Meet the Band: Tee Jayy Lewins (guitar and vocals), Kyle McKenna (bass), Dominique Williams (drums)
A Quick Riddle: "What if Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley had a baby, and then that baby had a baby with Led Zeppelin?" The answer you'll most readily land on is, of course, Cleveland's own Gypsydaze. At least, that's how frontman Tee Jayy Lewins might describe it. Throughout 2013, the band has proven its chops on stages across town, leveling crowds with stratospheric energy.
Feral and Frenzied: "When Dom and I started talking, we were very clear that this needed to be high energy. There needed to be no point at all in the set or in any song that gave people any opportunity to think about any other subject," Lewins says. That intensity was there from the beginning, when the band first gigged at Around the Corner in Lakewood and Lewins was missing half an index finger. He and Williams go way back, and the drummer says he's never seen anything like Lewins' frenzied playing. The guy was literally melting through guitar picks during each song. Williams adds: "We play rock 'n' roll music. Our element that we bring to the stage is lacking in this music scene."
Communal Vibes: Caught amid the band's dedication to music is a sense of friendship — within the band and alongside the band they're gigging with. "The only way any shit happens and is going to continue to happen in the Cleveland music scene is if everyone kinda helps each other other out, as opposed to being secluded and stingy about it," Williams says.
Why You Should Hear Them: Listen, this is a rock 'n' roll town caught amidst waves of alt-indie-pop'icana shows. Gypsydaze revives the best of the old ways and imposes their own contemporary sensibilities.
Where You Can Hear Them: reverbnation.com/gypsydaze
Where You Can See Them: Gypsydaze performs with the Mucklebuck and Twiddle at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Beachland Tavern.
