Lakeport >> The band describes their style as Gypsy swing. Not familiar? It is best described as a hodgepodge of different musical styles layered on top of one another. Back in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s, European Gypsies, specifically those of France, decided to infuse their own folk music with popular American styles. But certainly not the type to stick to tradition, they ditched the horns and played the music with their stringed instruments instead.
Occidental Gypsy, a band taking the stage at the Soper Reese Theatre tonight, decided to turn Gypsy swing on it’s head one more time. “Our idea is to take that influence and throw it on American music again,” said Eli Bishop, the group’s violinist.
The band has done just that with their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” tweaking it until it sounds like a swing tune.
Occidental Gypsy is a group of five like-minded musicians with an extensive list of influences. Brett Feldman, lead guitarist, taught his brother, Jeff Feldman, to play bass in the traditional Gypsy style, while percussionist Erick Cifuentes is a talented funk drummer. An expert jazz guitarist and lending “retro” vocals, Jeremy Frantz acts as the group’s lead singer. And as for Bishop, he grew up playing classical violin, spent the last few years in the country and bluegrass world and last year won the Mississippi Fiddle Championships.
The melding of their various styles isn’t as difficult as it sounds. They collaborate when it’s time to pen a new song, allowing different influences to drive each tune. “It definitely takes time to write those pieces and work them out and get everything sounding right,” Bishop said. “We all work together pretty well so it’s not that bad. It’s kind of like a family, we’ve been together so long.”
Though finding the time to come together for rehearsals can present a challenge, as they’re hardly ever in the same place. From Rhode Island to Pittsburgh to Nashville, the musicians call different places home. They go long stretches without seeing one another, but when they do get together, they hardly rest. They write for eight to 10 hours a day, and then go on to record their music. Sometimes they’re working for 24 hours. “In the process we take to do all that we learn the song really well,” Bishop said. “It takes a quick refresher every few months when we get together to bring it back.”
Much like the Gypsies of France, Occidental Gypsy aren’t interested in being defined by one genre. In addition to their Gypsy swing numbers, they play jazz, Latin and world music. They also focus on songwriting, in an attempt to set themselves apart from traditional Gypsy swing acoustic bands. “The last couple years we were focusing a lot on Latin American rhythm music, world Gypsy music rather than just European Gypsies,” Bishop said. “Some of the guys took a trip down to Panama a couple of years ago … and got all these influences from being down there.”
There is one influence that stands above the rest: Django Reinhardt. “He started the whole sound we’re going for,” Bishop explained.
From a musical standpoint, there’s a lot to love about Gypsy swing. “The feel of it is so good. It feels good to play it. It’s also really challenging technically. As a musician it keeps you interested and it makes you strive to get better at it,” Bishop said. “Writing music in that style is fun too. There haven’t been a whole lot of originals since the heyday of it.”
But just because musicians aren’t writing new songs every day doesn’t mean the music is on it’s way out. “It is still popular with a large group of people,” Bishop said. “If it’s a strong and true style there’s always going to be people who want to listen to it.”
Tonight’s concert isn’t Occidental Gypsy’s first visit to the Soper Reese. They performed there last year to an enthusiastic crowd, and they were eager to make a trip back. “It was a lot of fun to play there. It’s very rare that we can get over to the west coast so when we do we want to play places that seem to like us,” Bishop said. “Everyone was very welcoming.”
The band hopes to see many faces, both familiar and new, at the show. “We have some new material we’re going to play. Hopefully some of the same people will come back and like our new material,” said Bishop. “It’s always great to be able to do something you love and have people appreciate it as well.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Cutline:
Photo by Read McKendre
Occidental Gypsy
