First published in Rock City News vol.18 no.21, October 19th 2000.
Written by Johnny Best.
I rarely hear a new band that I can get really excited about. In
this case I had heard Tribe of Gypsies once before, but I had
just caught the tail end of one of their sets many months ago.
Even on that basis, I had taken note of their deep level of
expression. This is one entertaining bunch of guys, one of the
tightest local bands I've ever heard. It would be easy to say
that on some songs they sound like Santana. They have the conga
and that salsa influence. And while guitar player Roy Z can be
adept in that slow lead style of you know who, this is one of
those few cases where the student could conceivably get on stage
with the master and give him a run for his money. Hearing hom
play on other songs and even jamming little riffs between the
numbers, it is clear that he has an enormous range as a guitar
player (he CAN rock), always extraordinarily melodic with great
tonal flavor
As the band was taking the stage, a ton of people just seemed to
appear in the audience and they responded enthusiastically to
singer Gregg Analla's dear, soulful, heartfelt and especially
stylish vocals. Danilo Torres was steady on drums, Juan Perez
kicked in a lively bouncing bass while Ray Rodriguez (keyboards)
and Elvis (congas) contributed to the party atmosphere. The songs
like Rays Of The Sun and Summer Rain were appealing
and infectious, and I think that they have a great deal of
potential to carve a place for themselves in the next generation
of latin influenced music if they continue to take bold steps in
the pop direction. In the melting pot of World Music, they have
succeeded in creating a vital chemistry. I should add that Analla
himself is one of the most warm and personnaly engaging
personalities I have encountered on the local scene, even off
stage, and in this people business there is no greater asset for
future stardom.