Since the age of five, Christian Gisondi has dreamt of rock stardom.

“When I was about five [years old] I just started tinkering with a drum kit in my basement, driving my parents nuts,” Gisondi said. “As soon as I got really good at drums my brother made a band with his friends and asked me to be the drummer.”

Gisondi played in his brother’s band, Counterfeit Society, for around five years, before differences of opinion caused it to split.

Afterwards, he formed his currently unnamed band. For this band, Gisondi dabbles in song writing, vocals, bass playing, and keyboard.

He plays mostly metal, but he does not feel like it isolates any audiences.

“[My music] is something you can listen too, and not feel scared,” Gisondi said.

Gisondi tries to incorporate different musical elements in his songs, including electronic and techno.

“The key to music success is diversity,” Gisondi said.

Gisondi’s experience getting into the music industry has been a challenge since there are now a large number of avenues a person can take to become established in the business. Gisondi feels like playing many live shows and selling tickets will no longer guarantee an artist a record deal.

“I think the hardest thing about it is to get people to actually listen,” Gisondi said.

Another challenge has been the costs associated with actually producing the music.

“Studio time costs money. Getting the album mastered alone cost me $500. The CD Baby stuff cost me $150. That’s why when people ask for money to buy their albums its not because they’re greedy, it’s because this stuff costs money,” Gisondi said.

He has made his music available on Spotify and iTunes, and currently has one album released, titled “Love or Hatred.”

“I think an album is easier when you’re getting started because it gives people a sampling size. If you hear one [song] you might want to hear more. But when bands are professional they can do whatever they want, releasing a single is better because people will buy it anyway,” Gisondi said.

Gisondi has created music videos for his “On My Way” and “This Is Hell” songs.

“On My Way” currently has over 33,000 views on YouTube. He drew inspiration for it from other artists who make strange music videos, like Lady Gaga.

“We tried to make it look like prom night so we hung confetti from the ceiling. All of a sudden the guy shooting the music video brings out these two masquerade masks, and was like ‘What if one of you just wear these, like a masquerade party’,” Gisondi said. “Before you know, it was this very strange looking thing. But that’s what I was going for, I want people too see it visually and be, like, that’s weird.”

Producer Eric Dicarlo made his music videos from Studio 41, who he met during his time with Counterfeit Society.

Despite the hardships, Gisondi is proud of what he has accomplished so far.

“If you told me five years ago I would have an album done on iTunes I would tell you that you were nuts,” Gisondi said.

Gisondi is currently looking for a drummer and bassist to add to his band. He encourages anyone interested to not be afraid to trying it.

“If you want to be a part of music, go ahead and try. Just pick up a guitar and don’t be afraid of sounding bad. At one point I was terrible, and I’m not saying that now I’m the best ever, but I put in a little effort every day,” Gisondi said.

Gisondi’s favorite band is Megadeath, but he does have an appreciation for other artists like Rush, Motley Crue, Tupac, and deadmou5.

“The reason I like Megadeath is because of the intellectual quality of it. He says some really interesting things about the government and the world,” Gisondi said.

He plans to perform for WPAW’s open mic night.

Gisondi hopes that he will remain musically gifted for the entirety of his life.

“I think everyone’s dream is to be a rock star. If nothing else, just keep doing it on the side, I would hate to get to the point where I forget how to play drums.”