The proceeds of “I Can Breathe” will benefit the National Alliances on Mental Illness
Gibson has announced a new release from the Gibson Band, a revolving collective of musicians who join together to make music and raise funds and awareness for worthy causes. A hard-hitting rock song, the new benefit single “I Can Breathe” features rhythm guitars and piano from Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson, with special guests Duff McKagan on lead vocals and lyrics, and Slash on lead guitar and solos. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the song will benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), through Gibson Gives. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health resource organization that is dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
“It was such a pleasure to work with Cesar and his whole crew on this tune,” says McKagan. “The musical slant and progressive rock-ness of this huge epic pushed me in a whole new direction. I love a challenge and Cesar killed it! Most importantly, to be of service for mental health issues and awareness is super important to me at this time. Let’s rock!”
“Cesar and Duff came to me with a really cool piece of music,” adds Slash. “I loved the riff idea, and Duff’s vocal, so I felt right at home on the track.”
On “I Can Breathe” McKagan crafted the lyrics and is featured on lead vocals, Gueikian wrote the music and played rhythm guitar and piano, and Slash wrote and played the lead guitar and solos, while Jota Morelli played drums, and Seta Von Gravessen on bass. The music was recorded by Cesar at La Roca Power Studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, vocals were recorded by Duff at the Sound Factory in Los Angeles and lead guitars and solos by Slash in Los Angeles. The track was produced by Gueikian and Jorge Rodriguez with collaboration from Pablo Toubes and Francisco Trillini, and mixed and mastered by Greg Gordon. A special thanks goes to Gonzalo Riviera Villatte, Gina Furia, and guitar tech Lisardo Alvarez for all his work at La Roca Power Studio.
The cover artwork is based on a large-scale original painting by Serj Tankian titled “They’re Coming.” The original painting by Serj Tankian will be auctioned off alongside a one-of-a-kind Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar which also features the hand-painted artwork as part of Julien’s Auctions global auction.
