Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pistol Shot Gypsy


Emails from random PR reps fill my inbox daily. It's always a generic press release letting me know some band I've never heard of are going on tour or are promoting a new album. About 98% of the time, I scan through the email, see if there's anything I like and then I delete it. Most of this information doesn't pertain to any type of music that I'm a fan of or any type of music I tend to write about on my blog. Sure, I'm open to learning about new music, but you've got to make me want to learn about it. And generic emails don't generally do it for me.

So imagine my surprise when I received a personalized email from a stranger named Ian. He read my blog, liked my blog and appreciated my insights and my taste in music. After stroking my ego for a moment, he went on to tell me that he was in a band and he thought I might like them. Since he actually took the time to "get to know me," I thought I'd take the time to check out his band, Pistol Shot Gypsy. For all you people in bands out there trying to promote yourselves, listen up: Doing your research pays off.

Ian was right. I like Pistol Shot Gypsy...a lot. The quintet hail from Rhode Island and are all about good, ol' fashioned, fun rock and roll. You can hear a lot of influences, but they seem to settle in with a good mix of the 80's and 90's without sounding redundant or generic.

They have quite a few tasty tunes in their repertoire, but there are a few songs that I tend to gravitate towards. "Trainwreck" is a fast, get up and kick ass kind of tune. There's "Just My Luck" that starts off with some awesome, dirty, stoner rock guitar that hooked me and never let me go. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love 80's rock, and "Troy City Blues" gave me a good, much needed 80's fix.

Then these guys had the balls to cover the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." I wasn't expecting much, but these guys proved me wrong. First of all, smart move adding an organ and/or keyboard for this song; it wouldn't have been the same without it. Pistol Shot Gypsy didn't go too far off the musical path but added just enough of themselves to make it stand out. These guys certainly did the song justice.

Pistol Shot Gypsy are certainly worth checking out. If you like good rock and roll, then this band should be right up your alley.

And thanks for the great email, Ian!

2 comments:

biff tannen said...

great review i am going to check these guys out

maybe said...

I'm appreciate your writing skill.Please keep on working hard.^^