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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2jWJfPX2jQ
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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnV1rq7gsVc
