NORTHRIDGE, California – For some, music is an escape from reality. For others, it provides a road back to reality. For Gabriel The Gun, it's been both. Co-founder of the ska-pop band No Doubt with star Gwen Stefani, Gabriel has been through his share of adventures. To tell his story, Gabriel relies on HARMAN's JBL EON515XT portable PA loudspeakers while traveling to Los Angeles school districts with the hopes of steering students from the dangers of a lifestyle he was lucky to survive.
”We started touring with No Doubt in 1986 and I got into substance abuse in a big way,” Gabriel said. “It wasn't until I was flat on my back in an ICU hooked up to all types of monitors and machines, that I knew I had to change my life. I thought of my own kids and how my actions reflected on them and vowed to get clean. I took a 3-year sabbatical and straightened out my life. At that point I started to think of young musicians and how I could turn my mistakes into their success. I knew my destiny was to make a change in the world—maybe just one kid at a time.”
Eventually, Gabriel founded a 10-piece reggae/ska band with a jazz and soul influence called the BackBeat Brawlers. Gabriel said, “I believe that music heals and my epiphany was to serve society as an artist. And let's face it, we as humans are challenged daily by a multitude of bad situations and music helps people through hard times. The BackBeat Brawlers perform at inner city schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District. We play for the kids and then we get down to the business of the truth. At most clinics, artists discuss music theory, what scale to play within certain chords, but we talk about life on the road. And while we discuss substance abuse and the pitfalls of the addicted lifestyle, our main focus of discussion is on all the great things that music and the arts provide.” Gabriel explained the need to have an audio system that is self-reliant and easy to travel with.
“When looking for speakers that would fit our needs, I went right to JBL knowing their reputation for being the best,” he said. “The message we want to convey is one of positivity, creativity and the soul-enriching power of music. We needed speakers that were equal in sound to the strength of that message. The choice was a no-brainer. The logistics behind traveling with a 10-piece band are difficult, and the JBL EON515XT speakers make our new road life less complicated. They're awesome sounding, easy to transport and the setup is a breeze.”
”I'm so excited by the change that we have created in schools and communities,” Gabriel concluded. “If we can inspire even one child's dreams or goals, then we know we have done our job. It's such a rewarding experience.”
For more information on Gabriel The Gun and BackBeat Brawlers, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BackBeat-Brawlers/136879976352802 and http://www.backbeatbrawlers.com/
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 12,500 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.0 billion for twelve months ending September 30, 2011.