My Forsyth_March 2021

cop working my way through the ranks, leading
our county SWAT team and enjoying my law
enforcement career, I never stopped drumming.
Once we got married and bought a house, I set up
a drum room in the basement. Every opportunity
I had while not working, I would be in my
basement drumming and practicing. It was stress
relief and always something I never gave up on.
Q. How did you make the transition from cop
to drummer?
A. In early 2017, I had 20 years in with the
Sheriff ’s Office and had the opportunity to
retire at the top of my law enforcement career. I
looked into buying a music store at one point but
decided against it at the time. My wife Michelle
encouraged me to pursue a career in drumming
since it was a passion of mine. When we were
dating and subsequently married, she always
joked with people that she thought she was
marrying a drummer. I spent the next 12 months
or so refining my drumming skills and I decided
to get serious about drumming. I worked in my
basement for about 5-8 hours a day 7 days a week.
I then went online and started looking for bands
to join to play live. I found a company in Atlanta
searching for a drummer to play weddings,
festivals and corporate events. I played with that
organization for almost a year. I played the annual
Owl-O-ween hot air balloon festival in Kennesaw
in 2018 to a crowd of about 6000 people, countless
weddings and other private events.
Q. I understand you were touring with an
international group before COVID-19 hit. Tell
me about that experience.
A. In mid-2019, I was contacted by a representative
of a popular 1980’s, funk, new wave and dance
punk band called E.S.G. They formed in the late
70’s in the South Bronx and enjoyed international
success for several decades touring the world.
They were looking for a drummer to go back
on tour with them in June of 2019. I was given
their songs and audition tracks on a Thursday
and asked to audition the following Tuesday. I
spent the entire weekend mastering the 12 songs
they gave me. I packed up my drum kit, drove
to Atlanta and I ran through the entire set list
with the band and returned home to Forsyth. A
couple days later they called and said they were
interested and asked me to come back to play
the rest of their song list with them. I worked on
the remainder of their songs over the ensuing
few days and repeated the trip to Atlanta. Upon
arriving, I set up my kit, sat behind my drums and
Rene Scroggins the lead singer of E.S.G walked
up to her mic and introduced herself to the empty
audition room and we proceeded to play the full
set list as if it were a concert. Once we finished,
Rene looked back at me with a smile and said I
had the job. To my surprise, she grabbed her
computer, booked me on a flight to Philadelphia
and told me we were playing a sold out show at
the MANN Center in a few days.
Q. Was that wild or what?
A. To say the least, it was wild. I learned their
entire set list in less than 10 days and was about
to play before 14,000 fans. Unknown to me
at the time, 5 time Grammy nominated and
International recording artist ROBYN, who
hails from Sweden and is extremely popular in
the dance pop culture around the world is a big
fan of E.S.G and asked the band to open for her
extended U.S Tour. Philadelphia was the next
show and I had days to prepare.
Q. How did that work out for you? Were you
nervous?
A. Yes, I was nervous, but I could not let it show.
I just concentrated on my timing and did the best
I could. I relied on my experience and dedication
to my craft. My years in law enforcement and
time as a SWAT commander taught me a great
deal of patience. Combined with my 35+ years’
experience of drumming I felt I was prepared, but
yes, I was nervous.
Q. What do you remember about your first
show with E.S.G?
A. Very little! I was excited and nervous all at the
same time. Sitting backstage with the headliner,
producers and all the activity, I wondered how
the heck I ended up here so fast. I wasn’t nervous
about the crowd and playing in front of people, I
was nervous about screwing up. I take my music
and my reputation serious and I didn’t want to
disappoint the band or the audience. Thankfully
it went very well.
Q. How did the rest of the tour go?
A. After Philadelphia we played the world famous
Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn, New York.
This venue is essentially considered the bands
“backyard” and we played for about 15,000 fans.
After New York, we played Detroit and it was
in Detroit when I finally started to settle in and
get comfortable with it all. From there we went
to Columbus, Ohio, and then to Dallas for our
last show with ROBYN. We finished out the year
in Asheville for a record label anniversary bash
and finally a gig in San Francisco. That is when
COVID-19 began to become an issue in the
United States, and everything got put on hold.
Q. What have you been working on since
COVID-19?
A. I’ve been playing with a local band called
Highway 20 Rock-N-Roll Band. It’s a group of us
that got together in January of 2019 playing small
venues around the Forsyth/Cherokee county
area. I continue to play and practice several hours
each day. I keep in touch with E.S.G and we hope
to get back on tour as soon as it is safe to do so.
I truly play because I love music and playing the
drums. It is my new beat now.
Mike lives in Forsyth County with his wife and
two kids, both students at Alliance Academy.
YouTube: Gio’s drum experience
Facebook: Mike Gio
VOLUME XI | ISSUE 1 | MYFORSYTHMAG.COM 51