Tiffany
Giardina
is "No Average Angel"
by Lynn Barker
 15-year-old
singer/songwriter Tiffany Giardina, a pretty East Coast brunette, released
her popular pop-rock album, "No Average Angel" in January. That
tune as well as the upbeat "Hurry Up and Save Me" is on the
soundtrack for Another Cinderella Story. The artist climbs the
charts on Disney Radio and, like the band Push Play, whom she often performs
with, Tiffany pushed her career forward with a Summer Camp Tour and a
Middle School Tour on the East Coast. She's opened for The Jonas Brothers
and started performing as a child in musicals like "Annie",
"Peter Pan" and "The Sound of Music".
After the
success of "Angel", Tiffany is launching another Education Tour
of schools as well as playing weekend gigs. We had a nice, long phone
chat with her from her East Coast home last week. Read on to learn about
her musical influences, what kind of guy she wants to date and we learned
that, as far as the Twilight films are concerned, she's "Team
Jacob" all the way.... check it out...
AGW: You come
from local theater and commercials. Was singing also a goal from the beginning?
Tiffany: Yeah,
definitely. I think it was a package deal for me because with theater,
I fell in love with the acting and the singing and the dancing. I started
doing everything at the beginning.
AGW: Is Pat
Benatar an influence?
Tiffany: I
really love Pat because me and her both did opera training. She's amazing.
I'm going to do a cover of her song soon for one of my shows. "You
Better Run".
AGW: Great
song! Is your music going on any other soundtracks?
Tiffany: We're
working the album right now and hopefully some of my songs will get on
more soundtracks. So far we've gotten "Shine" on for Tinkerbell
and "Hurry Up and Save Me" and "No Average Angel"
on Another Cinderella Story.
AGW: What
message do you hope teen girls will take away from "No Average Angel"?
Tiffany: Really,
it's just not to be afraid to be who you are. Everybody is different and
unique in their own way and that's just a song about empowering girls
to be different.
AGW: The new
thing in the last few years seems to be touring middle schools to get
fans acquainted with a music artists' work. You're about to go on another
of those tours. What is the best thing about this and the bummer thing?
Tiffany: Yeah.
I love doing the Middle School tours so much because it's not like Madison
Square Garden where I can't really talk to and see everybody. I like those
small, up close and personal shows because I get to know the kids more
and they get to know me more and I do little question and answers and
they get to know me a lot.
AGW: And the
bad thing about it?
Tiffany: I
think waking up early because all the kids go to school so, so early.
AGW: Are you
touring with Push Play? I interviewed C.J. Baran last year. Very sweet
guys. Are they fun to do a gig with?
Tiffany: I'm
doing shows with them right now so I'm excited. We're going to do tons
more in the future too. They're amazing to do a gig with. They're an awesome
rock back and I have my band too and we all hang out. It's so much fun.
AGW: When
you are on a tour, what do you like to do to kick back and relax?
 Tiffany:
I just got a bus so we're going to see how that goes. I'm really excited
about that. I'm gonna bring my Wii with me. Like Wii Yoga, I love doing
all that. It gets me all un-stressed and ready to go for a show.
AGW: Do you
get to sneak out and be a tourist in any of the towns you sing in?
Tiffany: I
definitely don't want to hide in the bus. Anywhere I go, I like to see
the town and enjoy it.
AGW: Does
your band travel with you or follow behind?
Tiffany: Well,
they aren't going on the school tour with me. We're just doing weekend
shows, the big shows, not the school tour.
AGW: What
has been your most weird or most touching fan encounter so far?
Tiffany: You
know that movie Twilight, right? [we indicate 'sure']. Well,
I'm [part of] Team Jacob and I said that in one of my interviews, and
these fans brought me a werewolf and put a "Team Jacob" shirt
on him and a button on him and I was so excited. He's in the second movie
more. I'm so excited.
AGW: You might
be into hot werewolves but in your music video for "Hurry Up and
Save Me" we see you approached by a lot of preppie nerdboys. Did
you have any say in the story for that video? Well, you do get the cute
guy at the end.
Tiffany: [laughs]
It was basically just lots of different guys that were preppie and everybody
else at the party was real preppie and the only two people alike were
me and this guy that were the different people out there. It was very
funny. It was so much fun to make.
AGW: Did you
get to pick out the guy you would end up with on the video? He was cute.
Tiffany: I
definitely did. I looked through the whole casting. I'm like 'you know
what? I think I'm just gonna pick my friend, cuz he's the cutest'. It
was someone I knew.
AGW: If it's
going to be fun for you, what would you like to do on a first date?
Tiffany: Probably
to see a movie or I like going to concerts a lot. Like on Friday, I'm
going to a Britney concert with my friends. But definitely to see a concert.
AGW: What
qualities does a guy have to have if you are going to date him?
Tiffany: He
can't be afraid to be himself. And, since I'm sometimes shy, someone that's
a little more outgoing than me.
AGW: What’s
the best advice you’ve ever been given, and who gave it to you?
Tiffany: My
parents always give me good advice every single day and keep me grounded
so I think that's the most important thing, just stay grounded both through
tours and normal stuff. And, to have faith too.
AGW: So, what
is your process when you write a song? Do you write it down on a pad of
paper or computer, and does the music come first or the lyrics?
Tiffany: It's
different every time but, during the most random moments, I'll get a song
idea. Like, if I'm getting my hair done or something, and I'll just hum
it into my phone when no one's looking and later on, I'll figure it out
and turn it into a song. Just recently, I just started writing down words
and what happened that day and, if anything pops, I'll turn that into
a song.
AGW: What
is the weirdest object you’ve ever written lyrics on when you don't
have a recording device or paper? Some guy said his girlfriend’s
arm.
Tiffany: That's
so funny. I think I've written a song down on a napkin before but it's
not as funny as someone's arm. Or my sister's school book where they write
down their homework, I've grabbed that. 'Song idea...sorry'.
AGW: I still
think Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You"
is the most amazing vocal I've ever heard. What song just blew you away?
Tiffany: Well,
I'm just always amazed by Pat Benatar because I love her so much. Definitely
"You Better Run" is my favorite song that she sings. I love
it.
 AGW:
What, besides singing, do you do really well and what do you do pretty
badly?
Tiffany: I
surf and sometimes I do really good and sometimes I'm bad so it's both
answers. I go to East Hampton and that's where I surf.
AGW: Do you
have a favorite clothing designer or are you more a jeans and t-shirt
girl?
Tiffany: I
like to do both. I like getting dressed up and then keeping it casual.
I love BCBG and I love the store L.S.
AGW: So what
would you be doing in life if you weren’t singing?
Tiffany: I
absolutely love fashion so I'd love to make a clothing line. I love it.
I like coming up with outfits and putting stuff together so I think clothing
line would be cool.
AGW Who are
you dying to do a duet with?
Tiffany: I'm
dying to do a duet with Push Play and that's possible, actually. We'll
see. I love Miley too.
AGW: What’s
a typical day for you?
Tiffany: Every
day is so different for me. Usually I stay up really late. We have band
practice so I'm up really late with them so I'm like on a different time
schedule than everyone else in the world. I always listen to Radio Disney.
I like listening to my i-Pod, playing games on my i-Phone. I love watching
"America's Next Top Model". I love that show so much. I love
Audrey Hepburn so I love watching her movies a lot. I go to the movies
with my friends. We just saw Fired Up. That was so funny and
I got an electric scooter last Christmas so I'm on that a lot.
AGW: Do you
feel that a lot of the female artists played on the Disney Channel have
a big rivalry going?
Tiffany: I'm
sure all of them are friends. I don't know. I'm from New York and everyone
else is in L.A. so I don't know what's going on over there. I don't think
there's any real rivalry.
AGW: Do you
hope to go to college in the future?
Tiffany: Yeah.
I want to go to NYU so bad. I love making videos on my Mac. I'm always
making videos with my friends or music videos. So, maybe study to be a
producer.
AGW: Have
all your childhood dreams now come true? And what’s left if they
haven’t?
Tiffany: Pretty
much, my dreams have come true. I'm so thankful for everything that's
happened so far. I'm just happy doing what I love. That's my dream; just
going on stage every day.
AGW: Your
fans can text you and leave voicemails? Can you explain how they can do
that?
Tiffany: First
I have a Twitter, a status updater and I can take a picture and send it
to everybody and then they reply and I have that straight to my phone.
So, I'm still talking to them. It's kind of an IM kind of thing. Then
there is also a thing now where they can call a number and leave me a
message and it goes straight to my phone. Then I can call that number
up and leave messages back and that's sort of an updater too. Then I've
got the MySpace and Facebook. It's crazy because there's so many things
through the internet where you can get in touch with people. I blog on
my website www.tiffanygiardina.com
a lot.
You can go
to Tiffany's site for track
listings from her album, her tour dates and more.
Photos
courtesy of and copyright RockRidge Music, 2009
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