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GypsyFire creates a unique sound and style that has its roots deep in the old Celtic world we know as Ireland, Scotland and Wales. From that world the Celts have spread around the globe and brought their songs and stories of home. But above all their tradition is alive and always reinventing itself and so they have continued to write songs and stories of the new places they inhabit. |
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Charlie Stacey and Cynthia Whiddon Green are part of
that tradition. They have crafted a
blend of traditional story/songs and original material that encompasses the
spirit and tradition of the Celts with the geography not only of Ireland,
Scotland and Wales but also far flung places like the Big Bend country of
West Texas, the Gila country of New Mexico and the Allegheny Mountains of
West Virginia. The connection between
these different parts of the world is significant. While part of the connection may come from the fact that the descendants
of the early Celts settled much of North America in the 17th and 18th
centuries, when they arrived they fit easily into the indigenous cultures.
The Native Americans may have used different words and labels but they had
strikingly parallel beliefs, legends and customs. The
music of GypsyFire is as varied as the people and places that inspire it. The Celts were not a unified group but
rather a collection of clans and tribes.
Some were farmers, some herders and some were warriors. What connected them was a particular way
of seeing the world. They saw beyond
the here and now visible to the human eye and to worlds beyond time and
space. They saw life as a
spiral. Life and death were all part
of the same continuum. The music is as varied in style and texture as the people and places it draws its inspiration from. GypsyFire is a gem with many facets. On occasion the band grows and when it does it morphs into something surprisingly Celtic in spirit. When Ted Miller joins in the result has been characterized as “The Grateful Dead on Guinness Stout and almost sober.” |
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Ted
brings a strong bluegrass, and
folk tradition along with a really twisted sense of humor. The pairing of the Celtic and bluegrass influences
might at first seem strange but Ted has noted that it isn’t really such an
unusual mix if you think about it. If
you move to the Appalachian Mountains (as the Celts did) and inbreed the
Irish and Scottish for several generations bluegrass is the natural
result. Then you move the bluegrass
to Texas and marry it into the blues, country and rock families and you get
Texas Folk. From there you add some
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young type tight harmonies and add some really
twisted humor and you get GypsyFire. |
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Along with Ted, from time to time Charlie and Cynthia are joined by a number of very talented and equally twisted
individuals. Meet the Rest of The Band |
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