in starting a trend in Englewood for venues to have music every night of the week, not just on weekends. Their restaurant is still talked about today and sorely missed by the locals in Englewood.
As half of the Flashbacks, Sable handles the technical end of the music business, which includes compiling their extensive repertoire of midi files, orchestrated through her keyboard, plus provides keyboard and backup vocals.
“Sonny and I met, fell in love and were planning our life together. Neither one of us knew the other was musical. After Sonny was in a near fatal accident, it forced us to re-think our future. We never expected nor planned to be performing and playing music for people at this point in time, however, I can’t imagine a day without it. We love to entertain people and our lives have become fuller and richer because of it. We are truly blessed," states Sable.
A 'Cleveland Girl' born and raised
Vocals - Keyboard - Technician - Musical Arranger
Sable's greatest strengths are her talent for compiling their extensive repertoire of musical arrangements and her ability to 'read the audience' to ensure each and every performance has music perfectly suited for your event.
Born and raised in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Sable was encouraged by her older brother Roger, who sang and played guitar, to learn playing the organ at a very young age. She took ballet, tap and jazz lessons in grade school aspiring to be a ballroom dancer. Sable then played the flute and piccolo from fifth grade through her senior year of High School. Despite playing several instruments, Sable never pursued a career in music.
A makeup artist by trade, Sable has enjoyed several career choices including retail clothing, a tax examiner with the IRS, owning a studio as an image consultant, a restauranteur and worked in the building industry, where she met and fell in love with Sonny.
After moving to Florida and retiring the same time as Sonny, Sable started feeling as thought she was too young to retire. This realization inspired the duo to own and operate an open-air, “Key West” style restaurant called the Island Hideaway Raw Bar & Eatery located in Englewood, Florida. The couple played at their own restaurant one night a week plus featured several other local entertainment groups four to five nights per week. The Gioia’s were major contributors in starting a trend in Englewood for venues to have music every night of the week, not just on weekends. Their restaurant is still talked about today and sorely missed by the locals in Englewood.
As half of the Flashbacks, Sable handles the technical end of the music business, which includes compiling their extensive repertoire of midi files, orchestrated through her keyboard, plus provides keyboard and backup vocals.
“Sonny and I met, fell in love and were planning our life together. Neither one of us knew the other was musical. After Sonny was in a near fatal accident, it forced us to re-think our future. We never expected nor planned to be performing and playing music for people at this point in time, however, I can’t imagine a day without it. We love to entertain people and our lives have become fuller and richer because of it. We are truly blessed," states Sable.