Blackfoot Gypsies: Southern rockers growing a local fan base
With high-energy rock tunes like “Everybody Is Watching” and “Under My Skin,” Blackfoot Gypsies leadsinger Matthew Paige believes it’s only a matter of time before word about his Southern rock band spreads and the Blackfoot Gypsies perform to a sold-out crowd in Chattanooga.
He hopes that crowd shows up this weekend when the Blackfoot Gypsies play Revelry Room at 9 p.m. Saturday.
The show comes less than a week before the release of the band’s new album, “To the Top.”
Radio stations are already playing two singles from the album. “I Had a Vision,” is more rock ’n’ roll, “Potatoes and Whiskey” is a country dance track.
“You can call your radio station and request those, ” says drummer Zack Murphy. “If Chattanooga wants to do that, that would be greatly appreciated.”
band It’s last been played in Chattanooga at JJ’s about six months since the Bohemia. The crowd wasn’t big then, but Paige says he keeps hearing from other musicians what can happen when a show is done at the right time on the right night.
“You’ve got to keep giving it a shot. We know it’s doable,” Paige says.
The group has been crisscrossing the country exposing more people to its music and generating name recognition. They’ve played in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia just within the past month.
The Gypsies also did a five-week tour in Europe in 2016 where they played every day.
Paige moved to Nashville andstarted the Blackfoot Gypsies with Murphy in 2010. Paige came up with the name
Blackfoot Gypsies and Murphy agreed. Murphy says some people have questioned the name because they’re not Native Americans. Murphy says they didn’t mean to offend anyone; they just like the name.
Since the group formed, it has acquired two additional band members: Ollie Dogg plays harmonica and Dylan Whitlow is on bass and vocals.
Paige, 27, has been playing music since age 12, when he started taking violin and guitar lessons. He’s played in bands and orchestras ever since. Murphy, 33, started playing violin at age 3, but began playing drums in middle school after his parents bought him a drum set and a guitar.
Playing before a full crowd in Chattanooga remains their goal, says Paige. The challenge is persevering until the band reaches that goal.
“The hardest part about being in a band is turning nothing into something,” he says. “And when nothing still comes out of it, you’ve got to have faith.”