Gypsyhawk – Defenders of the Good Time

If you look up "rock and roll" in the dictionary, it gives you a pretty terrible description; rock music.  Well, what the hell is that?  A better description would be:

• rock 'n' roll: see Gypsyhawk
• Gypsyhawk: “Gypsyhawk is four metal dudes playing rock and roll and bringing the party every time they get on stage.”

OK, maybe that doesn't describe "rock 'n' roll" as a genre, but it should, because Gypsyhawk IS rock 'n' roll!  If this was 1976, I guarantee you Gypsyhawk would be the biggest band in the world.  The 'hawk is in your face, twin guitar, Thin Lizzy style rock 'n' roll with subjects about booze, drugs, chicks, dragons, and Game of Thrones.   And being from Pasadena, CA, they have that Van Halen party vibe going on.  I guess there's something in the Pasadena water, because Gypsyhawk are as kick ass and in your face as Van Halen, with the tasty licks to prove it!

Saturday night Gypsyhawk played a last minute show at Shakespeare's Lower Level.  Saturday was supposed to be the band's night off, but they wanted to play kick ass rock 'n' roll and bring the party to Kalamazoo instead, and thank the Lords they did!  Because the show was last minute, the venue didn't have a ton of people, however, the people who showed up all had a great time.  I've been to sold out shows where thousands of people just stand around and stare at the stage.  Saturday night was the opposite of that; granted it was a small venue with a small crowd, everyone in attendance was drinking, having a good time, banging their heads, fists, and screaming along with the band.  Imagine you and 99 of your friends just hanging out listening to loud rock 'n' roll.  That's what Saturday night was like.

So, if we revisit our defination of rock 'n' roll where we're reference to Gypsyhawk, we're told that “Gypsyhawk is four metal dudes playing rock and roll and bringing the party every time they get on stage.”  Yup, that was Saturday night at Shakespeare's.

You can get Gypsyhawk's latest record, "Revelry and Resilience" at your local record store, or buy it online.  I promise you it's worth owning.  It made my top 10 of 2012.  The band's next record, tentatively titled "Fame and Fortune" (I think, it could be "Fortune and Fame".  The band told me the title after a couple of beers) will be coming out in 2015 on Metal Blade Records.  Gypsyhawk played the majority of the yet to be released new album Saturday night, and I'll tell you now, this record will have more licks than a Tootsie Roll Pop.