The Deep Sea Gypsies are in a genre all their own.
Rooted in the hard-driving blues of the ’60s and ’70s, smeared with a dollop of classic rock and topped with a smattering of hip hop and rap, the Deep Sea Gypsies are not your run-of-the-mill rock ‘n’ roll quartet.
They don’t want to be, says lead singer Loke Webb.
“I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop, and (guitarist) Johnny (Regimbal) grew up listening to a lot of blues. That’s what we did when we first met, so we just put together what we did,” he says. “We feel like we’re doing something not many people from the Island are doing. If people are looking for that kind of thing … they should come check us out. I think they would be pretty happy with what we are doing.”
Fellow Belmont secondary grads Greg Moore on drums and Marty Boggs on bass round out the foursome. Together they’ve recorded two full-length demo albums and an EP in four years of testing the boundaries of their musical styles – and sometimes each others’ patience.
“It helps that we’re good friends,” Webb says. “We get into arguments like every band will, but at the end of the day, we were friends before and we will be friends at the end. We’re able to pull that off because ... we were already such good friends (before) and just had fun, it kept it light when we were first doing it. That’s what allowed it just to mesh together.”
Their unique, hard-rocking style has impressed Metchosin’s Jesse Roper of The Roper Show, who counts himself both a friend and a fan of the up-and-coming band. He first heard them from backstage during a show both were playing. He found himself inching closer and closer to the stage to get a better listen.
“I was totally engaged, sat in front of the stage and had no desire to stand up and go anywhere else. Since then I try to make an effort to go see them,” Roper said. “Just really groovy rock ‘n’ roll that jams out really hard.”
While he sees a lot of good bands around Victoria, the Gypsies are one of his favourites and he sees a bright future ahead for them.
“I think the bigger thing is no one else sounds like the Deep Sea Gypsies. Yes, they are influenced by ’60s rock, but they are really original. It’s nothing that I have heard before,” he said. “I’m hoping next year brings them next to the main stage at all these festivals. I definitely think they are good enough.”
Webb said the band has no preconceived notions of who they are or where they’ll go. They just love what they’re doing.
“We’re already at the end goal. That’s the thing with us, we don’t get carried away with expectations because that is a way to let yourself down. It’s just about being able to do what we do now, play shows, travel around, meet awesome people, share our music and do what we do,” he said.
“It has been a blast. I’m never going to regret anything we have done, so right now we are already achieving the goal. We’re going to push it as far as we can, but we’re just having fun.”
Visit Deep Sea Gypsies on Facebook or download their latest EP for free at soundcloud.com/deep-sea-gypsies.
alim@goldstream gazette.com