FODDER
“What Are You Crying For?”:
Gypsys Of Pangea Celebrate The Last Leg Of Their ‘Bloody Good Life’ Tour Written by Lochlainn Heley
Touring in the music industry is a herculean feat with dozens of labours. For psychedelic rock troupe Gypsys of Pangea, the feeling of finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is an exhausting but electrifying one. For the final leg of their tour, the Gypsys head to Fitzroy local venue Bodriggy Brewery, ready to jam out and celebrate the final throes of their massive road trip with their latest single, ‘Bloody Good Life’.
start playing whatever. They were super attentive, mixing it as we're playing, just jamming around and whatnot. That was more or less the soundcheck. By the time we finished jamming it felt so natural. Seriously, it's fantastic. And we wear these black headbands on stage every now and then, and he was like, “Oh, can I, can I grab one?” He became part of the crew for that hour—it was pretty great.
I catch the band just an hour before their soundcheck at Bodriggy. With coffees in hand, we wander to the local park, dog walkers, Sunday brunchers and an Ausick group nearby. Before I’ve started the interview, the four boys—lead singer Luciano, keys player Charlie, guitarist and manager Diego, and steely drummer Steveo—are already bantering. They are spitfiring jokes about life and themselves, and it’s far from the exhausted rock crew I expected.
For the band, music is first a conversation that’s intimately influenced by the audience. It’s a growing attitude for artists across indie scenes, but hearing them talk about it was enthralling. In a past interview, Luciano was asked to describe what genre the band fit into, which he compared to asking “what is the colour blue?”. I venture with an alternative question: what does their music feel like?
I ask if they have a secret to supporting one another. Their answer: banter, backhanded loving and a devious game. Luciano: Yeah. We actually developed a game on this tour. It's called ‘3-2-1’. Basically, you pose a question to the band, “who's the most XYZ?”, you know, “who's the most dynamic player?”. It started as a means for producing compliments... But then we soon ran out of compliments and it devolved into something darker, more sinister. But it's been good! It's like revealing the hidden truths of the crew. We get to be honest with who we are in front of each other. Charlie: And we figured out each one of our boundaries as well in the process. Luciano: For the record, I have no boundaries. They haven’t found mine yet. It’s a feat considering how much time they’ve spent together over the tour. Beginning in Narooma, NSW, the Gypsys have made their way to several country locals, each with unique set ups and clientele. Curious to know how the boys gel in such varied places, I ask what makes a good venue. Luciano: It's the people. When you’re playing in a tin shed and people are getting into it—you know you're going to have a good time. Also the sound guy. Sound guy is the first point of contact for when you rock up and put your gear in there, and they are really cool or they're really accommodating or they just seem like they give the slightest shit about what they're doing. Yeah, it primes you for a good time. Charlie: You feel a lot more comfortable to perform in that situation. Diego: Yeah. Like, the other night at Catfish Bar in Fitzroy, the sound guy there was a legend and told us to start jamming—just
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Luciano: Oh, great! Well, if you listen to the feeling of the live music, you get this feeling of like… this sense of worship, you know? Lochlainn: Sure, like the stage is a sacred place? Luciano: The stage is, yeah. Like an altar, you know? And there's a religious experience going on… sort of this spiritual incantation. And basically the cut and drive is there's this uplifting distraction from the mundane—but not escapism. Just a positive respite. That's sort of the feeling. Like you're laying back on a Sunday and there's a shit-storm coming your way on Monday, but for now you can just enjoy the sunrise. Lochlainn: Is that feeling shared? Steveo: I just wish that I could believe my own words as much as you do now. I think it's music that makes you feel, whether it's faster tempos, slower tempos, dynamic changes… I think that's what we try to aim for when we play live. Yeah, it just makes people feel something. Charlie went on to describe the feeling of the whole band as dedication to humour. Charlie: Yeah, I think what's distinctive about Gypsys since its inception was the element of humour in the content: the lyricism and the performance. Whether that's us dressing up with fucking headbands and wifebeaters and stuff like that. There’s humour in the lyrical content that's quite entertaining. You don't really see that with too many other bands. The boys’ social media is also quite rife with that humour. Apart from their usual banter and reposting of old parody videos, several posts showed the group casually camping out during small moments of respite across their tour. They recount stories of saving a little turtle from baking on the road and their impromptu jamming sessions on campgrounds.