"The Godfather" Gian Vianello, Bass Guitar
Smash has dubbed Gian, "The Godfather of Maplewood," where he is the owner of Maplewood Pawn Shop. He comes from a musical family where his father Hugo Vianello began his career 50 years ago as a violist in the New York Philharmonic. Since then he has directed the Minneapolis Symphony, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the Kansas City Philharmonic, the Lansing Symphony, Northwestern University, Stephen's College, the Missouri Symphony Society. It's easy to see where he got his musical influence. Gian says of his dad, "He is a musician's musician." We're just trying to figure out how the Godfather became a rock 'n' roller. Gian also plays guitar, keyboards and harp. He took piano lessons for six years, and at age 15, he became turned on by the Beatles and other sounds of the '60s, and began playing guitar and harmonica. He moved to St. Louis from Kansas City in 1980 to start a band. "It was the best move I ever made. We have a great musical community with many venues for performing."

Some local bands Gian has played in are: Scarlett, Rhythm Rockers, David Lee and the Houserockers, John Malo, Tom Wood, Dependents, Joker, and Polynesian Hawaiian Revue. "I joined the SmashBand over 7 years ago, and the party hasn't stopped yet." Gian feels that his success in the band, and in life, wouldn't be possible without the support of his beautiful wife, Carolyn. "Without her, none of this would be possible. I also would like to thank her for letting me buy any guitar I wanted."

His message to the fans is, "I personally want to thank everyone for supporting the SmashBand, and I look forward to seeing you all at future shows."

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