There was a day and a time when existed people that never heard music. It is an impossible concept to many of us. Today we live in a world of overwhelming exposure to music whether it’s our ring tones, or the radio, or the bass thumping car driving past our house. But there were some farm kids in Oklahoma in 1908, who only went to town once a month and who died before they were 14, that never heard music. There once lived mountain men that spent all their time trapping furs. They probably heard music, but rarely. Point is, there were people that lived an entire life never being flooded by constant exposure to music. To them, if you sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star they would think it was genius.
What about those on the opposite end, people that work in music that do nothing all day long every day except for listen to music? After years of picking apart, dissecting, and analyzing what it is that equals “good music”, to them Twinkle Twinkle probably goes virtually unnoticed. Without giving it thought, they may not even consider it a song any more, just something children say.
Godfrey Nelson is a musical composer / producer / engineer / singer / performer / front-man for the band Gypsy Bed. Day in and day out he is expected to provide what the masses consider to be “good music” for different types of projects. Godfrey’s career path has put him in a position that requires constant scrutiny, and analysis of music. Some people will say that they listen to all styles of music, and maybe some do, but few do it daily as a job. When somebody in this position decides to take on their own personal project, the canvas of creativity is limitless. Will they do country? Will they do Hip-Hop? Will they do Country-Hop? Based on their latest release, “Secret City”, the band Gypsy Bed believes direct and less complex is the best.
Gypsy Bed is a dreamy eyed stare down a beatnik path. The band delivers a spoken word landscape with a pop splash of Shawn Mullins familiarity packaged in an impressive musical menagerie of jazzy rock rhythms. If Swedish scientist genetically spliced together Violent Femmes and Leon Redbone and instructed their creation to write songs for Tom Waits, that beautiful beast would manifest sounds similar to Gypsy Bed. I invite you to step outside the box. If you truly want to hear somebody doing something not many others are doing right now, I recommend listening to Gypsy Bed.
Through the magic of electronic messaging, I recently was able to do a Q/A with Gypsy Bed’s brain child, Godfrey Nelson.
THCOFM: Is Gypsy Bed a studio project, or do you get out and tour?
Nelson: Because of my schedule as a producer/engineer we have not done many live performances. I am hoping that we will perform more in the future.
THCOFM: When did you originally form?
Nelson: I have worked with all the members of my band for the past 20 years on many projects other than Gypsy Bed. Bill Schimmel (accordion) and Lorraine Nelson Wolf (Piano) have worked with Gypsy Bed since the early 90's.
THCOFM: How did the members all meet?
Nelson: Bill Schimmel was my composition teacher when I was in school and also played in my band Manikin in NYC. I met the others through my production work in the studio. I met Lorraine Nelson Wolf, my wife, when my rhythm section from Manikin was doing a Broadway show.
THCOFM: This album is not similar to anything currently receiving radio airplay. Is the project intended for commercial success?
Nelson: We have no commercial intentions. I am always writing and this particular album has been in my head for quite some time, along with the next one, which I will hopefully pull together this year.
THCOFM: Who are some of your influences?
Nelson: I have been influenced by many people, The Beatles, John Cage, David Bowie, Zeppelin, Steve Reich, Tom Waits, Stan Getz, Lou Reed, Miles Davis and the list goes on. I love music.
THCOFM: What do you think it takes for an up and coming band to get the attention required to achieve success? Some believe it requires a great recording, but Kimya Dawson did it without that. Some believe it requires touring, but XTC and Pet Shop Boys did it without ever playing a show (The Pet Shop Boys eventually did start playing shows at the end of their career to try and increase dwindling sales). A publicist once told me that there is no example of any band that received attention solely based on their talent. He said anybody that you ever heard of, received that attention because of:
A. Nepotism, (usually knowing the right person) or
B. They hired a winning team (like Adele hired Rick Rubin and Dan Wilson)
Do you think it is possible for a band to accomplish success from outside an already established paradigm: earn attention for their talent?
Nelson: To make it in the main stream I believe you have to play by the
rules of the major labels. Of course there are the exceptions, but they are
very few. I have worked in the business of music for many years and have
been very fortunate to make a living. Things have changed and music has
been devalued so much that it has become harder and harder BUT, never have
there been so many avenues for indie people and that’s great. I have always
believed that if an artist is true to one's self, that is what sets them apart.
We are all individuals and have something unique to say, we just need to
have the perseverance to find our audience.
THCOFM: Modern music seems to focus too much on sales appeal, and less on creative content. When I hear a love song, or a screaming angry song, it comes across like it was written to complete an assignment, and not so much like it was written because the author was in love or angry. Do you ever complete a song based solely on the need to meet deadlines despite the fact that you may not feel inspired at the time?
Nelson: Nowadays I write songs to fill my creative needs. I do still write music to meet deadlines and record and produce under deadlines.
THCOFM: Are you a John Zorn fan?
Nelson: I admire his work.
THCOFM: Are you a Shawn Mullins fan?
Nelson: I’m not that familiar with his work.
For more information on the band and to hear tracks from the latest release visit http://www.gypsybed.com/
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