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