Q&A with Gypsyblood

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty lousy at this whole music journalism thing.  I’m impossibly stubborn when it comes to listening to new music, especially with bands I haven’t read anything about, and can be a bit heavy handed with the “next” button on  my iPod.  In fact, if Tastemakers wasn’t pressed to find an opener for Tastemakers Presents back in August I probably wouldn’t have given Gypsyblood a chance.

And what a mistake that would have been.

As soon as “Take Your Picture” poured out of my speakers I realized I had, with the help of Sargent House, stumbled upon a band with “next big thing” (or at least “next good thing”) written all over them.  Lackadaisical but affected vocals are surrounded by loose, fuzzy guitars to create Pavement-styled indie rock, surf rock, and goofy takes on Americana reminiscent of Ugly Casanova.  But that’s not to say Gypsyblood are rip-offs, they simply combine several different styles to create music that grooves and gets stuck in your head, all while sounding like something you already enjoy.  You can listen to three demo tracks below and hear the rest of their repertoire this Saturday at Tastemakers Presents.

For the record, do you mind telling us your name and what you do in the band?

Adam: I’m Adam James and I play guitar, bass, and try to sing.

Kyle: I’m Kyle Victor and I play drums, bass, and sing.

Do you mind telling us about how you got started?  How long have you been playing together?

K: We’ve been playing in and out of bands together since we were freshman in high school.

A: Before gypsyblood, the last time we played together, Kyle stormed off stage during the last song and hitchhiked home, left his gear and everything. So we didn’t talk for a year or more until he got a hold of some demos I was doing. We kissed. Made up.

K: Bathed in blood.

Are you officially signed to a label?

A: We just signed to Sargent House out of Los Angeles. They are absolutely splendid and believe in our busted ass version of pop music.

K: We write for old souls and its amazing to be involved with a family who understands that its not a fad.

A: We love them!

What is your writing process like?

K:  Hahaha! We actually have to tell ourselves to stop writing, which you never hear from bands. But we couldn’t record for awhile because every time we got together we would end up with 20 more songs.

A: In my opinion, there is a big difference between being a musician or a guitarist, drummer, bass player etc. You can be a slick player and play everyone else’s songs, but still be an awful musician and vice versa. I think of myself as a horrendous guitarist and moderate musician. Collaboration is where I’ve always thrived and Kyle complements everything I’m not. We’ve always fed remarkably well off each other. It’s the best environment to be able to create in.

Your recorded material uses a lot of fuzzy tones and distortion.  How much of this is due to the actual recording and how much is intentional?

A: We recorded the album using the same equipment they use to capture sound for film and television and ran a lot of it through an old Shure vocal master for it’s echo chamber. I’m in love with the way it sounds. We recorded drums and bass in Kyle’s apartment and the vocals and guitar at the Lost Inn Spaces which is an old Frank Lloyd Wright warehouse which has been turned into a practice facility for bands.

K: On some of the tracks, you can faintly hear some of the bands practicing in the building and it was little things like that that we kept on the album rather then doing it over. Buses outside kedzie, the Spanish restaurants music next door, etc. It made it more personal for us. It was recorded in the dead of Chicago winter and I think you can hear that in the album.

A: I can remember my hands not working as good as I would have liked when we were recording the guitar tracks because it was so cold in that warehouse. They were all crampin’ up on the frets.

If I’m coming to a Gypsyblood show, what should I expect to see?

A: I still have trouble with this…

At then end of the day, I think of what I would want to see live and that’s more baseball bat to mail box then 5 guys looking at their guitars. It’s about spontaneity and a moment never being repeated. I still can’t get used to playing guitar and singing the way I want to. The way I would if I didn’t have a guitar around me. So it’s restricting. So in that sense, it might be like watching someone try to use their arm when it’s tied down.

What are your plans from here?  Have any future tours or releases been scheduled?

K: We just finished mastering our first LP “Cold in the Guestway” with our brother in blood, Nick Nativo at the Nook. Otherwise, not dying, getting ready to tour, and trying to suppress the urge to write have all been on the agenda. We seem to be succeeding at most of those…. =P

Catch Gypsyblood on Northeastern’s campus this Saturday, October 2nd at 6pm in the Centennial Common alongside Maps & Atlases and Good Old War and keep your eye out the release of Cold in the Guestway via Sargent House.