Q: “Gimme Some Sunshine” most definitely brought a smile to my face. And you wrote it to raise awareness on mental health. What inspired you to write this positive song?
KAVIANI: The song came from a place of pure anxiety when the clocks went back, the nights were short, dark and cold and just wishing it was light, as problems don’t seem as bad in the daylight hours. So, it was literally me saying, “please, give me some sunshine!” I was messing around with three chords with my co-writer, who was also my housemate and the song came from there.
Q: You’ve dealt with mental health issues. How does this song affect you emotionally and mentally?
KAVIANI: This song always brings a smile to my face when I hear it—I love the energy of the song and its’ upbeat nature. You can’t help but sing along to it which helps with the feel-good factor.
Q: How are you hoping people respond to the song?
KAVIANI: In the same way I do! Just turn it up, sing along and feel good, if only for a couple of minutes. I wasn’t trying to be Leonard Cohen or anything when I wrote this, I wanted to have a no-nonsense song that got to the point and made people feel good.
Q: You’ve worked with multi-platinum artists like Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple/Rainbow) and Eric Martin (Mr. Big). What was your favorite thing about those experiences and what did you learn from them?
KAVIANI: I learnt so much from those guys—they were some damn good times. One of the main things I learnt was how much effort and hard work those guys put in behind the scenes. After belting out a 90 minute set, they could sometimes spend over an hour talking to fans and signing autographs etc. When you’re checking out early from a hotel, have been travelling most of the day, sound checked, then gigged, you can be pretty tired but they never turned anyone away. They signed every last item, which was very admirable.
Q: If you can only take one album with you, what would you take?
KAVIANI: C’mon!!! This is like being asked to choose your favorite child! If “Best Of’s…” are not allowed, as that’s kind of cheating, I would have to say either “Siamese Dream” by Smashing Pumpkins or “Jailbreak” by Thin Lizzy.
Q: What are you working on now?
KAVIANI: I’m currently working on my debut album to be released either in November of this year or Jan/Feb 2022. I’m about to record a music video to a cover I’ve done of The Beatles’ ‘Saw Her Standing There,’ (very rocked up of course and with a ripping guitar solo) just to tide people over until the first single is released from the album, probably around the start of September. Then it will be all systems go!
Interviewed by Taylor Berry
