Freddie Gabriel

SargonGabriel.com Interview with Freddie

So Freddie, how does it feel to be interviewed? I'm a little nervous because I've never opened up my thoughts and life to the world.

Let's begin with a simple question. What inspired you to sing Assyrian? That's an easy question, my father did. He's my favorite singer and his style is complex so it gave me a challenge to try to accomplish his style and mawal’s.

Are you good in Mawal like your father? I don't know, I haven't been trying Mawal hard enough. I figure to get my voice sounding good first, sing on key with the music and then try to show off.

Why is it that you choose to go for modern Assyrian rather then continue what your father started? I'm not only following modern Assyrian; I'm also continuing what my dad started. Hopefully I can live up to what he's done in his life. I've always liked what Walter Aziz has done with Assyrian music; add some Sargon Gabriel style and you've got an amazing style of Assyrian music.

What is this new dance you plan to introduce? I want to introduce a new style of dancing because what we have now is a bit boring. If you look at everyone dancing, it's always those young people who jump up and down but they do the same thing over and over. If you introduce a more complex style dancing that has more foot steps and a little twisting, I think the Assyrian fans would have more fun and attend our parties.

How do you feel about your father and his career? I feel bad for him because he's endured a lot in his life. People always try to meddle in his life and talk about him, but he's a strong guy. He ignores what people have to say because he's accomplished more then any Assyrian singer on this planet. He's made some bad choices in life and I've learned from them. He's always told me to respect myself so that others can respect me as well. He's a very smart man and I love him to death. He has poor judgment with new style and refuses to change. Damn, I love how hard headed he is; just like me.

Does he teaches you to sing or has ever tried? He’s never attempted to teach me and my brother anything. He always felt that if we had music in our hearts, we'd get up and do it ourselves. I have to learn on my own, I have to find my music and lyrics and I have to ask other singers to sing with them. He wants us to be strong and responsible and not make things easy. Kind of like how he started, from ground up.

Have you ever performed on stage and if not how soon? I did a little 5 second thing at my brothers wedding. I stole the microphone from my dad and he took it back. I've never sang on stage, but I plan to in August. If your there, your there.

Good luck with your career and I'm sure your friends and family are behind you wishing you the best of luck.

Freddie Gabriel Behind The Music

SargonGabriel.com takes a look at an up and coming young star. Freddie Gabriel, who now enters the music business as his father did over 30 years ago.

Freddie Gabriel was always the athletic type who's dream was to become a great soccer player like his late grandfather; Hermiz Gabriel. Freddie attended Niles West High School in Skokie Illinois in mid 1992 as a freshman. Before his dreams of becoming a soccer player, Freddie always had a knack for football. All through grade school, Freddie played tackle football and joined a pee wee league at Warren Park in Chicago IL. He was a descent running back with great athletic abilities as a free safety. When a neck injury sidelined him, Freddie turned to soccer. Early on in High School, Freddie played football in a position that suited him well; free safety. He had doubts in his mind for football until one day the varsity coach whom was his substitute teacher in gym class scouted him during soccer week. The coach offered him to play soccer in a position he was gifted; forward/attacker. Four years of soccer, Freddy established himself as one of the premier soccer athletes in Illinois ranked 4th in the nation. He was offered a scholarship to Purdue to pursue a career in soccer which no later after graduation MLS came in play. Freddie had other plans.

Freestyle music was the hottest thing to hit Chicago in the early 90's. Freddie joined his brother Vena Gabriel in 1997 and formed a non name group and then came his first hit, "My Sweet Angel". Financially, Freddie couldn't manage the group and his song; "My Sweet Angel" was no longer sweet. He then became a dance teacher. With the title "Best Dancer in Chicago", Freddie knew that dancing was his career. He was a choreographer for a group called Poetry who his brother joined thereafter.

Freddie was never the type to be second best, his goal was always to be on top of everyone and the best there was. After his brother Vena left the group "Poetry", they both formed a freestyle group, "Heaven Sent". With "My Sweet Angel" buried, Freddie and his brother worked on a title they knew would be a smashing hit, "Where Did Our Love Go". By the time they finished recording, freestyle music was dead; but that didn't stop the two brothers from performing in front of hundreds. Failure would not be accepted, but it was destine to fail since freestyle was no more. Both brothers parted, and Freddie would have to find a new career.

Freddie purchased a computer in 1998 and entered the Internet world. Chatting in Assyrian chat and getting into trouble was not his idea of having fun. Freddie began to build web sites for fun and thus came a new career in web designing and multimedia. Freddie learned from the Internet avoiding school. He learned more then enough as an average person would while in school. Once again, Freddie found that web designing won't get you far in life as the era of web development ended in 2000.

2001, Freddie Married and moved to San Jose California where he then became a father. Raising his young beautiful daughter was no easy task. With his wife working and Freddie taking care of his child at home, he began to listen to Assyrian music more often then he should have growing up. He started singing Assyrian in 2000 until his father told him that he should not give up his day job. Freddie refused to fail and practiced every day. He presented another demo to his father in 2002 and yet again, his father felt that he didn't have what it takes to be a singer.

Freddie tried hard to prove to his father, but Mr. Gabriel was not accepting his son to succeed has he had in his life. 2005, Freddie introduced a demo that featured Zia and Khelit Khooba. His father was then interested at his son's accomplishments. Still, he was not sure to introduce him to the music world. Freddie tried again with khelit Khooba remix; and that's when his father gave him the green light. Sargon laughed when he heard the song and told his son, "that was very cleaver, I see you have patentional".

Freddie enters the Assyrian Music industry with goals to change what his father began into modern Assyrian and introduce a style of dancing the Assyrian world has never seen. July 27th, 2005 begins Freddie’s last and final journey for a career move he feels is a lock down.