Chattanooga Times Free Press music reporter Casey Phillips spoke with Samantha Stephenson, lead singer of New York’s The Gypsy Nomads, about the advantages of being niche, fairy festivals and how to say ‘welcome’ in Czechoslovakian.
CP: In your bio, you describe yourselves as having a “gypsy sound, laced with cabaret, Celtic and neo-medieval flavor rooted in punk, folk and the vineyards of southern France.” Do you have any trouble explaining your sound when you’re booking gigs?
SS: Well, it’s not so much that it’s a struggle, it’s just that we are a pretty eclectic duo, and we have so many influences in our music. We try and capture that in our description. Scott used to play in punk bands, so he’s coming from that history, and I’m originally from France, and I write some songs in French. I brought in some of the French gypsy flavor to the music.
CP: Would you say either one of you has a greater influence on the sound? From what I’ve heard of your music, I hear more of the French and gypsy sound than punk.
SS: When he went from punk to solo, he was writing more of a neo-medieval kind of sound. There was a metal crossover in what he was doing after the hardcore, raw punk kind of stuff. When you translate that into acoustic guitar – he used to be a bass player – he was coming out almost neo-classical or medieval. It also has a kind of renaissance sound, a European sound. When you put me into the equation, the cabaret, French folk, Celtic sound, that’s kind of the mix.