Gloriana gets call from Taylor Swift

By John Benson

The phone call Gloriana band member Mike Gossin will never forget came earlier this year when the new country band was in the middle of a hectic radio station promotional tour.

“We had been doing this tour for about 20 weeks in a 15-passenger van, just driving around the country and flying to different states day in and day out,” said Gossin, calling from outside of San Jose, Calif. “So we were in a van leaving a radio station when we got a phone call. We put it on speaker and a girl got on and said, ‘It’s Taylor Swift.’

“At first, we think it’s a prank. We’re like, ‘no way.’ We thought it was someone playing a joke on us. And she’s like, ‘No, it’s really Taylor Swift and you guys are one of my new favorite bands. I think you guys are going to be superstars, and I love your music. I want to pick you up on my tour before anybody else does. How would you like to come out with me for six months this year?’ That’s when we freaked out.”

So far, 2009 has provided plenty of freak-out moments for Gloriana, which formed in 2008 when Gossin and his brother Tom met Rachel Reinert and Cheyenne Kimball in Nashville. The country act watched its first single, “Wild At Heart,” become the best-selling single from a debut country artist this year, while its self-titled album recently debuted at No. 2. on the Billboard country music chart, thus becoming the best selling country debut in 2009.

It appears that all of the promotion being an opener on the successful Taylor Swift’s “Fearless Tour,” which comes to Pittsburgh on Thursday at Mellon Arena and Cleveland on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena, has paid off. Furthermore, Gossin said the band has had a front-row seat for the entire media storm surrounding Kanye West’s insolence at the “MTV Video Music Awards” regarding Taylor Swift’s “Best Female Video” win.

“I couldn’t believe what he did,” Gossin said. “I couldn’t believe it at all. We’re super-proud of Taylor, and that’s just not necessary. You get these rappers with a tough persona and like if you’re going to pick on somebody, don’t pick on a 19-year-old blond girl who sings country.”

Now with friends in high places, the Gloriana members appear to be on the fast track to join other recent successful newcomers to the country music pop world. So far the act’s comparisons to Sugarland and Little Big Town appear to be based around Gloriana’s penchant for, well, rocking out.

“Rock ’n’ roll and country are like brother and sister, they go hand in hand,” Gossin said. “I mean, Johnny Cash even talked about rock ’n’ roll all of the time. I think with Sugarland and Keith Urban especially, even Brooks and Dunn, there are elements of rock ’n’ roll in all types of country.”

He added, “I think our album is a breath of fresh air. I think it’s something different and a little bit new. People are ready for that, and we see that in the younger demographic. These kids want something new. Music is constantly changing. Music is not the same as it was even 10 years ago, so I think we have something that is exciting, something that appeals to everybody and yet still maintains a respect for traditional country music. It doesn’t get too confusing or distracting. It just works.”