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Jammin' With Gypsy Stone

EV: For the readers who have not yet seen Gypsy Stone introduce the band members.

GS: Well I’ll start with our new front man, Alan White. Alan joined us three weeks ago. Alan is from London Kentucky where he played in several bands. We are so blessed to have Alan and his electrifying voice.
Next is Randy Creech, Randy also joined us three weeks ago. Randy is a veteran touring national professional for 30 years. His experience at rhythm and lead guitar will give us more options in covering songs and writing originals.
Matt Holt has been performing for over 30 years on drums, guitar and vocals and has toured nationally. Matt has only been with us for a little over 2 weeks and has been a great addition.
Pete Hartman on bass. One of the original members, has been performing in local groups on and off for the last 25 years. Pete’s background is mostly rock and country.
Lisa Hartman, lead vocalist and another original member. Lisa has been singing and entertaining in a little different way than all of the other members. Lisa has worked with local church choirs for the last 20 years. Her vocal training has been mostly gospel, but has learned to transition her voice to belt out riveting leads and great harmonies.
DJ Malecki, an original member, started playing guitar around 11 years old. His passion for music has taken him to 48 states and 3 countries. DJ toured with Mr. Crowley an Ozzy tribute band and Paradise City, a Guns and Roses tribute band. DJ has played in 100’s of cities for tens of thousands of people. DJ was also featured in the April 2007 issue of Guitar Player Magazine.

EV: Tell us how you formed the band and what led up to the current members.

GS: Gypsy Stone started forming in March 2008. Bassist Pete Hartman was urged by friends to audition as bassist for the Kenny Welch Band but by the time Pete contacted KWB they had already found their man. So Pete and Lisa decided to put there own “project “ together. A search started for the rest of the band members by placing ads on craigslist and local music stores. Lisa suggested trying to reach old band member DJ. Pete and DJ met while playing in “Exxit”, an all original band, back in the late 80’s. DJ just got back in town for touring and wanted to start playing locally again. You could say it was perfect timing or just fate. The early months were building our repertoire and deciding on which direction to take Gypsy Stone. Once the pieces were in place we started working on material and booking gigs. In September we caught a little break, Bob Davis, owner of Mahogany’s in Latonia Kentucky, booked us solid every Wednesday till the end of the year. We were able to become tighter very quickly by being forced to play live. By the middle of December the band was out on the weekends and the schedule was filling up and gigs were being booked every weekend. In the middle of March some creative difference caused a couple band members to part way and that brought the search for the current line up we have now.

EV: How would you describe Gypsy Stone’s musical style.

GS: Our musical style is a mix of older and newer rock and country with a little blues. All members have come from different backgrounds which has forced us to mesh all of our styles to give us a unique sound.

EV: What influences your choice of cover songs that you incorporate into the set list.

GS: It is all about our fans and the crowd we are playing to. We have based our set list around them and came up with the motto, A little bit of something for everyone. We want to be able to play whatever our fans want to hear. We are continually adding songs from all eras.

EV: Which artists are you interested in covering that you don’t currently incorporate into the set list now.

GS: We want to add more of the newer rock that the 20 year olds are listening to, and thank God for “Guitar Hero” that game has brought the younger generation to recognize songs that their parents listened to which makes that kind of fun because we get to play some material we grew up with.

EV: Tell us about your upcoming Summer schedule.

GS: We have been trying to focus on outdoor venues. We will be at Julyfest at the St.Thomas More festival where Gypsy Stone made our debut. We also will be closing out the Clermont County Fair. We are really excited about that. In August we will be outside at the St. Bernadette Festival and down in New Richmond for Riverdays. Check out myspace.com/gypsystoneband to follow our schedule.

EV: Do any venues in particular really stand out as your favorite places to play.

GS: Yes, Anderson Bar and Grill, Mt Carmel Pub, where we have even had Jim (owner) and Hank (Jim’s son) come up and sing with us there, and of course Lebo’s. Thanks to Cabo Mike and DJ Shay for all their support from Lebo’s.

EV: Are there any venues in particular that Gypsy Stone has not had the chance to play that you would really like to get booked at.

GS: Of course, Rhino’s, The Pirates Den, Charlies Throttle Stop, The Strasse Haus, Scotties and Rick’s Tavern. There are too many to name. We are basically on the eastside now but we want to reach the westside and keep expanding from there.

EV: Share with us any really memorable moments that stand out of all of your shows so far.

GS: I guess the most memorable moment right now is a bar fight at one of our shows. We were in the middle of playing Sweet Child of Mine and all of a sudden our lights started falling towards Lisa, Pete caught the light stand before it landed on her and DJ’s pedal board was knocked around. After the dust settled and everyone calmed down we started Sweet Child over and just rocked the night away.

EV: Gypsy Stone has really been getting booked a lot lately, what “condition” do you see the local live music scene in right now. Has the economy effected the local music business from your perspective.

GS: We have been working hard at staying booked. We try to keep scheduling 3 and 4 months ahead. Yes the economy has hit everyone hard. A few band members own their own business and they have seen the effects of the economy. People are holding on to their money and looking for cheap entertainment. We have had many fans request that we play more places that don’t have a cover charge. Sometimes they just want a night of entertainment without worrying about spending a lot of money, and when they have to pay cover just to walk in the door it turns some people away. Either that or they just won’t spend the money drinking. The smoking ban in Ohio has really hurt entertainment establishments and bands.

EV: What advice to you have to offer to the young start up bands out there that are just now trying to break into the local live music circuit.

GS: I think first and foremost you must be able to be friends and trust each other. No egos or big heads, that causes turmoil and will slow down progress, or put whatever progress they have made to a stop. As far as getting out in the music circuit, remember that it is a business. Bar owner are running a business and hiring you. But you have to make yourself worthy of being hired. The worst thing is to show up for a gig and not be prepared and then have the bar owner call you and cancel your future dates. We have made it a habit of keeping the bar owners and managers happy and if they are happy the more re dates you get and the more money you can make.
If you have a dream, follow it. If you want it bad enough it will happen. Don’t let the negativity of others tear you down. Remain humble, if the humbleness goes away so does the fun. And remember perfection is not always the best thing, the key is to have fun, and in turn your crowd will have fun!!!

EV: Finally, who are some of your favorite local acts.

GS: Well with as much as we are playing it is hard to go out and watch bands, but some of our favorite ones are Backbeat, Dirty Pink, Archer, and The Kenny Welch Band.