Country band Gloriana is still getting used to the highs and lows of fame - from touring with Taylor Swift to starstruck fans.
"There was this one guy, his name was Dave, and when we were playing in Seattle, he somehow got backstage and hid (in the cargo area underneath) the tour bus," said Mike Gossin, guitarist and singer, in a recent telephone interview. "The dude was hiding in there, and he was like, 'Hey, man, don't freak out, I just want to get an autograph.' It was really crazy."
Fans will have their chance to see Gloriana - in addition to Gossin, there's his brother, Tom Gossin, Cheyenne Kimball and Rachel Reinert - at 8 p.m. Aug. 29 at Bryce Jordan Center in University Park when they open for Swift and Kellie Pickler on the Fearless 2009 tour. The show is sold out.
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Gloriana includes (from left) Cheyenne Kimball, Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinert and Tom Gossin.
"(Swift) called us up personally," Gossin said. "We're riding in our 16-passenger van, and she calls and says 'I really want to get you on my tour before anybody else grabs you.' We thought we were getting pranked by the record label at first."
The call definitely wasn't a prank, though.
"It's absolutely insane," Gossin said. "We are having like, the time of our lives. Everyone's been so nice to us, and Taylor's such an amazing person - it's incredible to be up there on stage with her."
The band released their self-titled debut album on Aug. 4, featuring their high energy debut single "Wild at Heart," which is No. 16 on Billboard's country charts. It's a project that's been in the works since winter 2007, when the Gossin brothers joined forces with Reinert.
Not long after the trio came together, Kimball saw them play and approached the group about getting together.
"She came up and introduced herself," Gossin said. "She said, 'I just want to throw this out there, I'd like to jam with you guys, and we exchanged numbers, and everything kinda clicked."
In early 2008, the band members moved in together to fully concentrate on putting out their album.
"It was definitely cool - it was a life-changing experience," Gossin said. "It wasn't bad at all; we get along really well. You find ways to balance your time - you don't want to work in a studio with someone for nine hours and then come home and eat dinner with them."
Mirror Staff Writer Ashley Gurbal is at 946-7435.
