Tribe of Gypsies was conceived originally by guitarist/songwriter/producer
Roy Z in the early '90s as the musician tried to break out of the stifling hard rock music scene of the time. After recording and performing with several hard rock/metal outfits during the '80s (most notably
Driver in New England),
Z returned home to L.A. in order to explore a new musical style. Drawing on his immense guitar technique and his Latin-American musical roots,
Z. was envisioning a modern
Santana before the respected guitarist's huge comeback or the major emergence of Latin rock in the U.S. market. After shopping a demo tape in 1991,
Z was approached by German independent label Dream Circle to release the first Tribe of Gypsies disc before a lineup for the band had been decided upon.
Dean Ortega on vocals,
Eddie Casillas on bass,
Dave Ingraham on drums, and
Doug Van Booven and
Mario Aguilar on percussion were all recruited and the group recorded their debut. Some major labels were starting to inquire about the group, and soon Tribe of Gypsies found themselves on the Mercury Records roster. Several years of turmoil and relative inactivity followed as the band's relationship with Mercury turned out to be ill-timed and entirely fruitless. During this period,
Z began a second career as a producer and songwriter by helping
Iron Maiden vocalist
Bruce Dickinson put together his successful solo debut,
Balls to Picasso, in 1993. In the years since,
Z has produced and performed on several more records for
Dickinson, as well as other artists like
Downset,
Rob Halford,
Helloween,
Klover,
Roadsaw, and
Life After Death. Partly due to
Z's busy production schedule and partly because of a convoluted business situation, the eponymous Tribe of Gypsies debut didn't surface in record stores anywhere until Japan's JVC released the album in 1996. The response to the group's Latin-tinged hard rock was spectacular and JVC quickly had the group put together a follow-up, 1997's
Nothing Lasts Forever, which was met with similar critical and commercial reception. In 1998, after the departure of
Ortega,
Z and company picked New Mexico's
Gregory Analla (formerly of
Seventhsign) to step in and take over vocal duties. The updated lineup released their third JVC offering,
Revolution 13, in 1998 to more critical praise as fans and writers alike consistently asked why a band as accomplished and timely as Tribe of Gypsies couldn't get an American release. In 2000, the group released yet another Japanese disc,
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Considering
Z's amazing guitar playing, as well as strong musical contributions from each member and their highly melodic, soulful material, the question of stateside industry ignorance has remained a real musical mystery.
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发表于 2020-1-11 15:46:07
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