With their signature blend of gritty rock ‘n’ roll, Texas country swagger, and punk-infused energy, Giovannie and the Hired Guns have carved out a sound that’s as rebellious as it is heartfelt. Fronted by the magnetic Giovannie Yanez, the band has been turning heads across the country—and they’re bringing their electrifying live show to Lakewood, Ohio, on May 1, at Mahall’s for a night that promises to be anything but quiet.
Their latest album, 2025’s ‘Quitter,’ explores themes of resilience, heartbreak, and hard-earned self-reflection, all delivered with the raw emotion and unapologetic honesty that fans have come to love. With tracks that hit like a punch to the gut one minute and heal like a late-night heart-to-heart the next, Quitter cements the band’s place as one of the most compelling up-and-coming acts in modern rock.
Ahead of the Lakewood tour stop, CleveRock caught up with Yanez to talk about the band’s journey, the stories behind ‘Quitter,’ and what fans can expect when they hit the stage.
“I’m pretty excited, Man! We’ve never really recorded something like ‘Quitter’. It was really kind of an experimental thing, and people will hear it on the album,” he said. “There’s really fun songs that we just said, ‘The heck with it. Let’s try it. Let’s go with it.’ At the end of the day, Man, you only live one time, and we don’t like being in a box and saying this and that, Man. I’m super excited for everybody to hear this next album. It is super fun. It was very fun making. It was very dark times, though, when we were making this album. We’re definitely ready to open up this next chapter of Giovannie and the Hired Guns.”
Gio & Co. worked with producer Johnny K on the record, whose credits include Disturbed, Three Doors Down, and Plain White T’s. Johnny K has a reputation for working on excellent albums and leaving his imprint on the records that he produces. Yanez was asked what it was like working with Johnny on ‘Quitter.’
“It was so cool! It was very neat; him pushing us to our full potential, if that makes sense,” he said. “Of course, if he didn’t really like something, he’d be like, ‘Alright, play it like you mean it now.’ He would not get under your skin, but he would do his magic; the Johnny K Magic that he knows what you’re capable of doing. It was very cool.“
The resulting record deviates a good amount from the band’s previous efforts.
“It’s a little heavier and I had to go away for a while to get things right; get my head right, and my priorities all straightened out,” Yanez said. “I flew out to California and did all that stuff. I was just getting into some bad stuff that wasn’t letting Gio be Gio. It was a pretty dark and scary time. You can definitely tell on this album. It’s not everywhere, but yeah, Man, it’s a lot heavier. You can tell that. I was kind of lost, kind of crying out for help on this album.”
Sex, drugs & Rock N Roll are the name of the game for a rockstar on tour. It’s difficult to make sound lifestyle decisions. Gio has been honest about his recent struggle with substance abuse. The song “Quitter” sums up parts of the album’s theme, especially the lyrics “I’m not a quitter / but I wish I was.” He was asked if he is worried about the temptations that exist during a tour on his upcoming trek.
“I don’t think I’m very worried at all because the camp that I have around me is great, the family I have, the support system I have in general, it’s great,” he said with confidence. “But at the end of the day, we are artists, and we are who we are, and we probably don’t understand why it’s like that sometimes. I know it’s going to be alright. I know the road is going to be good.“
“I’m a clown at the end of the day, and during the time of recording this album, we did this album over two years ago, maybe a year ago, it was finished, but we just didn’t know how to put it out. I was going through my personal stuff that I was going through, so I was kind of delaying, delaying, delaying,” he continued. “And during the time of recording this album, this song came up,’ I think one of the [rhythmguitarist] Jared [Flusche] or [bassist, Alex] Trejo, one of the other dudes in the band, and they were just saying, ‘I’m not a quitter, but I wish I was’ came up, and we just went along with that, and it’s very ironic, and it’s very whatever. Now, looking back at it all, I didn’t get sober enough not to laugh at it. I didn’t get sober not to have fun, and I’m not saying that I’m a hundred percent. I’m not this angel. No, the stuff I was doing, I don’t ever wish anybody to ever touch that stuff. It was so not me. But I still smoke a little bit of weed, or I’ll still drink a little bit, but it’s moderation, growing up and telling yourself, do you want to have longevity and be here to see your kids get married one day? Yeah, it’s a lot of growing up, Man, for sure. But we still have fun. But the whole quitter thing was just, yeah, Man, it was kind of not a joke, but it is. That’s just my humor, I guess.”
And, yes, the sound on ‘Quitter’ is heavier, but there is an undeniable influence of 90s rock that prevails on this record. I asked if he shared that sentiment.
“I agree! The sound that we have, I don’t know how it came about. We kind of just, yeah, Dude, who doesn’t like 90s rock? It’s the best time,” Yanez said. “It was great! It was awesome! I mean, I don’t know if you can call Nirvana 90s or Smashing Pumpkins 90s, but it was great. I don’t really know. We’re a little heavier Weezer with a little Latin hip-hop kind of taste. We kind of have those big choruses and catchy guitar riffs, so I feel like we kind of have that, too.”
Fresh off of the album release, this upcoming tour will be the band’s first opportunity for fans to experience these songs live.
“It’s really exciting playing new music for the audiences,” he said. “It’s kind of scary, but it’s also a new chapter and something different. I’m really excited for everybody to hear this music and just be able to play this and just rock out with the crowd. We’re just ready to put this music out. It’s been a little while since we put something out. There are a few times where we’ve had some mosh pit started out, which I never thought we would see, which is so awesome. And I think for sure this next music is definitely some moshing music!”
FM radio is not the powerhouse it once was. There are so many other outlets for consumers to find new music. That said, Giovannie and the Hired Guns’ following has been aided immensely by heavy play on the airwaves.
“I absolutely love radio! Shout out to all the radio stations that play us. Radio’s great for purposes like selling tickets and being relevant in town, especially in the younger generation, because you got to think they don’t have cell phones or they don’t have this and that,” Yanez noted. “I grew up listening to whatever my dad listened to; whatever my parents listened to. So that was another thing. People still listen to radio stations, and it’s a great thing. It’s great for your community to hear what’s in town. It’s not always about the streaming. People need to listen to the radio as well!”
As a Texas native and author of the lyrical confession, “I still bump Selena when I get drunk,” Yanez was asked a final (and very important question) about his thoughts on the convicted murderer of Selena, Yolanda Saldívar, being eligible parole later this month.
“Well, she better not get out of jail,” he said. “There’s a lot of angry people out there. I think she is safer in jail.”
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