When John Gioia began performing at 2 Alice’s Coffee Lounge with his wife, Jackie, they quickly became known as “The Gioias.” The name has stuck for 17 years, but the musician is trying to rebrand himself under a new moniker, “Johnny Writes and the Wrongs” and is nearing the release of his first album, all with original content.

Gioia has been involved with music since he was a kid, learning, at the age of nine, how to play the piano. One day in elementary school, he and his classmates attended an assembly where they sang songs in the auditorium. A group of adults were putting their ears up to the children and that day he was sent home with a letter for his parents. It stated he had potential as a musician and was offered six months of complimentary lessons, of which his parents took advantage.

“They gave me a keyboard to take home,” Gioia said. “I remember spending hours in my bedroom exploring the keyboard and the scales they taught me.”

That went on for six months and even though Gioia’s parents didn’t pay for additional lessons, the bug was there. Soon thereafter, his father brought home an acoustic guitar which Gioia started learning to play on his own until he started taking lessons at the age of sixteen.

One Christmas, Gioia’s two cousins received a drum set and a bass guitar. Two years later they formed a band and started playing shows. They didn’t know what they were doing, “but it was a blast, and it sounded pretty good,” said Gioia.

After graduating from high school, Gioia spent two years at the School of Visual Arts. At the time he was interested in painting and drawing, but ultimately gave it up to pursue a career in music.

He went on the road and the world became his classroom.

Gioia married Jackie at the age of 28 and the two formed a small band and played constant gigs in New York City where they lived. They began raising a family in Rockaway Beach and when the oldest of three daughters was ready to go to school, the Gioias began looking for a new home in the Hudson Valley. A house on Hudson Street was about the 20th they had looked at, but what sold them was driving by Riverlight Park and seeing Rings Pond and the Little League fields.

The move was tough in the beginning, Gioia admits, but as soon as he and Jackie started performing, it wasn’t hard to make new friends.

Besides playing cover songs, Gioia made a living giving music lessons out of his home, but when his clientele had reached 15 students, he found driving to multiple places to be tedious, so he began looking for a permanent location. In Nov. 2018, Gioia Studio opened on Main Street in Cornwall and those 15 students quickly grew to 50 in a short period of time.

Playing cover songs has been fun, but Gioia said he’s ready to try something new. While there was no livelihood in performing original music, he said he’s been writing since he was a teenager learning to play and has amassed hundreds of songs over the decades. He said it’s time to record an album and he and his band have been laying down 10 new tracks. About half are partially recorded with drums, guitar, and bass. Those songs still need vocals and back-up singers. Gioia hopes the album will be ready to release in another two or three months.

Jackie still provides harmonica and back-up vocals on the new album, but Gioia has also been recording with a combination of six or seven other individuals - either musicians he’s been playing covers and originals with at bars, as well as with those he’s been writing and recording.

“I am very excited to show my local friends, family, and fans what I’ve been working on especially because they, along with this town, have been the major influence and inspiration to my original music,” said Gioia.

Besides working on the album, Gioia also has another ongoing project he’s looking to launch -- Gioia Studio after Dark. During the day, Gioia works with younger students, but at night, he plays and teaches adults at varying levels. During these sessions, someone will throw out the name of a band, and from his years of playing, Gioia said he knows thousands of songs.

Typically three or four will immediately come to mind, otherwise he’ll look up material on YouTube to refresh his memory. The idea is to record those improv sessions, bringing in a special guest each time to offer up the name of a band or musician to perform. They’ll play on the spot and the sessions will be edited to 30-minute segments. Gioia said he’d like to record a few before releasing them on his YouTube channel - Gioia Studio. The goal is to upload one episode a week or every other week.

In addition to the show, Gioia envisions including other content as well. Currently, the channel offers live performances and recordings of previous original songs. “All around Us” was written around the time the studio opened. The lyrics reflect the love he and his wife felt from the community around them. “Unwind” was released during the COVID-19 pandemic and the chorus talks about the emotions felt trying to make it through uncertain times.