Tag Archives: Gianluca

General news, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Our Stories, Piero

Bits & Pieces ~ Angels, Ankles and More ~ Mariee

May 18, 2016 mariecrider 24 Comments

Several of you sent me this fan art. I like these…but…I mean… you can’t really SEE their wings you know. 💙❤

A couple of new Crew members (and Ann) have asked to see my tattoo. I wear it proudly.

OK, I may as well add my license plate too:

A quick story about those plates… On our driving trip from New York in March Ineke and I stopped for dinner. I, of course, was wearing one of my Il Volo t-shirts. A man and woman were entering the restaurant as we were leaving. The man looked at me and said, “Hey, I know where you parked.” Back on the highway about 15 minutes later a car past us and everyone inside was pointing and waving. First thought… Was my car on fire? No, the people waving looked too happy. Finally it dawned on me and I turned to Ineke and said, “it’s the license plate!” just another Ilvolover passing us on the road.

Think there’s a self-help group for people like me?

(Click on photo for easier reading)

The other day someone (yes, it was you Pirate) didn’t know Flight Crew had a twitter. If you read all our posts only in your email you may not be aware of what is available to you on the site itself. Go to ilvoloflightcrw.com or just hit “comment” on the bottom of the post in your email and scroll up. Besides our twitter, where Kelly tweets everything we do here to the guys and some members of the IL Volo team (shame on you Pirate), you will find all kinds of things including music, Il Volo’s concert calendar, social media addresses of the guys, a slide show, how to contact us, who we all are and lots more stuff. Take a peek when you have time (Pirate).

The Billboard Music Awards are on Sunday night. I won’t be watching. It will be incomplete.

Finally, the whole world is learning that Il Volo is the best music for anything and everything. Heck…We already knew that!

Two Stories.

From Lydka:

Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko performs on Grande Amore by Il Volo in his shows. I like figure skating and good music. I love Plushenko and Il Volo, and when it joins together, it is artistic experience of the highest category !

Who is Plushenko ?

Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko, born 3 November 1982. He is a four-time Olympic medalist (2006 gold, 2014 team gold, 2002 & 2010 silver), a three-time World champion (2001, 2003, 2004), a seven-time European champion (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05), and a ten-time Russian national champion (1999–2002, 2004–2006, 2010, 2012–2013).

I am fan of Plushenko, so I am very pleased with his choice of song in his program “Kings on Ice”. In one Russian program was told that he loves Grande Amore song. He chose many times also Italian songs or pieces of opera for his programs (for example Tosca ,Concierto de Aranjuez, Caruso, The Godfather, Adagio, The Swan, Moonlight Sonata..), often arranged and played by violinist Edvin Marton ( I like his music).

Plushenko + Grande Amore

A wonderful combination of music art and ice art. Plushenko always expresses great emotions on ice and love and dedication to his beloved sport. He is a great artist, as well as Il Volo are great artists, singers, together they give big honour to beauty in its pure and classical form and result is pleasure for the eyes and ears, balm for the heart and soul. I hope there will be other wonderful combination of Plushenko’s mastery – virtuosity with songs Il Volo ! 🙂

I had my own experience..

I was on his ice show with mom, when he visited my town a few years ago, great experience for me, although I was not able to get his autograph. I miss Evgeni, he is best figure skater in the history, in my opinion. 🙂 And very charismatic entertainer who is doing his sport with whole heart and soul, big passion and love for his skating and this is thing which connects him with Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.

More Grande Amore on ice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLoRToNT37o

Il Mondo on ice

~Lydka

♦ ♦ ♦

From Gina:

It’s official: Gio Benitez is a married man! The ABC newsman said “I do” to fiancé Tommy DiDario in Miami Saturday, the happy couple exclusively confirms to PEOPLE.
Surrounded by 160 friends and family, Benitez and DiDario exchanged self-written vows before sunset at the historic Walton House, a secluded English cottage framed by tropical gardens.
“It’s so special to see how excited our friends and family have been about this wedding,” says Benitez, 30. “It truly is a celebration of love – our own, and what love means in their own lives. We are so moved and humbled to celebrate together.”

Adds DiDario, 30, whose sister Megs officiated the wedding: “The support and love our family and friends have shown throughout this journey have made the entire experience that much more special.”
Both grooms wore J.Crew tuxes and custom-made ties by David Fin for their big day, with Benitez opting for a midnight navy combination and DiDario donning a chambray charcoal ensemble.
After their first kiss as husbands, the duo got the party started with their first dance to Il Volo’s cover of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from Disney’s The Lion King.
The couple was feted by many members of Benitez’s extended news family, including Sam Champion, Shepard Smith, Martha Raddatz and Kevin Ozebek, Benitez’s best man. Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, publicist Howard Bragman and Broadway director and producer Richard Jay-Alexander were also in attendance.
Prior to the celebration, the couple had a pre-wedding getaway to Key Largo, Florida, with family and friends.

If you have read this entire post here is your reward:

END

Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero

Enchanting … In any Language ~~ Jeanine

May 17, 2016 mariecrider 29 Comments

Ahhh the sweetness of this interview!

So many nuances highlighting our magnificent beloved IL VOLO brothers.

What do you see here?…

Charm

Humor

Creativity

Confidence

Enlightenment

Play

Harmony

Authenticity

Brilliance

We know these guys like family. Tell us a story of what stole your heart in this beauty-full interview!

~~Jeanine

Concert Photos/Reviews, Editorials, General news, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero, Site News

Fabio Ingrassia

May 15, 2016 mariecrider 17 Comments

This fellow has been in the news a lot lately. Could it be partly because of another reason Italians are so uniquely wonderful? Have you noticed how they give fellow Italians a “leg-up” on their career through viewer exposure? It was done for our Guys and they have paid back the favor many times now. We can do no less.

Remember me telling you about the Ft. Myers concert and the artist, Fabio who did their drawing (upside down!) on stage as IL Volo sang?

Leelee, Ineke and I were lucky enough to spend a little time with him at the hotel.

Fabio with Ineke and Fabio with band member Patrizio (Bass guitar).

During the concert, The boys signed the artwork and presented it to a beautiful young girl in a wheelchair who was sitting just to the left of me. When I got up to leave I stopped and congratulated her on her prize. She looked at me said, “thank you” and just beamed.

More IL Volo art by Fabio:

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Our friends and affiliate at Music Notes Global wrote this article on the amazing artist and good friend of our Guys:

Artist Fabio Ingrassia Brings Music to Life on Canvas

April 07, 2016

MNGBlog is expanding its culture section and there’s no better way to celebrate than with this special feature on an incredibly talented Italian artist inspired by music.

Fabio Ingrassia, who also goes by the stage name FAODesign, is a native of Marsala, Sicily, with a love of art that goes back longer than even he remembers. According to his parents, though, his art career began at the early age of four. While he now most often works in oils on canvas, his medium of choice, he also creates in graphite and airbrush.

“I think that art is a way of communicating. Whether it’s music, song, poetry, painting, the important thing is that what you want to say reaches the viewer creating an emotion. If there isn’t this communication, it’s not art but decoration.”

— Fabio Ingrassia

Not only is Fabio a Guinness World Record holder (in 2012, he and 373 of his colleagues achieved the feat of creating the longest painting in the world), but he is also a musician, playing piano, guitar, and violin. Therefore, it is not surprising that he finds his inspiration in the place where the worlds of music and art collide. “Music has a very important role in my artistic being,” he explained. “…I try to unite the art of music with that of painting in a single message.”

During the course of his career, he has had the opportunity to work on a variety of music-related projects. From scenery to album covers, he’s done it all. A few examples include a cover for the single “Superdisco” by DJ Tumba, a cover for “Our Anthem” remix with Nikka Costa, and an album cover for Romano Anonimo’s Five.

As one might imagine, Fabio listens to music while he creates his one-of-a-kind masterpieces. He has a varied scope of favorites that ranges from Guns N’ Roses and Bon Jovi to Stevie Wonder and more; and, when asked to name a few songs on his iPod right now–among them Wonder’s beloved classic “Ribbon In the Sky”–it turned out we had one in common: “Grande amore” by Il Volo.

MNGBlog loves Il Volo and it is crystal clear that Ingrassia, like so many others, finds incredible inspiration in them and their music. In fact, you might have seen the video in which he painted the 2015 Sanremo-winning Italian trio, which proves that music has the magical ability to manifest in an array of mediums, especially through the hands of an artist who is so deeply connected to its powers. He told MNGBlog: “In my videos where I paint upside down with Il Volo’s song, I tell the story of a great love. Then turning the canvas, Ignazio, Piero, and Gianluca are illustrated, and I end the video saying ‘Painting music can be done.'”

Il Volo invited Ingrassia to perform live at their concert on March 5 at Bank United Center in Miami, where painted an inverted portrait of the trio in front of an audience of almost 8,000 people. When recounting the experience, he stated: “Initially I was a little tense because I had to finish the upside down painting by the end of the song ‘Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella).’ I turned the finished painting around and the audience exploded in a great and long applause. I think it was one of the greatest emotions of my life. Miami will always be in my heart.”

Fabio’s trip to Miami was an important step in his career, allowing him to meet many new artists. It was also there, he said, that “I realized that art speaks different languages but that they are all united in a unique message: that of emotion.”

And speaking of that upside down painting technique, or “dipingere a testa in giù,” it is now becoming a trademark of sorts for him that is mesmerizing thousands of spectators. Surprisingly, he began painting upside down “by chance” during an art event in Petrosino. On stage alongside his friend DJ, in front of about 1,000 people, he revealed: “…we created a union of music and art. In front of a black canvas, with my back to the audience, I wanted to create a landscape, so with two hands I began to paint. During the performance, I noticed that I was creating a face upside down, so, continuing, I finished and rotated Marilyn Monroe. The audience appreciated my performance so much and since then I began to do it at many events all over Sicily and beyond.”

In all this discussion of music arose the curiosity as to which of history’s greatest artists and painters impact Ingrassia’s artistic vision. He graciously provided some insight:

MNGBlog: Who are your favorite artists/painters?

FI: It’s difficult to say precisely who my favorite artist is. Each has his own style and story…from Caravaggio to Dalì, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Picasso, Guttoso, Lucian Freud…to more/most recent artists like Corella, painting is like a book–you can’t begin to read it from the end.

MNGBlog: Name three artists you would want to have dinner with.

FI: I would definitely go to dinner with Corella, a Spanish hyperrealist; with Picasso to better discover his cubist world; and with Dalì to understand his genius.

Fabio sells his works all over the world. From the United States to Japan to his native Italy and everywhere in between, he communicates his passionate, music-inspired message with all who listen.