Artist description Spare-yet-tight instrumentation supporting winding lyrical passages by delving into myriad genres and styles from the history of popular music.

Music Style Rock, roots rock

Musical Influences Folk, Delta Blues, Ballad singers, 70s rock, ambient music

Similar Artists Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Gram Parsons, CCR, Camper Van Beethoven, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson

Artist History The four members of Great Plains Gypsies have known each other since the early '90s, when they all had a hand in a compilation CD project which featured bands from their then-hometown, Dekalb, IL. The band officially formed in 1996 in Chicago, its current residence. GPG began as just a two-piece (guitar/vox & percussion), but having weathered the chaos of prior musical arrangements, it now stands as a quartet. Great Plains Gypsies' first CD, Meeting at the Building, was released by Sunny Smedley in 1997. The follow-up, One Dark Day was released in 1998, also on Sunny Smedley. The band is currently working on new songs for their upcoming album 'Ride The Blinds'.

Group Members Dan Whitaker - songwriter, guitar, keyboards, banjo, harmonica, vocals. John Roche - drums, percussion, backing vocals. Tim Anderson - electric, acoustic and upright basses. Scott S. - guitar, mandolin, percussion, vocals.

Instruments vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, organ, banjo, mandolin, harmonica,lap steel, upright bass, acoustic bass, electric bass,fiddle, accordian, drums, shakers, bongos

Albums Ride The Blinds, Sunny Smedley Records 2002, Meeting at the Building, Sunny Smedley Records, 1997, One Dark Day, Sunny Smedley Records, 1998. 'Hipster Club Blues/Last Song For You' 7

Press Reviews DELTA SNAKE BLUES NEWS© Editor/Publisher: Al Handa No. 26 Great Plains Gypsies: One Dark Day (Sunny Smedley Records) This is the second release by the Great Plains Gypsies, an usual ChicagoBand that plays a lyrical music derived from Blues, Folk, and some rock. In "One Dark Day," they add an eccentric new element, which is cowboy-western soundtrack type music to surprisingly good effect. It sounds weird on paper, but when you hear it, it works. The numbers range from bluesy folk ballads, uptempo cowboy boogie (some with a bluegrass feel), folk rock in minor keys, and songs that would be difficult to describe in one paragraph. One has to say that they've moved further away from a Blues groove, and into more of a country and western bag. However, I'd hesitate to recommend this to a Buck Owens fan, as this band creates true fusions that defy category. The CD opens with the kind of rocking ballad they do so well, "Empty Plans," then move into the western movie music of "The Legend of Kye LaFoone. Eccentric, but strangely compelling. A slow ballad that recalls the Doors or It's A Beautiful Day is next, which makes the next country hoe-down (complete with Banjo) sound like a total mood change. After an expansive ballad comes the reflective and old-timey "Kentucky Moonshiner," and a cool train banjo number, "Ruben's Train." After an interesting ballad that mixes folk with Seattle Grunge, comes a Bluesy ballad called "One More Story Told." The music ends with a nice ballad, with a vocal that reminds me of Bob Weir (of the Dead), and the mysterious sounding ballad, "Hourglass" that could have come from Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" record.

Additional Info www.greatplainsgypsies.com

Location Chicago, IL - USA

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