Featuring freewheeling musical wanderings through countrified blues, slinky swamp ballads and homespun hillbilly heartbreaks, the Bourgeois Gypsies mix slow-burning, porchsetting music with poignant punk lullabies that make you tap your feet, clutch your heart and shake your head all at the same time. With incessant gigging in jukejoints, festivals and smoky roadhouses across the country, the Gypsies are quietly building their following the old fashioned way, one night at a time.
The Bourgeois Gypsies formed when Arnold Mitchem, a high desert troubadour collided with Kaisa MacDonald, the inn-keeping, firespinning spawn of a gypsy in the café of a clothing-optional hot springs resort. Thrown together for an impromptu open mic session, the two musicians realized that their styles clicked and their abilities complemented each other. Two cd’s, countless gigs and a few additional band members later the Gypsies are gearing up for prime time with their latest release.
Their second original CD “Faulty Fairytales,” resonates with songs of knightless dragons and princesses without towers and captures a shambling syncopation flirting with dissonance that clings to your soul and peeks through windows of a bygone era, and leaves you with one word … “More”.
Kaisa MacDonald -
Gypsy Spawn
Classically trained on the piano and flute by her musically gifted, world-wandering father, Kaisa MacDonald has evolved into a self-taught, finger-picking musical wonder whose unpretentious voice and unique folk-punk guitar style regularly defy musical conventions.
Arnold Mitchem -
High-desert Troubadour
A master of the bass, electric, acoustic, and slide guitar, Arnold has played with some of the indus try’s most accomplished artists, including Jeff Buckley, Danny Carey of Tool, Chris Whitley, and Seals & Croft. As a solo artist he self-released two acclaimed instrumental guitar CDs, Desert Dreams and Mojave Moon.
Kieth Rutherford -
Descendent of a Mexican Mariachi Player
Kieth is into everything extreme - snow boarding, whitewater kayaking, rock climbing. Fortunately for us, he ’s also extremely talented, super nice, and a real crack-up on stage. Keith adds spice to our live performances with his boundary-pushing skills on the acoustic and electric guitar.
Taylor Williams -
Really Tall Free Spirit
The first thing people notice about Taylor is his height. At 6’8”, he is quite probably the single tallest bass player in the world. But once you hear Taylor on stage, you'll forget all about his size and stand in awe of his prodigious skill on the mandolin, harmonica, and bass guitar. Interesting fact about Taylor: he has 200 cousins. First cousins.
Peter Miller -
Accomplished Spatula Collector
A veteran of many, many bands, Peter got his musical start as a rhythm guitarist in a surf band. Lucky for us, he soon discovered his true love was playing the drums. He ’s been lending his steady, confident hands to the Bourgeois Gypsies since responding to an ad on Craig ’s List in 2007. In addition to his passion for percussion, Peter enjoys collecting spatulas and may just have the world ’s largest privately owned collection of these versatile kitchen utensils.
Location: AMERICA NORTH: USA: California (CA)
Sound Like: Alternative Rock