By JACKIE HENRY
Managing Editor
jhenry@cherryroad.com
You’ve heard the saying, “Music moves the soul.” I have found that this checks true in many aspects of my life. I grew up with music around me. My dad had a smooth, baritone singing voice. My Uncle Bill could play a guitar and a harmonica – at the same time. This is pretty common these days, but back then, he had rigged up some type of device that enabled him to do that.
Moving on, I loved being in the choir in elementary school. Junior High and High School brought both band and choir to my schedule and I love it. My senior year, after finishing one of the many plays we had, “South Pacific”, (I was Bloody Mary!) the featured female and her boyfriend were killed in a tragic accident. How did we handle that? Well, not good, but, the choir was scheduled to perform at a contest that day and we all climbed on that bus, teary-eyed, and did what we knew she would want us to do, we participated in the contest and brought home a gold award.
Once I became a rebellious teen (I know, that’s hard to imagine) I’d be the one walking with my guitar, setting under the trees at Tipton Park and strumming some tunes, while my other friends would gather to listen, or even help sing a few lyrics. Once I grew up a bit, I didn’t play or sing music much anymore, but it was part of every part of my life.
Recently, two Tipton men have taken there music a bit farther and they art starting to make a career of it.
Blaine Gaiser
First up is Blaine Gaiser. Gaiser, better known as GMNI88 in the music world, is an artist born in the rural area of Tipton in 1988. Blaine’s journey in music began around the age of 12, where he first started learning guitar and actively perused singing, playing and writing music.
Over the years, his passion for sound evolved, culminating in the creation of GMNI88—a project deeply inspired by the vibrant echoes of 80’s movies and nostalgia, VHS aesthetics, and love of retro synthesizers.
As a synthwave artist, GMNI88 draws significant influence from iconic 80’s movies and leading synthwave artists such as The Midnight, FM-84, Timecop1983 and Michael Oakley. This retro-futuristic soundscape is the essence of GMNI88’s music, which combines a love for nostalgic melodies with modern production sensibilities.
November 2024 marked a milestone for GMNI88 with the release of his debut single, “Ghost.” The track received acclaim for its rich production, memorable melodies, and emotive vocals. Reviewers praised the song with remarks such as:
• “Phenomenal synths” – NEW RETRO WAVE HQ
• “Very beautiful song, awesome vocals, great sounding and production.” – Alex Boychuk
Blaine’s musical journey has been diverse, spanning multiple genres, including Rock, Hardcore, Metalcore, and Pop, before focusing on synthwave. His experiences as a vocalist and guitarist in various projects have honed his songwriting skills and deepened his appreciation for the power of music to evoke emotion and nostalgia.
GMNI88 represents a labor of love where Blaine combines his pop culture influences and passion for the sounds of the past into a cohesive and fresh sonic experience. With new material already in development for 2025, GMNI88 is poised to further expand his footprint in the synthwave music scene, continuing to captivate listeners with his unique blend of retro charm, modern artistry and Powerful Vocals.
This month, Gaiser signed a record deal with a small indie record label named “Retro Reverb Records” which is a sister label for Retro Synth Records. They have a dedicated following in the synthwave community.
Gaiser musical name is pronounced Gemini 88 which is a blending of his astrological sign with the year he was born.
Gaiser’s single is available on Spotify. For everything GMNI88, check out https://linktr.ee/gmni88
Mason Henderson
Our next rising star is Mason Henderson. He recently composed an album entitled “Wolf Love.” This is Henderson’s first album and he contributes the support of the community for making this happen.
Henderson’s love for music started in sixth grade when he took up the trumpet. This helped him learn the basics of music, such as reading music and also how to perform in front of an audience under the supervision of the Band Director Rob Shaver. Henderson furthered his music career as part of the high school band, under Directors Top Fletcher and Matthew Skiba.
Around the time he was in eighth grade, Henderson met local musician and Legend Music Academy’s music teacher, Chris Parton. With Parton, he explored other instruments. He wrote his first song “A Foggy Indiana Morning” when he was 19, which made him realize this was something he liked to do.
For Christmas one year, his grandmother gifted him with a pass to Wolf Park in Battle Ground, Indiana. After his first visit, he felt such a connection with these magnificent creatures, which spurred the creation of this album.“I wanted to raise awareness about wolves and why they are so important to our ecosystem,” said Henderson.
It took a year to write and compose the music for all 12 tracts, which started in 2022. In 2023, over six months, Henderson recorded the songs and did post-production, with the help of Parton and also with Legends teacher, Joshua Phipps. Both of these teachers also perform on the album. Henderson now plays guitar, ukulele, spoons, jaw harp, harmonica, and banjo, most of which can be heard on this album.
Henderson commented that he would tell any aspiring performer to “chase your passion, do your best and just keep going!”
His album, Wolf Love, is available on Apple Music and Spotify.
