Simone Gubbiotti - #Underdogs

Guitarist Simone Gubbiotti tells an unlikely-but-true story through his music. With his new #Underdogs project as his most recent feat, the road toward it was filled with life-altering obstacles.

Starting off as a promising new football player for AC Milan, life seemed to deal Gubbiotti a good set of cards from an early age. When the teenager got a knee injury, however, dreams of a professional career were shattered. A devastating incident, launching the Italian child prodigy into a deep depression in his early twenties. Weighing only 57 kilos at his lowest point, and at times not even being able to walk, Gubbiotti was desperate for help.

Years before, his father had bought him a classical guitar; a gift that was overlooked until then as he had never fostered the ambition to learn to play, let alone in front of people. It ended up saving his life, serving as therapy for everything he had lived through up until that point. Only 4 months later, looking to learn more about his new instrument, he attended a Berklee College clinic at Umbria Jazz, assuming it would be a scout camp rather than a jazz clinic. Intrigued by the music, he attended his first-ever jazz concert, seeing Ornette Coleman play the same week and immediately decided to expand his jazz horizon. He moved to Los Angeles to explore his chances of a career as a full-time musician.

Although this might sound like the end-all-be-all, life had another sad surprise in store for the Italian jazzman; losing his best friend to cancer, Gubbiotti had to promise to never give up on his music, despite earlier attempts to “quit the madness,” as he himself describes it. He proceeded to record an album with Peter Erskine, who then wrote the preface to his book, which continues to be a work in progress.
Bad luck comes in threes, and the guitarist is no exception, unfortunately. He lost his cousin and his other childhood friend, too, in the years after. Depression lurked around the corner, causing him to lose his house and move into his car, together with his dog, Wayne. The five months he spent in that situation resulted in this album, #Underdogs. A collection of music telling a compelling story of resilience, loss, and above all; hope, against all odds.