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 If you were to look at the bands biography you would see "A gang and band true to their calling, VAMPS 'N' GYPSIES have always existed in the souls of those who have always craved that little bit more. More than just killer songs. More than just leather jackets and flailing guitars. More than just sweat and love. VAMPS 'N' GYPSIES are a band with enough passion and personality to gorge even the most violent hunger and still leave it starving for more! Be careful what you wish, because sooner or later, you might just get us!"
The last comment of course does ring so true, because we did get them! We caught up with the band to find out who Vamps 'N' Gypsies are, and what makes them tick.
Komodo Rock: For those that are new to Vamps N Gypsies, can you give us a little background on the band?
Stubio Lopez (Lead Guitar): Well, a long time ago in Bethlehem, me and Danny were at music college together and we ended up playing a few gigs as "Wheeljack", then Danny went back to Jerusalem and I moved to Nazareth for a year. When I came back I went to see Dannys new band, which was Dan, Nikki, Rich, Simon and his brother Andrew, James and John, then Philip, Nathaniel (also called Bartholomew), Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alpheus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot and Peter. I thought, "They'd be great, if only they had a little bit of Lopez in their lives". Danny phoned me up one afternoon and asked me if I wanted in, I obviously said yes, and THEN he kicked the other two guys out!
I love the music we make, if I wasn't in the band, Id be at everyone of our gigs drinking too much anyway.
Nikki Jones (Vocals): I always wanted to be in a rock band! Growing up in a really musical family I guess I had no choice really, they were all mad singing gypsies. So when I got outta school I fucked around for a few years met a load of musicians, started writing with this welsh guy but it didnt work out and I remember meeting Danny and seeing him around he looked like the coolest dude outta the ACM music college coz the rest were all indie twats!!!
And to me he looked like Slash or Marc Bolan (haha) and I thought to myself thats my guy, called him up one day and said do u wanna start a band? And from there the rest was just history baby! We had a few mishap band members and in the end we just got our best mates to do it enter the Big Dog, Rich and Stubio Lopez! woohoo!!!
Rich Elson (Bass): Its basically a bunch of great friends who want to get out and kick ass on stage, have a good time, get drunk and make a living from doing it! Were all in this for one thing
.FUN! We genuinely love what were doing and if other people like it then its a real bonus!
Big Dog (Drums): We're a bunch of sexy piss heads that play wicked rock n roll!
How did the name come about?
Stubio: What "the Lopez?" Its a long story and you aint got the time....
Nikki: Well me family all being gypsy travellers it's all a bit obvious really ay!
The vamps part can mean glam vamp or vampire, coz in bram stokers dracula or with any vampire folklore tale the gypsies are always mentioned so I put two and two together wrote it on my pencil case in high school and said that's what me bands gonna be called when I get outta this shithole!!!
 Put on the spot, which 3 bands have influenced the band the most?
Nikki: There are far too many, I mean I was brought up on Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Toto and country music so if I had to pick the bands own favourite influences it would be Motley Crue, Lit and Rancid. I think musically that sums up Vamps N Gypsies!
Rich: I have to agree with Nikki on this one
..weve all got our own personal taste when it comes to music, and that all inspires us to play in different ways.
Stubio: 1) Lit 2)Motley Crue 3) ACDC
Big Dog: Motley Crue, Avenged Sevenfold, Backyard Babies
What's the biggest gig you've ever played?
Nikki: To be honest I couldnt tell you but we played Mexbourough Civic when we done the tour with King Lizard it was massive and even though I was drunk the crowd was cool as fuck!!!!
Rich: The Underworld was pretty cool, and Mexborough was awesome. But weve played some pretty packed out gigs at Bar Monsta. Its such a great venue when its busy, being so close to the crowd is an amazing feeling
and then seeing just a sea of people behind them!
Big Dog: Mexborough or Margate I think.
Stubio: I don't have a clue! Bob Marley once said, "When I play the world stands still around me", he was talking about football, but its something I relate too with music. In my head, there are always thousands of people there, and its how I get psyched up when I play, that and the booze.
Flash Danny (Rhythm Guitar): Dunno, was pissed for most of them.
If you could put together your dream 3 band tour, who'd you pick?
Nikki: Us Motley Crue and Avenged Sevenfold, I bloody love those bands!!!
Stubio: 1)Queen with Freddie Mercury (you said it was MY dream) 2)AC/DC in 1980 3)Motley Crue now
Danny: Rocket from the Crypt, Terrorvision and Us!
Rich: Guns N Roses back in the day
. Backyard Babies, and just because its a dream line up, Bowie!
Big Dog: Backyard Babies, Avenged sevenfold, Motley Crue
 What's the highest point of your career so far?
Nikki: Couple of things really, it was so great to finally record a kick ass EP, but the problem is our songs keep getting better all the time I'm always writing new stuff so hopefully we will be recording the new stuff soon. Cant bloody wait!
And definitely our first tour with a real fucking tour bus and everything that was a real satisfaction for me and the rest of the band, and coz we were with those crazy fuckers King Lizard it was even better!!!
Rich: Theres been so many, and I hope theres many more to come! The tour was fuckin brilliant
cant wait for the next one! Recording the EP was another really great point. Some of the gigs weve done have been really awesome, and all those crazy fuckers who come and see us
.cant explain how great it is to turn up at a venue miles from home and see familiar faces, its like WOW, what the fuck are you doing here!?!
Stubio: Touring the country, a little teaser of a taste of a life I was genetically engineered for. I love touring. The three things Im good at, Playing gigs, partying, masturba... um, er... travelling?
Danny: Recording the demo. It's fucking beautiful!
And the lowest?
Danny: The lowest doesn't matter. At the end of the day, if you get that low, then the only way is up.
Nikki: Unfortunately on the tour I had bloody laryngitis, so for me that was tough coz I couldnt really let loose coz I had to watch my voice. Sods law I know!!!
Stubio: Its hard to say, the band was my escape from the lowest part of my life, and now its the way I blow off steam. Whatever happens, I always think "Well, I could be a lot worse off right now" that tends to get me through.
Rich: Saying goodbye to the tour bus
could have stayed on there for years!
You released a self titled EP last year. Tell us a little more about it?
Danny: We were hungover, with bugger all sleep, ratty, skint and we did it in two days. But then again, it sounded better than most albums that have spent months and thousands. The songs will stand up to anything on the radio and we will stand up as a band to anything else.
Nikki: Well we recorded it last year and we did it in two days when we were all hung over tired and pissed off and like me Flash Danny says IT SOUNDED BETTER THAN MOST ALBUMS THAT HAVE TAKEN SIX MONTHS TO DO HAHA!!!
Stubio: It is the single greatest self released self funded unaided in any way financially or creatively record in the history of the earth. Until our next one. You should get hold of a copy, come to a gig and get us to sign it, because one day it will be worth more than your house. Seriously though, I'm really proud of the CD when I hear the music I wrote playing in a club when I'm out, I get hard! I want to make love to everyone in the room. But half of them are men, so I don't.
Big Dog: Blood, sweat an tears went into that!
Rich: I guess you can tell were kinda proud of the EP! It was a long time coming, wed been planning on recording for so long that when we finally got into the studio it all flowed out of us
to end up with such a great result was really satisfying.
 Any plans yet for a followup and perhaps a full album?
Rich: Its not the lack of songs thats holding the recording up
.its the lack of finances! We tend to enjoy a few beers and it kinda saps the cash! Any offers of free recording
.or even free booze
greatly received!
Stubio: We've got enough material to do a complete killer of a long player, and between me, Danny and Nikki, we could write another album a week later after that. I think the sound of the band is transforming all the time, we get better every time we play and the songs we are writing are improving in quality and effectiveness. We've got some real "gonna fuck you in the ear" stuff coming your way, trust me ;-)
Big Dog: We've got loadsa material for an album but we're all skint. Tis hard when you haven't got a manager with an open cheque book.
In 12 months time, where do you see the band being, and what will you be doing?
Nikki: Who knows! We dont know any different other than making music and playing gigs, if were lucky maybe we'll be rockstars by then, ay? Hehe!
Stubio: In all honesty, I hope to the high fucking heavens we will be touring somewhere on earth, or recording an album, still all best mates, still all keeping it together and still a bunch of cunts. We will conquer (at least a small corner of) the globe or die in the attempt!
Danny:
.released a single or two and maybe done something rude to a few celebrities.
Rich: Weve spent the last year gigging pretty much every week, anywhere and everywhere! So it would be cool to be doing the same thing, just with abit more money in the bank, and a couple of kick ass records in the shops!
Big Dog: Hopefully signed on tour!!
Other than yourselves, who do you rate as the best up and coming glam/sleaze band out there?
Stubio: We're not a glam/sleaze band, we're a punk rock n roll band, we have elements of 80s rock you will find if you're looking for it, but our sound is our sound, formed of best mates coming together playing the music they love. When people say Glam rock, I think "Slade!" I never even encountered the term sleaze rock until we played in London. It means nothing to me, I'm a rocker, and a sleazy one at that, but I am not a Sleazerocker.
I love King Lizard, they are my favourite band people outside of my band, and I really like Teenage Casket Company too.
Rich: Weve had the pleasure of playing with many a band over the last year or so, and sometimes the not so pleasurable experience of playing with others! Teenage Casket Company are real nice guys on & off the stage and they play some kick ass songs. King Lizard
them boys are fun! Having spent 10 days sharing a tour bus with them and getting to really see them work the stage in various parts of the UK, they have to be one of the best bands out there at the moment.
Danny: Most can't make the grade, but King Lizard are the boys who embody it the most! It's not so much Glam and Sleaze but it full on rock that isn't afraid to be a little bit bigger and sexier! King Lizard embody that and musically I'm really into Drugdealer Cheerleader and Teenage Casket Company too. I couldn't give a fuck about image, but those boys have got songs!
A big thank you to all of Vamps 'N' Gypsies for talking to us, and giving some great answers, although I have to admit to still being somewhat confused as to the formation of the band... that was a lot of names Mr Lopez!
Check the band out on myspace at www.myspace.com/vampsngypsies and the bands official website over at www.vampsngypsies.com.
And if you're in the area you can catch them live supporting King Lizard on July 6th at The Whammy Bar, Ystrad Mynach and July 7th at The Colosseum in Coventry.
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