For no apparent reason the writer seems obsessed w/ Pirates and Gypsies. The orginal was "rubber trainwreck" which proved to be a bit to close to some local past. And of course the bass player can be quoted by saying "Condom Nomad was taken".

In and around Raleigh/Durham or the Triagle area of NC. One of our first gigs was at the 6 String Cafe in Cary. We had a ton of fun w/ that acoustic show. Everyone in the entire room is so intent on listening to the music there, it really makes a nice experience overall - very different.

I think the whole thing will eventually turn into a giant cupcake and then be splattered by a potted plant falling from the sky. Or rather, I think it will all smooth out in the end. Uh..for now.

Still? - They havn't asked me yet.
Sure, as long as the whole event doesn't leave me w/ that "havea cigar" feeling.

Havn't made much history yet. Here's a review of one of our tunes from TheGodsOfMusic.com :
"Despite my regrettable attempts to slap a genre label on this, I realized at about the 6-minute mark of the track that this simply cannot be pigeonholed. It has this infectious way of progressing through various textures and moods; the 5-minute mark being a gorgeous summer, sunset, inspired embellishment before the final symbol crashes.

Mentioning summer sunset, this is definitely a summer track with which to wind down your over-worked, stressful lives. Call it therapy. The song stages almost create a chronology of daily activities on a scorching summer day in rural America. The kinetic pounding of the swing drum puts you on the road, open top, cruising along a lonely highway. It's after 2 minutes that the chord progression changes and the guitar starts to jab in a funk inspired groove as you enter the livening outer suburbs of the city, the vocals guiding you with style and charisma. The main progression that pops back up does not have a particularly original melody (typical country-folk style G C D major progression) but there are unexpected trail-offs that keep you interested. A nice arty heat wave of shimmering guitar melts the last two minutes away beautifully. I love the progressions through this stage of the track and the drum's snare flicking and rolling softly adds a heavenly touch to it all.

Technically, being part of lo-fi aesthetics, Mountain Girl keeps deeply routed in the southern baked soul of the music rather than fancy technology getting in the way. I found myself sharply laughing through my nose with a respectful smile because this is clever pop song-writing all round without the blandness of chart pop mathematics. Although the sounds aren't complexly layered or too rich, the track's charm lies within the character given by the excited rhythm of the percussion and the clean guitar, the chilled vocals and the progressive structure. There is enough material variation to effectively hold up the sub-8 minute journey.

Is it me, or do I hear an Elvis swagger on the slower, quieter moments (refer to 3:25)? If it's not just my brain taunting me, Rubber Gypsy have brought more back to life than just country, funk and folk in this good-feeling, cool breath of musical air...

Mike Beatham


Charisma: 8.00
Technical Skill: 5.00
Structure: 8.50
Interest: 7.50
Melody: 8.00
Performance: 8.00
Recording Quality: 6.50
Long Term Appeal: 8.00
OVERALL: 7.40 "

CCR
The King
Rolling Stones
Johnny Cash
Sting and/or The Police
Pink Floyd
various "jam bands"
I know the bass player is into some "gordon lightfoot" and the drummer is into Tori Amos.
We're all pretty eclectic but, as a whole none of us are into strict country or fast metal. We're into the sound, the color, the dynamics and writing good tunes.

The coolest city I've ever been to has to be Hamburg, Germany.
Locally though, for me ? I like Raleigh out of the Triagle area.
Heading south is just as fun: Try Charleston and Savannah!

Boss for the guitar.
Tubes on the amps.

Anything? Really?
Alright but, I'm still holdin' back:

There's a tiger on the inside
of this cage in which I'm kept
There's a field inside my mind
and I go there when I've wept
With razor blades of teeth and jaws
he wakes inside my head
And slashing at unruly jaws
he cuts the words I've said


©a.garber - circa 198?