GYPSYBLOOD

Our Song Take Your Picture Goes All BMX

Sat, 12 May 2012 17:27:00 -0600

Our track “Take Your Picture” from Gypsyblood’s album Cold In The Guestway makes a perfect score for this Unit Riders Video of Kyle Baldock BMX Dirt Jump Sessions filmed at Gorge Rd New Zealand. Licensed through 1656 Music.

Cobra Lounge and Sailor Jerry Show Video - Was a Sloppy Good Time

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 12:13:58 -0600

Check out the video from the Cobra Lounge show, featuring Gypsyblood and some other great Chicago bands from last year’s Sailor Jerry Pitchfork After party. Was a sloppy good time!!

Brooklyn Vegan: Show Pick - March 2nd Lake Forest , IL - FREE Show

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:51:00 -0600

Gypsyblood & Heavy Times to play a Lake Forest chapel

Chicago bands Gypsyblood and Heavy Times are set to play a FREE show this Friday (March 2), at the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel on the campus of Lake Forest College. The event is being presented by the school’s WMXM radio (89.9 FM) and seems to be open to the public.

In related (and unfortunate) news, Gypsyblood’s van was stolen last week.

Gypsyblood to play at the Sargent House / 1656 Music Offical Show at SXSW - March 16th

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:38:33 -0600

Sargent House and 1656 Music presents their official SXSW show lineup for Friday, March 16th at Bat Bar - 218 E. 6th Street with the following bands.

Deafheaven - 1:00am
Zechs Marquise - 12:05am
Chelsea Wolfe - 11:10pm
And So I Watch You From Afar - 10:15pm
Indian Handcrafts - 9:20pm
Marriages - 8:25pm
Gypsyblood - 7:30pm

W/ special guest sets from Eureka The Butcher between bands

Happy Valentines Day Downloads from Gypsyblood

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:25:01 -0600

In honor of Valentines Day, Gypsyblood has unleashed two Free tracks, a b-side and an alternative slow groove version of their track In Our Veins - Free for download, for lovers only …..

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://gypsyblood.bandcamp.com/album/gypsyblood-valentines-day” _mce_href=”http://gypsyblood.bandcamp.com/album/gypsyblood-valentines-day”&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Gypsyblood - Valentines Day by Gypsyblood&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Superstition REMIX

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:46:17 -0600

Remix of the Gypsyblood track Superstition from the album Cold In The Guestway

Don't Trust Your GPS In The Southern Appalachian Mountains: an Interview with Gypsblood

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:37:25 -0600

Don’t Trust Your GPS In The Southern Appalachian Mountains: an Interview with Gypsyblood
By Ryan Donar

Waiting outside of El Cid II; an out-of-place Mexican restaurant in the heart of Logan Square beside a comic book store that I promised myself not to go into. It’s about 6:50 p.m. when I look at the clock on my phone (early to a 7:00 p.m. meeting time of course, but only to make sure I got the right rendezvous point). I’m asked by two small, very young teenagers in backpacks and zipped up matching hoodies for a cigarette as I take a drag off of the last pre-rolled bugler I had in my breast pocket. “Are these kids for real? Maybe they are older than I think,” I say to myself as they hold out their hands as if they were expecting a snack. I say, “nah, this is the only one I have.” They put their hands down to their sides and kindly said, “fuck you,” then strutted away on their scooters. Confused and misplaced I hear a door open behind me and some male voices asking if and when a certain friend (Kyle) would arrive. Ignoring the conversation and keeping to my nosey self inspecting the nearby cops across the street at the train station I hear, “Ryan? Are you Ryan?” I turn around and am face-to-face with Chicago’s very own pop-garde masterminds, Gypsyblood.

The El Cid hostess leads Adam, Ryan, Chris and I upstairs where we thought would be a little less noisier in order to conduct the interview properly but instead arrive in a bar area with people chatting on both sides of our table and a mariachi band playing overhead in the speakers. The waitress brings out chips and Ryan White (bassist of Gypsyblood) discreetly whistles, or so he thought, as the waitress takes our drink orders. Margaritas and rice water.

Ryan Donar: Who are you guys and where are you guys from?

Adam James: We are Gypsyblood from Chicago, Illinois. Actually right next door to El Cid is where we practice, that’s also where we recorded half the album.

Ryan Donar: Where did you record the other half of Cold in the Guestway?

Adam James: We wrote the songs in the summer of ‘09 and recorded them that fall/winter with the album officially being finished in summer of ‘10. We recorded half of it in what we’ve referred to as “The Lost Inn Spaces” as it’s this enormous warehouse that was built by Frank Lloyd Wright but now houses a massive amount of band practice spaces. But there are no windows when you go in, so you completely lose track of time. I loved recording in that environment, but i can see how some people wouldn’t.

Ryan Donar: How did you guys produce the album?

Adam James: Kyle (Victor) and I; then we took it to a friend of ours Nick Nativo at the Nook Studio who mixed it and everything, and there was the album. Nick does mostly metal bands which is why we were a little hesitant to go with him at first, but he is an old friend and the mix of what he does and what we were looking for really came through in a great collaboration.

Ryan Donar: When did you guys start writing the album?

Adam James: Kyle and I started writing the album I believe, the beginning of…

A loud and steady bursting noise of ice being crushed fills the room.

Ryan Donar: That would be our margaritas.

Chris Alvarez: Haha yeah.

Ryan White: Should’ve gotten yours on the rocks like me.

Everyone laughs and the crunching noise from the bar’s blender subsides.

Ryan Donar: I found this YouTube video of you guys playing one night and the cops were trying to bust in.

Adam James: Yeah, that was right next door.

Ryan Donar: Did they ever get in?

Chris Alvarez: No, we were just hanging out and turned off the lights like no one was home and I mean; they were pretty smart like coming around the back door.

Adam James: Haha. I don’t know they are PD.

Chris Alvarez: I don’t know they had these flash lights with strobe lights on and were flashing their spotlight from the streets up into the window so we said, ‘let’s do this last song’. So there are all of these lights flashing in the dark, so we played and afterwards Kyle says, ‘alright guys thanks for the light show.’

Adam James: Then Ryan lifted the window up and was like, ‘Hello? Hello? Who’s out there?’ acting like a neighbor and the cops were asking if he knew who was playing next door so he said, ‘oh no uh I don’t know.’ They had like this whole five minute conversation and didn’t know that they were actually talking to us.

Chris Alvarez: It took a while for them to calm down because at first the cop was yelling, ‘get out here, we’ll beat the shit out of you!’

Adam James: Yeah they beat the shit out of the back door; they were just hitting it nonstop.

Ryan Donar: How long did that last?

Adam James: Oh, it was like a couple of hours and you know they don’t have a right to come into a space. So that’s really the key; knowing your rights and knowing that they can’t come in and fuck with us unless they have a warrant.

Chris Alvarez: Yeah, so that’s like a tip for anyone out there. Don’t answer the door and you’ll be alright.

Adam James: That goes for any party or basement show. As long as you lock that shit up you’ll be fine.

Ryan Donar: You released Cold in the Guestway on Sargent House, that’s a pretty big deal. How did you guys manage to get onto that label?

Chris Alvarez: Well um…

Ryan White: (To waitress) I wasn’t whistling at you earlier, I was whistling to him (points to Chris).

Waitress laughs as she hands us our frozen margaritas and Adam his rice water.

Chris Alvarez: I remember we were sitting in a car; Adam, Kyle and I when Dave Davison of Maps and Atlases walks by and so we called him in and Dave got into the car. Kyle started playing him some stuff and he was really into it, so after that Dave started showing it to other people.

Adam James: At that time we had made over like thirty songs during the writing and recording process and then we narrowed it down to twelve that we wanted to be on the record. Then we showed Dave probably half of them and Dave showed Cathy from Sargent House and we had talked to her before when we were playing in Karma with a K but that never really stuck.

Ryan Donar: So you guys must’ve been really stoked eh?

Adam James: Oh yeah man.

Chris Alvarez: Yeah I respect Cathy a lot, everybody that works for the label there are pretty hard workers I mean they are working day and night or whatever.

Adam James: It’s pretty cool because if they are looking at a band seriously then everybody on the label has a say. It doesn’t just come down to one person, it’s like Cathy, Mark and everybody on the label has a say in it and that’s the kind of family that we wanted to be associated with.

Ryan Donar: What are you guys’ favorite tracks on the album?

Everyone: Ohhh. Ohh. (Looking at each other with raised eye brows)

Chris Alvarez: Are these like favorite tracks just on album, or favorite that we play live?

Ryan Donar: Yeah, both.

Chris Alvarez: Oh yeah, well when we play ‘2-4-6’ it sounds like awesome, that’s for me, playing live.

Ryan White: ‘Endless Summer’, I think endless summer is it for me. That was one of my favorites from early on.

Chris Alvarez: ‘Man of States’ probably on the record. Live too.

Adam James: I think so too playing that one live, especially because there are a lot of vocals in the song and I feel like it comes really well. It’s such a spontaneous song but it’s repetitive as well. I think it just works really well.

Ryan Donar: Do you have any idea of another album?

Adam James: Oh man, we definitely have, there’s this one song that we didn’t put on the album that we are going to play at the Hideout. It’ll be our first time playing it but mostly right now we are writing and always recording and throwing it on the back burner but I think we are essentially focusing on this record and trying to tour this album. What do you guys think?

Chris Alvarez: Um, I’m excited to see what comes in afterwards. Ryan and I helped write a lot and have been playing with Kyle and Adam for over a year now and we are all pretty close and really good friends. I’ve lived with Kyle for two or so years, Ryan is his cousin…

Ryan White: Small world.

Everyone: Hahaha

Chris Alvarez: We’ll all like a family.

Adam James: Yeah and I mean we used to play shows with Chris’ bands all the time back in the day.

Chris Alvarez: That’s how I got to know them.

Ryan Donar: When did you guys start playing together?

Chris Alvarez: Ah I mean we’d play here and there for fun when both of our bands were kind of out of whack. We’d just play in the practice spaces with local musicians we’d know and whatever. When Adam and Kyle recorded I’d just be in my bedroom.

Adam James: And Chris was at this one practice space, and I was sharing this practice space with this local band and I kind of left that space after seven years it was kind of like, ‘alright that’s it’, everyone left on good terms but you know how that goes.

Chris Alvarez: Only to come back across the hall.

Adam James: Haha yeah and then I switched rooms and I was in Chris’ room when we were doing the album, and that’s where we recorded most of the album.

Chris Alvarez: Yeah sometimes I’d come in and Adam would be recording and be so into his zone with his headphones on, guitar in his hand looking at the computer screen.

Adam James: For like 8 hours.

Chris Alvarez: Ha I’d come in before work to pick up a guitar and then come back later to drop it back off or to come to band practice and Adam would still be in there with a couple drinks, coffee, whatever you need to get you through the thought process. I felt bad though.

Adam James: Yeah it was about time to fucking leave. I’d be in there for like twelve hours. But that’s kind of the fun of it you know, you’re not a whole person unless you do certain things, whether it’s music, painting, writing or anything. And at the end of the day that’s what we’re about, finding and responding to that whatever it may be and that’s what I think Gypsyblood is at the end of the day, it’s that incentive to do what you love no matter what anybody says.

Ryan Donar: What are you guys currently listening to?

Adam James: I’m into Velvet Underground a lot and I listen to The Clean, this band out of New Zealand; they have this amazing record and they’ve been around since the late 70’s, just an astounding punkrock band. I know Kyle is really into like Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fall.

Ryan Donar: A lot of the songs have a shoegaze feel to it, is that what you guys were going for or did it just come out of nowhere?

Adam James: I mean it came from that. We’d always been big fans of the genre, like I always liked My Bloody Valentine and stuff like that. So with that, there’s a poppiness that is kind of falling out in the genre right now, it’s more of a drone aspect that I still loved but that’s one of the things we set out to write since we love writing pop songs and I think there is a good balance there.

Ryan Donar: How about you guys; what are your favorite bands?

Ryan White: I was actually asked this not too long ago; right now I have this Doors fetish lately, American Football, stuff like that.

Chris Alvarez: I’m a really big fan of local music, actually like right now, my friend was really getting me into Owen, and it’s really chill music. I like them and Owls. I love to support them. Would love to be supported by them, not asking for support, but it would be nice because there is a lot of Chicago music.

Adam James: There’s this band called the UV Race that’s out of New Zealand as well, they are fucking fantastic! Um, Those Darlings out of Nashville which is like this punk rock but country twang and I think they are coming to Chicago soon.

Chris Alvarez: Ariel Pink.

Adam James: Yeah! Ariel Pink is great too.

Ryan Donar: If you guys could play a show with anyone who would it be?

Chris Alvarez: I think it was already really cool playing Omar.

Adam James: Yeah at SXSW.

Ryan White: We came in during the sound check and they were all there setting up and it was really ‘ohhhh shit.’ The whole group there together.

Chris Alvarez: But I guess they wouldn’t be part of this because we already played with them. Man. The Pixies?

Adam James: Yeah that’d be great; I wonder what Kyle would say to this.

Ryan White: Echo and the Bunnymen.

Adam James: Yeah, most likely Echo and the Bunnymen. It’s crazy because our music is really accessible but with what’s playing on the radio nowadays it’s really hard.

Chris Alvarez: T.V. on the Radio would be sick.

Adam James: Oh definitely, that would be awesome.

Chris Alvarez: I just saw them at Pitchfork right before we played our post-Pitchfork show.

Adam James: I’m really jealous of our label mates Le Bucherrettes right now, they are on tour with The Stooges.

Ryan Donar: Say what?!

Chris Alvarez: Yeah, it’s crazy.

Adam James: They are always playing with these huge bands.

Chris Alvarez: We’re playing with them in November too. They are doing their own headlining east coast tour and coming to Chicago and we got on that for November 4th.

Ryan Donar: What direction do you guys want Gypsyblood to head towards?

Chris Alvarez: Mm, it’s a lot of personal preference I think.

Adam James: We are on a good track regards to how it’s going.

Chris Alvarez: I like the pace that it’s going.

Adam James: That’s the one thing that we all agreed on, that it was on our terms. That’s something Kyle and I said from early on, if we didn’t put the record out on Sargent House we were going to put it out ourselves. At the end of the day I don’t think we are on anyone’s time clock but our own and with that being said it allows the best song writing not having to kick out this many songs or write a pop hit or whatever.

Chris Alvarez: Whatever happens, happens. As long as we are having fun doing it and we are totally happy with where we are then it’s awesome. So everything that comes after this is fine with me.

Adam James: I think hitting the road too. It’s something we are all eager to do. There’s something about that long dark highway and playing shows.

Chris Alvarez: Every time I go on tour too it makes me more appreciative of home. Coming back from a week or two and saying, ‘ah I miss that dirty smell’. I mean, we’re driving through like country you know?

Ryan White: Remember when we got lost and shit on the way back last time.

Adam and Chris: Oh man..

Adam James: Was that the last night?

Chris Alvarez: Yeah, oh man where was that?

Ryan White: Viriginia.

Adam James: Yeah you were driving right?

Ryan White: Yeah I was driving, it was terrifying.

Chris Alvarez: I don’t think any of us were in the condition to be driving that night. First it was dark, then there was fog, then you were driving through winding roads.

Adam James: I was the only one with an Iphone at the time and everybody else was sleeping while I was using my phone as a GPS and Ryan was driving. So we are following this GPS and Ryan’s kind of freaking out because these are back roads in Virginia, like Appalachian. The brakes are starting to go out and the GPS says you have a mile and a half left down this road. The road starts getting a bit darker and bit skinnier but we keep driving following the directions till the car stops and we were stopped in front of a wall of forest with just a little walking path out in front of us leading into darkness.

Ryan White: Then the GPS says, ‘You have arrived at your destination’ and we all freaked the fuck out.

Adam James: I threw my phone and we turned around yelling, ‘let’s get the fuck out of here!’ Aw man. It was creepy. I have chills just thinking about that again.

Chris Alvarez: You’re GPS was haunted, that was your phone man; never using that again.

Adam James: Yeah! So if we don’t go in that direction, then I think it’s the right direction.

We all took down the last bit of drink we each had and paid the waitress. Outside it was dark and a few degrees shy of 60 degrees with the wind chilling me even more. We gave our goodbyes and discussed future arrangements for a moment until Adam turns and greeted a man walking toward the group of us. The fourth member and drummer, Kyle Victor had shown up for practice and the band was all assembled in front of my eyes. I exchanged some words with Kyle, told them all to have a good evening and the band left to go practice for an upcoming show at The Hideout. Why I didn’t sit it on their practice session? No one knows but that would make for another great interview in the future.

Audio Tree Live Session - Sept 17, 2011

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:02:58 -0600

Thanks to Audiotree Live in Chicago for having Gypsyblood in for a great live session playing songs from their album Cold In The Guestway and hear their answers to some interesting questions. Click the picture to listen to the session and interview.

Sargent House "May We Introduce You" Gypsyblood

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:59:00 -0600

If Error shows up click refresh

In 2006, I was introduced to a band by Dave Davison of Maps & Atlases out of Chicago called Karma with A K. I fell deeply and madly in love with them. They never even got around to releasing an album before they disbanded. I was so sad when I heard they called it quits without ever having really left Chicago. But I kept dibs on the boys of the Karma unit for years waiting. Then one day Dave Davison emailed me two demos of songs that blew my mind and he said “Remember Karma with A K ? Well this is Adam and Kyle’s new band GYPSYBLOOD. The rest is history. I signed the bloods and this my friends is that story.

So, May we Introduce you to GYPSYBLOOD? All this week their album Cold In The Guestway is FREE for download HERE. They have mellowed, my Karma boys but oh what sweet tunes they make. So, what have you got to lose? Get turned on, I know I did. And if you love our “May We Introduce You” Free downloads thing make sure and help us spread the music! - SARGENT HOUSE /CP

Dave & Erin of Maps & Atlases Talks to The AV Club

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:22:43 -0600

Dave Davison and Erin Elders
The band members discuss their biggest influences

and they give props to Kyle and Adam’s old band Karma with a K and recommend Gypsyblood as a new band to check out. Very nice. - below are excerpts. Click to read FULL interview.

Maps & Atlases formed in 2004 at Columbia College, and soon gained notoriety for their frenetic musicality, impressionistic lyrics, and lead singer Dave Davison’s unique vocals. The band’s experimental math rock-influenced sound gave way to a less abrasive folk approach on its debut full-length, Perch Patchwork, released last year on Barsuk Records. While the band may have scaled back its overt musical flair over time, it remains one of the tightest, most interesting musical acts going.

The A.V. Club caught up with Davison and Erin Elders, (guitarist-lead singer and lead guitarist, respectively) in advance of their set at A.V. Fest this weekend, to talk about some of their favorite local bands, as well as their experiences as musicians and music fans in Chicago.

The A.V. Club: Sure, plenty of young bands struggle to understand how to go from playing warehouses and basements to playing shows at larger venues like Metro.

DD: Yeah, there were a lot of shows that we saw that were really cool and interesting. These shows were fun, most of the bands we played with don’t exist anymore. There’s something fun, looking back on it, to romanticize that time. These shows where you see a band that’s really fun and crazy, and it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll ever see them again.

Karma With A K
DD: The one band that we played with a lot, that we still listen to, this band called Karma With A K. (Whose two key members went onto become Gypsyblood) They broke up in 2007, but they were absolutely wild. We started playing nearly every show together for a couple years. They had a Les Savy Fav-meets-MC5 thing, so every show we had with them, there was a story that came out of it. They’d use the space during their set in a really scary, exciting way. I still listen to the handful of demos they recorded that Shiraz [Dada, Maps & Atlases’ bassist] produced.

AVC: Are there any local groups starting up that you’ve been into lately?

DD: Gypsyblood is a new band featuring members of Karma With A K, and they’re great. The other band with a few members of Karma With A K is a band called Thin Hymns. They’re both definitely worth checking out.

Thanks Dave.

The Hideout : Chicago, IL - September 16th

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:34:09 -0600

Gypsyblood is playing The Hideout in Chicago, IL on Friday September 16th at 10:00PM. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased here.

LIVE Audio Tree Session

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:10:39 -0600

Gypsblood will be performing LIVE on Saturday September 17th at 2PM courtesy of Audio Tree. Check out Facebook for more information and be sure to tune in at Audiotree.com!

Free Show July 17th at Cobra Lounge - RSVP

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:53:53 -0600

Gypsyblood playing a FREE show as part of the Pitchfork After Parties brought to you by Sailor Jerry it’s FREE with RSVP on July 17th at Cobra Lounge and just another awesome poster by the one and only Ryan Duggan. Hit That. CHI TOWN.

Rock A Rolla Review: Cold In The Guestway

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:32:34 -0600

Rock A Rolla Magazine reviews Gypsyblood’s Cold In The Guestway in this months Issue #32 with label mates Boris on the Cover.

Redefine Magazine Reviews: Cold In The Guestway

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:36:28 -0600

gypsyblood

Cold In the Guestway (Sargent House)
When it comes to the genre of “garage rock,” most listeners take the “been there, done that” attitude. It’s just hard to find something new — or rather, a new take on the genre. Chicago’s Gypsyblood blow that attitude out of the water with their debut, Cold In The Guestway. Their garage rock is combined with some noise pop and the best elements of surf rock (part of a recent trend pioneered by the likes of Surfer Blood and The Drums). There is even some Rolling Stones era bluesy-twang thrown in the mix for good measure (“Dirty Thieves”). Even though this is their debut album, it is clear that the band has fallen into a good groove.

From the reverb-heavy “Take Your Picture,” which starts off the album on a bombastic, Midwestern rock note (the influence of fellow Midwesterners Guided By Voices is apparent), to the frenetic “In Your Blood,” Gypsyblood flex their guitar-swinging muscles. Throw in the oddly creepy “2-4-6 IntheDark,” and the anthem “My RKO is M.I.A,” and it solidifies: there is no doubting that Gypsyblood has created an album worth talking about. The occasional pop-driven swingy tunes like “A Song Called Take 2” and “Superstition” provides the pre-requisite accessibility, but there is no mistaking the fact that Gypsyblood don’t mess around when it comes to boisterious garage rock.
Reviewed by JUDY NELSON

Take Your Picture Video / My Old Kentucky Blog

Tue, 24 May 2011 10:48:58 -0600

A while back we turned the spotlight on Chicago’s Gypsyblood, a noisy little combo with a history of in-fighting, codependency and a snazzy debut in the form of, Cold In the Guestway. Today we’re happy to report that the band is still alive and well, and what’s more, we’re pleased as punch to be premiering the video for Take Your Picture, a noisy little number that starts with an innocuous-sounding U2ish riff before taking a hard right into more abrasive, albeit still pop-friendly, territory.

Vinyl District Interview & Chance to Win Vinyl

Mon, 16 May 2011 12:06:00 -0600

Chicago’s own Gypsyblood play a FREE show TONIGHT May 16, at the Empty Bottle (9:30pm, 1035 N. Western Ave.) in support of their newly released full length LP Cold In The Guestway. We recently caught up with Gypsyblood guitarist/vocalist Adam James, and got to ask him a few questions about the record. We’ve also got a copy of the new LP to giveaway to one lucky person, so keep reading to find out how to win!

The Vinyl District: The new record just came out last month on Sargent House, what’s the meaning behind the album’s title Cold In The Guestway?

Adam James: To us, it speaks more to color and tone. When everything has lost its meaning, you can only know how you feel. The viscerality of being in a place at a moment. Like an old soul who knows their being is true when everything is telling them otherwise. When reality has been proven to be the variable within society, we are here to tell you that your being is true and Cold in the Guestway.

TVD: How’d you get hooked up with Sargent House?

Adam: We’ve been in bands playing in and around Chicago for quite sometime and along the way we’ve gotten to know some remarkably talented people. Musicians, artists, vagabonds, mercenaries, hobos, and visionaries. In saying, we’re both pretty bad at self promotion, you just do what you love and the rest will come.

So Kyle was driving around giving one of the album mixes a car test, and ran into longtime friend Dave Davison of Maps & Atlases/Cast Spells. Dave liked what he heard and got a copy with which he sent over to Cathy and Marc at Sargent House and that was that.

The great thing about Sargent House though is that they are a genuine family. Before they make any moves on a band they spread it around the office to get everyone’s take, and if everyone’s jazzed they go with it. That kind of atmosphere has always appealed to us.

TVD: You recorded the album yourselves here in Chicago, in a building designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, how’d you find the space? Do you feel playing in a space with so much history brings something to the table?

Adam: It was an abandoned warehouse that got flipped into a shady practice space for bands. You get the vibe as soon as you walk in. There are no windows, so you go in at 8pm and leave with the sun-shining at 7am wondering what just happened. So to record in a place with such an ora around it, you tend to let yourself sway with whatever’s around. I think that is most evident on a track like “Dirty Thieves.”

TVD: There’s definitely a classic shoegaze vibe to the disc, can you tell us some of your musical influences?

Adam: What’s always bonded us has led to a more darkly pop sensibility with regard to content and tone. Bands like The Clean,The Fall, Velvet Underground, and Echo and the Bunnymenhave all been points of commonality. But The Clean continue to be one of our staples with regard to catalogue, they just breeze through so many genres so well, at the end of the day that’s something that we’ve always aspired to.

TVD: Who are you listening to currently?

Adam: Currently the repeat button has consisted of the newest release from Australia’s UV-Race, drooling, dark catchy punk rock at it’s best; And a live bootleg from my boy at the Bowery Ballroom of Tennessee’s Those Darlins, country-fied hook-laden punk rock without being schticky. Soooooo Good.

TVD: I noticed you pressed some copies of the new LP on colored vinyl, are you guys record collectors yourselves?

Adam: Absolutely, We love the wax! It’s seriously a deep dark hole that you don’t regret ever falling into. And Chicago’s definitely got some contenders; Permanent Records, Logan Hardware, and Dusty Groove to name a few. But in every city we go to, we are always on the hunt. It seems to be another habit that we just can’t kick.

TVD: What’s next for Gypsyblood?

Adam: The first video from Cold In The Guestway, “Take Your Picture” should be out very soon along with some other goodies. Besides that. shows. shows. SHOWS.

Now, TO WIN YOUR FREE COPY of Cold In The Guestway on vinyl, just go to Gypsyblood’s Bandcamp site here, listen to some tracks off the record, then click this link to LET US KNOW YOUR FAVORITE TRACK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW! Winner will be chosen at random from comments received by NOON on MAY 20th. - (Don’t comment on this tumblr go to The VINYL DISTRICT story to enter)

Episode 25 Breakthrough Radio / Edit Room Floor Takes

Fri, 13 May 2011 14:30:59 -0600

Catch the outtakes from our Live Studio session with Gypsyblood, including the songs “Take Your Picture,” “Superstition” and “In Our Blood.” The Chicago band talks about their love/hate relationship and why creepy basement bars are just more fun.

For these and all the songs performed during our Live Studio session with Gypsyblood, stream and download DJ Maia’s full audio podcast

Live Video from Breakthrough Radio / 2-4-6 In The Dark

Tue, 10 May 2011 20:46:17 -0600

Chicago’s Gypsyblood know how to rock. Watch them perform “2-4-6 in the Dark” from their debut album “Cold in the Guestway” live in from the Breakthrough Radio studio.

Adam James and Kyle Victor front Gypsyblood, a band that has generated buzz (literally) for being what one blogger called “uncommonly loud.” But the band is more than just decibels, as the songs from their newly released album “Cold in the Guestway” (Sargent House) prove. Catch them live this coming May 16 in Chicago at the Empty Bottle.

For this and all the songs performed during our Live Studio session with Gypsyblood, stream and download DJ Maia’s full audio podcast HERE

Vital Reverb Review: Cold In The Guestway

Tue, 10 May 2011 20:44:01 -0600

Gypsyblood - Cold In The Guestway
Sargent House
ESM Rating: 8/10

Ronnie Wood will not be pleased. The Rolling Stones guitarist and former member of The Jeff Beck Band and The Faces proudly flaunts his gypsy heritage. According to an interview with Keith’s fellow axe slinger on “Top Gear” — the British one, people — Ronnie was the first in his family to be born on land rather than on the traditional English-canal-navigating houseboat. So when a couple of dirty looking guys — vocalist/guitarist Adam James and vocalist/drummer/bassist Kyle Victor — hole up in an old Chicago building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the winter, emerging with the spring thaw as a wild noise-rock band named Gypsyblood, you might worry that Ronnie would take offense to these young tossers. Give Cold In The Guestway one listen, though, and you’ll realize that Ronnie and his gypsy relatives should welcome James and Victor with open arms.

The accidentally enigmatic Cold In The Guestway roars into delightful sloppiness like a jolly drunk with album opener “Take Your Picture.” A muted single guitar string is picked before a wave of sound appears on the horizon like a set wave at Waimea. Fuzzed electric guitars trade a muffled rhythm riff with overarching melodies, which then disappear as fast as they surface like a lone dolphin skipping through the surf. James sings with a voice enhanced by superhuman lack of clarity, and then releases an exquisite guitar solo noteworthy purely for its restraint. Rather than unleashing ferocious distortion, James then opts for a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sort of pop arpeggio, staying in line with the song’s basic melody. On a punchier note, “My R.K.O. Is M.I.A.” finds Gypsyblood spitting with punk attitude. Boisterous speed drumming paired with the anthem-worthy communal singing of indecipherable lyrics earns this song a healthy comparison to a live Social Distortion show.

Gypsyblood expertly walks the line of disaster, tempting fate at every turn — or song, in the case of Cold In The Guestway. Like a couple of 16-year-olds playing chicken with their dads’ restored muscle cars, Gypsyblood draws a listener’s attention with its unpredictability. You stay tuned, expecting all the while a horrific collapse of form, structure, or reason to this noisy indie rock. But it never comes. It never comes. By Alex Lemonde-Gray