The other night I was sitting around the wood stove and scrolling through Facebook when I came upon some intriguing posts by Gypsy Elise. I'd heard of this ballsy, brassy singer from N'awlins who is currently residing with her husband Ryan in Orlando, FL. Together, and with other assorted musicians they select for each gig, they form Gypsy Elise & The Royal Blues, bringing their own brand of "New Orleans Funky Blues" to clubs, festivals and venues all over the American south.
Gypsy was on a tear. She is vehemently and vocally opposed to the new American president-elect, D. Trump, and wasn't afraid to say so. She, along with a significant majority of sensible people, are outraged and incensed by this man's ignorant, hateful racist and misogynistic rhetoric and, like so many of the nation's populace, is incredulous that he was actually elected and ostensibly will be sitting in the White House after January 20 - despite the myriad legal charges he has pending against him. So, rather than allow all that well deserved vitriol go to waste, she penned a song - "Who's Got the Next Round?" She and Ryan assembled the band and pushed "Record" - and immediately posted the tune on fB.
A day later up in snow-covered Massachusetts, I pushed "Play". Cool! This plinky-plunky, plucky ragtimey, I-ain't-buyin'-your-nasty-shit ditty bounced out of my speakers. Gypsy nailed the gestalt of the anti-Trump camp in under 5 minutes...complete with a singalong chorus. I wanted to go to her camp, especially if it sounded like this. An hour so and several fB posts later, Gypsy posted that she'd welcome vocal/instrumental contributions to "Who's Got the Next Round?" I thought, "One of Dr. Easy's cigar boxes would fit pretty perfectly on this tune!" So I contacted her and asked her to check out my website (just like you're doin' right now!).
Gypsy got right back to me. She said that she would be glad to have one of my CBGs on her song. We communicated back and forth, and while I was invited to Orlando to record in person, it simply wasn't practical at this time. And so, through the miracle of computerized home recording (aka: GarageBand), I downloaded her song, tuned up one of my CBGs and went to work. Several hours later, I had a track that I could live with. I converted it into a MP3 file and pushed "Send".
A few minutes later, she got back to me - "Perfect! Mama likes!" She gave it to Ryan who fit me into the mix and the next day - Voila! I am playing with The Royal Blues. Hope y'all like it. BTW: Who is picking up the next round, and round of what?
You can get a clue by listening to "Who's Got the Next Round?" on Dr. Ea$y's Record Machine...right here on this website!
BTW: Check out Gypsy Elise's bio and recordings. It'll make ya glad!
"Gypsy Elise is the rarest form of vocalist, a beautiful female contralto~ With her 4 octave range, and silken, throaty lower range, often, Milady Gypsy is mistaken for a male vocalist. That is until you see her... then it's crystal clear that she is not only 100% gorgeous female vocalist, she is also keyboardist Ryan De Sade Way's wife. She is also the very proud Mama to three beautiful children. Gypsy Elise is a force of nature, a super-charged rose to be reckoned with!
Refining her vocals and assuming her position as troubadour, Gypsy Elise, with the aid of her Royal Blues, vividly captures the mysterious chambers of human emotion when reciting a torch or blues ballad. Together their sound recalls Gypsy's transient kindred with a whimsical bohemian, yet mesmerizing sensual mash-up of blues, R&B, jazz, rock, and funk. Their repertoire ranged from soft, dulcet melodies to psychedelic powered rock, but invariably provokes a teeming crowd from tears to twinkle-toes."
- Haley Hemenway Sledge, Ogden Museum of Southern Arts, Intern/ With Edward Rio, Publicist
New Orleans Louisiana's #1 Rockin Blues Band! Worldwide fan base, over 50 original songs all in radio rotation. This IS the band to have at your performance! ~The "world bred, traveled and seasoned" vocalist/band leader, Gypsy Elise De Sade-Way is Basque Gypsy by birth, but essentially southern musician by trade. Born in 1959 to a family of entertainers, her flower-child era rearing is clearly heard in her music. A savvy lady who finally cashed in her chips from years of entrepreneurship, Gypsy Elise has plucked a bouquet of talented musicians, dubbed The Royal Blues, including her husband Ryan De Sade-Way on the primary keys and key bass, John Lisi on guitar, Herman Halphen on the drums, and Reginald "The Voodoo Ninja" Smith Jr. on saxophone.
From the first notes, this is one HIGHLY engaging band! The audience is immediately drawn into the show as Gypsy Elise begins her entertaining dialogue that makes everyone feel both welcomed and appreciated at once. Throughout the show, her warm and open personality, hilarious wit, and brilliant smile are a winning combination when interlaced with her powerful vocals and original lyrics. The cover music that the band does shines far past the norm. With an impressive three original albums to their credit this past year alone, it is a proven fact that the blend of skills and musicianship will undoubtedly carry this Gypsy and her talented krewe to exactly where they want to be.
Gypsy Elise bloomed to the beats of the standards of music rooted in blues, jazz, funk, and ballads. Pair a musical family upbringing with a vocal range to rival Jacob's Ladder and hear the sultry vocals inspiring a sensual and swampy fusion. Gypsy has performed with, and been on the recordings of, some of music's most powerful performers. To include that list here, however, would be overwhelming to the reader. Suffice it to say, she is no stranger to the largest, finest, and most coveted stages of the world. Mostly though, Gypsy Elise prefers the more intimate settings that allow her to be up close and personal with her always enrapt audiences~