Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian gathers some celebrity friends for his latest single “I Can Breathe”
This is the second single released by the artist Gibson Band, following last December’s “Deconstruction”, released through Gueikian’s project. The song also features some well-known names, including System of a Down’s Serj Tankian and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.
This time, Guns N’ Roses became a source of talent, with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan joining the project, which aims to raise funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) through its Gibson Gives foundation.
according to rolling stonesAmong them, the lyrics of “I Can Breathe” were written by McKagan, and Slash added “blues guitar riffs”. Gueikian improvised and played rhythm guitar and keyboards, with Seta Von Gravessen on bass and Jota Morelli on drums.
The final version of the track took just under six minutes, apparently halved from the original demo’s 12-minute running time.
“It was a pleasure working with Cesar and his entire crew on this track,” McKagan said of the experience in a statement. “The musical leanings and progressive rock style of this massive epic captivated me. Pushed in a whole new direction.
“I love a challenge and Cesar kills it! Most importantly, serving mental health issues and awareness is very important to me right now. Let’s rock it!
All proceeds from the track will be donated to NAMI and two auctions will be held simultaneously with the release.
The first is a Tankian painting titled “Here They Come,” which serves as the cover art for “I Can Breathe.” The other piece is a Les Paul guitar with Tankian’s artwork and signatures from all the participants. Both auctions can be found through Julien’s Auctions.
